Leavesley News

Canada Dock Empty once again.....

Back in December 2008 “Canada Dock” in Liverpool was the home to one of Leavesley Internationals largest projects.

HMS Intrepid, the Falklands veteran landing ship was brought here to the dry dock for dismantling and re-cycling. Now 9 months down the line and all that remains in the dock are a few excavators awaiting to be lifted out. Once they have gone flooding the huge dock can then commence.

Designed by Jesse Hartley, the dock first opened in 1859 and dealt mainly with timber. This is actually where the name “Canada Dock” came from, as the main source of timber brought here was from.

Fire was the greatest worry for the Liverpool dock area, which is why Canada Dock was located further away from all the other docks.

The original entrance to the site from the river posed navigational difficulties for many ships, as it suffered badly from silting. So modifications took place in the late 19^th and early 20^th Century creating the branch and graving dock layout (as seen today).

During World War I the liner RMS Lusitania was refitted there which included the fitting of twelve 6 inch guns. And then after further improvements in the 1950’s and 1960’s the dock became a base for the cargo liner company “Harrison Line”.

Until its closure on 12 September 1982, the dock was connected to the national rail network by the Canada Dock Branch Line. Although the branch line closed to passengers in 1941, it remained in use for goods.

Canada Dock remains in use today, handling general bulk cargoes and as a site for scrap metal processing and storage.