Wellington Dock, Regent Road, Liverpool, Merseyside: Closure of the Dock Gates Archaeological Watching Brief

Wellington Dock is owned by Peel Ports Ltd and held on a long-term lease by United Utilities (UU). UU is currently seeking to develop an extension to the existing Liverpool Waste Water Treatment Works (WWTW) by constructing a new Sequencing Batch Reactor (SBR) within Wellington Dock (NGR 333530 392670). The development has entailed the infilling of Wellington Dock and the construction of new buildings in and around the dock. As part of the recommended mitigation measures for this development, Oxford Archaeology North were commissioned to undertake a scheme of historic building recording of Wellington Dock to English Heritage Level 3 standards to provide a record of the structure in its current form and setting. Following the completion of this part of the project (OA North 2011) it was determined that an intermittent watching brief to monitor preparations for the infilling of the dock would be required. This short document deals with the final closure of the Wellington Dock Gates.
Wellington Dock (Fig 1) was constructed as part of the northern expansion of the Liverpool Docks, under the renowned Dock Engineer, Jesse Hartley. The dock and its half-tide dock, were originally constructed in 1848 and opened in 1851 and were used to receive mixed cargo, principally that imported from the Americas (Baines 1859, 52).