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Trading Places - a history of Liverpool DocksCoastal TradeBefore railways and motor vehicles, often the best way to move goods and people around the country was by boat. Learn how Liverpool was involved in coastal trading below. Docks involved
Coastal trade involves moving goods by boat from place to place. Until the coming of the railways, many people also found it easier to travel by boat. Coastal trade was very important to Liverpool, even before it became a large international port and long before canals and turnpikes were built. Small ships took goods to ports as far away as Scotland, Wales and Ireland. What Was Shipped?Coasters (vessels that travelled these coastal routes) transported many types of food, products and raw materials to and from Liverpool [image, new window].
Coastal VesselsFlats - Until the end of the 19th century, small wooden sailing vessels known as Mersey flats were used on local rivers and to ports on the North Wales and Lancashire coasts [image, new window]. Many flats were built in Northwich, Runcorn and Widnes, and were ideal for a number of reasons:
Schooners - These were larger than flats. They carried almost any cargo to Ireland and beyond. They were strongly built of wood, with two or three masts rigged fore-and-aft. By 1890's schooners were built of iron or steel instead, and some even had steam or diesel engines, e.g. the Merseyside Maritime Museum's three-masted vessel, De Wadden (1917). Coastal steamers - From the late 19th century, steam boats became more popular than sailing vessels as they did not need certain winds or currents, and became more economic to run. They provided vital coastal services from Liverpool until World War II. Back to the top | Back to main page Waterloo Dock & Coastal TradeWaterloo Dock was very involved in the local coastal trade. It was quite small and so suited the smaller coastal vessels. Coastal vessels visited the dock until the middle of the 20th century. Back to the top | Back to main page Princes Dock & Coastal TradeIn the early 20th century Princes Dock became the centre for the Irish loose cargo trade. However, by the 1960s, trade with Ireland had moved into containers. Princes then developed into a passenger terminal for B&I ferries, carrying passengers to Belfast, Dublin and the Isle of Man. Back to the top | Back to main page Old Dock & Coastal TradeMuch of the Old Dock's early business was coastal trade. Small boats ran from Liverpool to and from ports in Northwest England, Scotland, the Isle of Man and Ireland. By the late 18th century these small vessels were based in the Old Dock - larger ships were docked at the newer, larger docks. Back to the top | Back to main page Canning Dock & Coastal TradeCoastal ships became more important to Canning Dock as the size of ships increased. The size of visitors to the dock stayed the same but the type of ship changed from ocean-going to coastal boats like flats. Many cargoes were carried to local ports. The Furness Withy Group had berths in Canning where refrigerated ships loaded and unloaded cargoes of fruit. Coastal trade at canning continued until well into the 1960's. Fishing was also a major trade for the dock. At one point Canning was the main trawler dock of Liverpool. Steam trawlers were introduced in the 1890s, and landed their catches in the southeast corner of Canning Dock. These included:
This continued until 1939 when the fishing trade died. Canning was also a base for Mersey Docks and Harbour Board's fleet of dredgers. After the Pilotage Building was opened in 1883 Liverpool's pilot schooners and steam cutters were also based at Canning. Back to the top | Back to main page Albert Dock & Coastal TradeThe Albert Dock dealt mainly in imports, rather than exports. The incoming cargo had to be moved from the warehouses to other towns and cities in Britain, often on local coastal ships. From around 1900 the dock was too small to be used by the large ocean-going ships, and so the coastal trade became the dock's main work until just before the dock closed. Back to the top | Back to main page Pier Head & Coastal TradeToday's Mersey Ferries run from the Pier Head to landing stages on the Wirral side of the river at Woodside and Seacombe (there had been more stops at their peak). The ferries have been used for many different reasons:
Back to the top | Back to main page Wapping Dock & Coastal TradeWapping Dock was very popular with coastal vessels. These were mainly Scottish, Irish and Southern European and brought with them:
General cargo, coal and manufactured goods left Liverpool on those same ships but did not leave from Wapping. Back to the top | Back to main page Birkenhead Docks Coastal TradeMany coasters used Birkenhead docks for general and bulk cargoes. |
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