Summary
Dock gateman's hut, about 1866, probably by John Bernard Hartley.
Reasons for Designation
The dock gateman's hut on Tower Road, constructed in around 1866, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
Architectural interest:
* its decorative design is both functional and aesthetic in equal measure, and would have been intended to make a statement about the status of Birkenhead's docks;
* it is little altered externally and retains its plan form and roof structure internally;
* it is an eloquent testament to the construction of Birkenhead docks as an inland system that enclosed a tidal inlet and required docks and locks for its operation.
Historic interest:
* it is an important tangible reminder of Birkenhead's second major phase of dock development in the 1860s, which led to Birkenhead becoming an internationally important centre for the meat and flour industries.
Group value:
* it has strong group value with nearby listed buildings and structures, such as the hydraulic generating station (1868), accumulator tower on the south side of the entrance to Alfred Dock (around 1860), pumping station to the east of Wallasey Dock (1886, extended 1908), two grain warehouses on Dock Road (both 1868), Egerton Dock (opened 1847, altered 1880s) and Morpeth Dock (1847, reconstructed and enlarged 1868) that together tell the story of the history and development of Birkenhead docks in the C19 and early C20.
History
The dockman's hut at Tower Road is believed to have been constructed about 1866 at the same time as Alfred Dock, and was most probably designed by John Bernard Hartley, the son of the famous dock engineer Jesse Hartley.
A plan for docks at Birkenhead was first proposed in 1823 by the shipbuilder William Laird, along with (Sir) William Jackson, palm oil merchant, and Sir John Tobin, a merchant, privateer and ship's master in the Transatlantic Slave Trade. The scheme proposed to construct docks in Wallasey Pool with an outlet to the River Dee rather than the Mersey, which was believed to be silting up. Alarmed by the threat of rival docks, the plan was thwarted by Liverpool Corporation when they bought the required land at the edge of the Pool. However, Liverpool Corporation sold the land in 1843 and plans for docks at Birkenhead were revived, with the proposals gaining parliamentary approval in 1844. James Meadows Rendel (1799-1856) was commissioned as engineer and the foundation stone was laid in the same year. The first stage of the docks was opened on the same day as Birkenhead Park on 5 April 1847.
Rendel's plan was to enclose the upper part of a tidal inlet known as Wallasey Pool (to be named the Great Float) and form a huge low-water basin at the entrance to the River Mersey. By the mid-C19 Liverpool Corporation, under the guidance and expertise of Thomas Hodgson and Jesse Hartley, had already established the fastest growing port in the world and had assessed that Rendel had no local knowledge and as yet had not had much dock construction experience. Their assessment proved to be correct as Rendel hit quicksand instead of rock, and rock instead of silt, and by 1847 the project was already in financial difficulty. By this date the money raised for the construction of 160 acres of enclosed dock had been used to construct just seven acres at Egerton and Morpeth docks. Rendel was subsequently replaced by James Abernathy, but progress remained slow and increasing financial difficulties led to the docks being taken over by Liverpool Corporation in 1855 and transferred to the Mersey Docks & Harbour Board in 1857. Jesse Hartley's son, John Bernard Hartley was commissioned as engineer and work continued, but to Hartley's revised plans, as much of Rendel's work was found to be unsafe and had to be rebuilt. Hartley succeeded his father as engineer to the Dock Board in 1860, but resigned in 1861 and was replaced by George Fosberry Lyster.
The Great Float partially opened in 1851 and was completed in 1860. It is divided into the East and West Floats by an 1861 bridge known as Duke Street Bridge. Alfred Dock to the east of the Great Float opened in 1866 and had originally been intended by Rendel as the site for his Great Low Water Harbour. Two hydraulic swing bridges and associated locks were constructed in the early 1860s at the eastern end of the Great Float (East Float) where it meets Alfred Dock, with gatesman's huts constructed alongside, which would have acted as an office/shelter for the bridge and lock operator(s). The gatesman's hut assessed here served the north bridge, whilst another now-demolished hut served the south bridge. The bridges originally spanned across three locks that were used to control water levels and reduce silting in the docks, and were separated by two islands, each with a smaller, circular gatesman's hut sat atop; the two sets of southern locks have since been removed, along with one of the islands, and the circular huts have both been demolished, but one of the northern lock gates (a modern replacement) remains. In the early C20 the north bridge was replaced by a bascule bridge. The bridge (now known as Tower Road Bridge) was replaced again by a modern bascule bridge in 2017/2018, and the southern bridge was replaced by a fixed deck.
A very small and low mid-C20 extension attached to the south-west corner of the dock gateman's hut, which is depicted on historic maps and in a photograph dating to 1951, has been removed.
Details
Dock gateman's hut, about 1866, probably by John Bernard Hartley.
MATERIALS: mellow red brick with sandstone dressings and slate roof coverings.
PLAN: the former dock gateman's hut is located on the west side of the Tower Road bascule bridge at the west end of Alfred Dock where it meets the East Float. The building has an octagonal plan with long sides on the north and south, and projecting entrances to four sides (north, south, east and west).
EXTERIOR: no inspection, information from other sources. The dockman's hut is a very small building with a brick and sandstone plinth and further sandstone dressings in the form of sills and lintels. Windows and four doorways are set to each of the building's sides and all have shallow pointed-arched heads and lintels, and the windows have deep angled sills. The south doorway forms the main entrance and has a modern steel access door, but in 2021 the three remaining entrances are boarded over. The building has a shallow polygonal roof that is hidden from view by a parapet and incorporates a dentilled eaves with two stepped tiers of dentils. A tall polygonal double-flue chimneystack rises from the centre of the north side.
INTERIOR: no inspection, information from other sources. The interior is understood to consist of two rooms that occupy the eastern and western halves of the building and which are accessed via a vestibule inside the south entrance. The ceiling in the eastern room has collapsed.
