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Widnes Dock
Steam cranes on the south side of Widnes Dock. A variety of open wagons stand on the dockside beyond. The decision to concentrate rail traffic to Garston was soon to seal the fate of the Widnes Dock.
Widnes Dock looking north in the early 1920's shortly after it had fallen out of use. On the far side of the dock can be seen a loading system that had been used to transfer coal from rail to water.
The No. 1 Coal Tip on the north side of Widnes Dock carries a plate identifying it as LNWR 4086. The dock closed in 1933 and little if any coal went through this dock after coal handling facilities were provided at Garston, but in this view believed to have been taken around closure, the coal tips look to be in working order and a coal wagon is poised beyond the far tip. Open wagons with sheeted loads of timber can be seen in the distance.
The remains of a rail wagon tipper which would have been mounted onto a fixed base at Widnes dock. The equipment operates by positioning a loaded wagon onto the tipping cradle. The cradle secures the wagon with curved metal arms, then tilts the wagon forwards. Gravity releases bulk cargo such as coal, ore, or aggregate into a lower receiving area or ship hold, this allowed for fast unloading of goods for shipment along the River Mersey to Liverpool.
A crane is used to transfer rail cargo from St. Helens, to ship to Liverpool via Widnes Dock, Spike Island, 1920s
Tolls and charges for Widnes Dock, 1833.
A survey for LNWR at Widnes Dock, 1865
Widnes Dock, opened in 1833 as a terminus for The St. Helen's & Runcorn Gap Railway, for vessels up to 300 tons. 200 tons of coal per day were shipped from the dock in the early years. This photo was taken prior to the redevelopment of Spike Island, officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II, 1979.
A view of the entrance to the Wet Dock, Spike Island, c1920's.
The district was described in 1841 the Census:
‘Widnes Dock where families of the ‘flatmen’, a very low class, unsettled in their behaviour, pass much of the time on the ‘flats’ or ‘barges’. Picture taken 1920's.
Chimney's as far as the eye can see, Widnes Dock, 1920's.
This house belonging to the Dock Warden, Widnes Dock, 1900's.
In the early days of the chemical industry most of the housing development was centred on Spike Island, rather than ’true' West Bank as that was where all the work was.
Spike Island got it's name to the fact that a ‘spike’ was a cheap boarding house of the kind that would have been plentiful around the factories.
Widnes Dock Labourers, c1900s.
Widnes docks opened in 1833 and these men worked hard loading and unloading cargoes and carrying out general labouring work.
Back L to R W. Prescot, W. Farmer, J. Appleton, T. Nevitt, J. Griffiths, T. Roper, J. Hunt, N.B. Harper.
Middle L to R J.H. Harper, N. Griffiths, T. Clarke, T. Sayle, T. Morris, S. Myers, W. Bee, P. Cooper, W.J. Harper, J. Woods.
Bottom L to R T. Haynes, I.N. Raves, A. Worrall, J.Walker, G. Glover, R. Anderson, I. Jones.
Standard Class 2 2-6-0 78035 is seen shunting on Marsh Sidings, The sidings complex too are a distant memory and now form part of the Spike Island public open space. Of note in the background is the new bridge crossing the Mersey and the Transporter Bridge to its left, 1962.
A map showing the aerial view of Widnes Dock, 1890.
The remains of the Ship Building yard's slipway as it approaches the River Mersey. Shown centre/right on the map below, 1876-2026
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