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

One of four dry docks and a wet basin, an 1840s rebuild of an earlier structure, first built between 1690-5 to designs by Edward Dummer.

MATERIALS: granite and limestone ashlar.

PLAN: aligned on a north-east to south-west axis with a dock to the north-east and rectangular basin to the south-west. The mouth faces west towards the Hamoaze estuary.

DESCRIPTION: the dock is composed of altars stepped down towards the centre and slides located around the sides for the movement of materials. The dock walls are rounded at the dock heads and there are pedestrian steps down to the lower dock levels. The dock walls are inscribed at intervals with Roman numerals marking the height of the water.

SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: cast-iron bollards line the dock and basin. Most are late-C19 and are inscribed with letters VR; some bear the date 1897. There are also upturned muzzle-loading cannons which have been reused as bollards. There are also later capstans, including those by Cowans Sheldon and Co dated 1939.

There are a number of features within the footprint of the dock that are not of special interest due to their late date, plain design and level of intactness. The metal barriers composed of reused railway tracks, chain link fence, life ring stands, modern metal gangways and metal security fencing attached to the docks do not add to the special interest. Nor do the fragments of early-C20 dock rail track.*

*Pursuant to s.1 (5A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (‘the Act’) it is declared that the metal reused-railway-track barriers, modern chain link fences, life ring stands, metal security fencing, modern metal gangways , metal security fencing and the fragments of the early-C20 dock rail track are not of special architectural or historic interest.