No 1 Basin and No 1 Dock, including associated bollards and capstans

No 1 Basin and No 1 Dock, including associated bollards and capstans, is a significant structure built in the 1840s, which is a rebuild of an earlier dock first constructed between 1690 and 1695 to designs by Edward Dummer.

The building is made of granite and limestone ashlar and is aligned on a north-east to south-west axis, featuring a dock to the north-east and a rectangular basin to the south-west. The mouth of the dock faces west towards the Hamoaze estuary.

The dock consists of altars that step down towards the centre, with slides around the sides for moving materials. The walls of the dock are rounded at the ends, and there are pedestrian steps leading down to the lower dock levels. Roman numerals inscribed at intervals on the dock walls indicate the height of the water.

Along the dock and basin, there are cast-iron bollards, most of which date from the late 19th century and are inscribed with the letters VR, with some bearing the date 1897. Additionally, there are upturned muzzle-loading cannons repurposed as bollards and later capstans, including those made by Cowans Sheldon and Co, dated 1939.

Inside the dock's footprint, there are features that do not hold special interest due to their later construction, plain design, and level of intactness. These include metal barriers made from reused railway tracks, chain link fences, life ring stands, modern metal gangways, and metal security fencing, as well as fragments of early 20th-century dock rail track.