PRINCES DOCK BOUNDARY WALL AND ENTRANCES, INCLUDING DRINKING FOUNTAINS
Dock Wall looking south from Bath Street
Gate at Bath Street
History and Description 3.3.69 Access to Princes Dock was controlled by a boundary wall, the first to be built in Liverpool, begun in 1816 and completed in 1821 when the dock opened. Built by J Foster, the wall was of red brick, 5.5 m high and four courses thick in English bond, with sandstone copings and a gateway built with sandstone piers in the Greek Revival style. The wall originally ran around all sides of the dock, but it survives today only on the east side. The remaining gateway is at the northern end of the dock, and consent has been granted for a new opening adjoining the multi-storey car park. This section of wall, together with the gateway is listed Grade II. 3.3.70 Between 1845 and 1865, the wall was extended northwards to connect with the wall that Hartley had built to enclose his group of 1830s docks. This section of wall is built of brick to the same height and form as the Princes Dock section, and incorporates four original gateways, all designed by Hartley, and built of granite rubble masonry. There is also one modern opening that leads via a mini roundabout into the Princes Dock. This section of the wall is unlisted, but is treated as a listed structure since it is attached to the gate piers which are listed Grade II. 3.3.71 A short section of the 1821 Prince’s Dock wall was rebuilt, probably after GF Lyster became Dock Engineer in 1861. This runs northwards from a point marked by a vertical break where a drinking fountain with outlets on both sides of the wall has been inserted as far as the 1821 gateway. A further short section was rebuilt at the southern end of the Princes Dock and is identical in materials and construction to the section described above. These two short sections are also unlisted. Liverpool Waters Conservation Management Plan – November 2011
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