 The Albert Dock in Liverpool, England, was opened in 1846 by its namesake, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Based on plans submitted in 1839 by the civil engineers Jesse Hartley and Philip Hardwick, for a combined dock and warehouse system, shipping entered the dock from either Canning Half Tide Dock to the North or Salthouse Dock to the east.
The Albert Dock was built entirely of cast iron, brick, and stone, with no structural wood; it was the first building in the UK to be built in such a manner. It was also the first fire-proof warehousing system in the world. In 1848 it was upgraded to feature the world's first hydraulic warehouse hoist system. The five Grade I buildings, covering 1.25 million sq ft, make the Albert Dock complex the largest set of Grade 1 Listed Buildings in the UK. |
