The Wet Dock

The Wet Dock is a canal wet dock and warehouse, likely built around 1775 for the Calder and Hebble Navigation Company. It is constructed from coursed stone and features a corrugated asbestos roof. The building has three storeys and measures seven bays wide by three bays deep.

The west front has a symmetrical facade with a central bay that is blind. The openings feature plain stone surrounds, and the windows have flat-faced mullions, although some mullions have been removed. Bays 3 and 5 include loading doors on each floor, with the ground and second-floor doors of bay 5 now blocked and replaced with 2-light windows. Bays 2 and 6 have 3-light windows, while bays 1 and 7 have 2-light windows; the first-floor window in bay 1 has been converted into a door for access to an iron crane attached to the left corner. The facade is supported by paired gutter brackets.

The rear of the building mirrors the front, while the right return features a central loading door on the ground and first floors. The left return, which faces the basin, has a tall central archway that provides access to the wet dock, flanked by 3-light windows with small pane glazing; the mullions of the left ground-floor window have been removed.

Inside, the central longitudinal bay forms the wet dock, supported by chamfered timber posts and large scantling beams. The first floor contains remnants of machinery suspended from the ceiling, along with trap doors on both the first and second floors. The roof is supported by elaborate trusses with vertical and diagonal members.

Historically, tenders were invited for the construction of the first warehouse on the basin in 1770, which is believed to be The Moorings (No 1). By 1778, another warehouse had been built, with additional warehouses planned in 1788 and 1792. The Wet Dock is listed at grade II* for being an exceptionally fine and well-preserved warehouse.