Graving Dock No.2, Clarendon Quay, Belfast, Co Antrim, BT1 3AL

Graving Dock No.2, Clarendon Quay, Belfast

An early nineteenth-century graving dock, still in active use, aligned east-west at right angles to the west side of Clarendon Dock, positioned north of the earlier No.1 graving dock. It has a sub-rectangular plan with a rounded west end and a lock gate at its east end providing access to and from Clarendon Dock.

The north, west and south sides comprise sandstone steps descending to the dock's flat bottom, historically used to support timber props while vessels were in dock. The step risers on this dock are both sloped and deeper than those on No.1 dock, with a slightly wider step towards the bottom. Inclined slides run down the sides for bringing equipment and materials to and from the dock bottom during ship repairs. Two such slides are positioned at the west end, with one along the middle of each side. Each slide is accompanied by a flight of steps descending to the bottom, fitted with single-bar metal handrails. The middle slide on the north side and one of the pair at the west end have metal chain guards along the dock's edge, though winches are no longer present. The middle stairs on both north and south sides have quarter-turn balconies of concrete, which are clearly later modifications. Additional stairs descend at the east and west ends of both sides.

At the east end stand a pair of slightly curved timber lock gates. A cantilevered metal footway runs across the tops of the gates on their outside faces, equipped with five-bar steel handrails on either side. This footway facilitates movement across the dock and provides access to threaded rods for operating the two vertical sluices in each gate, used for filling the dock once a vessel is inside and the gates are closed. Each gate is operated by a hand winch mounted on its dock side for closing and a corresponding winch on its seaward side for opening. Unlike No.1 dock, the chain connecting each winch to its gate is ducted through an underground culvert that emerges below the water line. The side walls on the seaward side of the gates are constructed of sandstone blocks laid to courses, with recesses to accommodate the gates and smaller recesses for the sluice gate mechanisms. Vertical slots at the outer end of the side walls held stop timbers that could be dropped into place when the gates required maintenance. A depth gauge calibrated in metres and decimetres is mounted on the dock.

Safety provisions include a railing comprising two detachable chains supported on slender cast-iron posts. Low cast-metal mooring bollards are positioned around the dock sides. Four swan-neck cast-iron lamp standards line the south side; these were originally gas-lit but are now electrified. A modern lamp standard stands at the southeast corner. In recent decades, the dock has been emptied by an electric pump housed in a small building just south of the east end.

The area to the south of the dock is paved with sandstone flags, while granite cobbles deck the north side. Clarendon Dock lies immediately to the east, connected via a lock to Belfast Lough. A former pump house, later refurbished as offices for Laganside Corporation, stands parallel to the dock on its south side. Several modern buildings have been erected just beyond the north side. At the southeast end stands an 8.3-metre high bronze and stainless steel sculpture titled 'Dividers' by Vivien Burnside, commissioned by Laganside Corporation and erected in 2002. The functioning pump house serving both docks stands between their east ends.