CilAl*. VIII.
BRITAIN.
359
In the town of Ayr , Cromwell established a fortress.
Carlisle on the Eden is situated some distance beyond Mary port, which is at the mouth ofthat river, the banks of which are protected by stone quays and wooden piers.
Workington is a small port at the mouth of the Derwent, here crossed by a bridge ofthree arches, which does not interrupt the passage of small vessels to Cockermouth, a town on its banks, where the Cocker enters.
Whitehaven is a port with a lighthouse and mole, of considerable business, and the coalworks in the neighbourhood give employment to numerous coasting vessels.
Ravenglass , at the mouth of the Esk, has a deep gulf, extending to Ulverstone, where arenumerous manufactories.
Lancaster on the Logne has a harbour, whose entrance is obstructed by a bar thrown upby this torrent stream. On the left bank of the river there is a long quay for the accommo-dation of the shipping.
Preston , situated on the llibble, at a short distance from the sea, carries on a considerabletrade.
Liverpool , on the Mersey, ranks next to London in point of importance and commercialwealth, although Leland tells us that in his time (Henry VIII .), “ Lyverpoole, a pavedtowne, hatli but a chapel. Walton, a four miles off, not far from the Le, is parochechirch.” Irish merchants then resorted to it, on account of its small port dues. From thetime of William III . this place has continued to increase in importance. Situated on theeastern bank of the estuary, it has long been considered the key of its commerce: the rivergradually widens towards the sea, and at spring tides the water rises 30 feet, and at deadneaps only 13 feet.
The shore, however, is remarkably flat, and though vessels rode safely in the offing,it was found necessary to form a more secure place for them; and in the reign of QueenAnne the first floating dock for ships, called the Old Dock, was constructed; in the reignof George 11, the Salt House Dock was formed, and a pier erected.
In the following reign St. George’s Dock was formed; piers to secure the outer harbour,and two new lighthouses, were built. The King’s, Queen’s, and other docks have beensince added, as have graving-docks and dry basins for the convenience of the shippingresorting here.
These docks were the first constructed in England for the accommodation of merchandise,and consist of wet, dry, and graving; the latter, by means of flood-gates, can admit orexclude the entrance of water at pleasure.
The Old Dock is 198 yards by 85 yards; Salthouse Dock 213 yards by 102 yards;St. George’s Dock 246 yards by 100 yards; King’s Dock 272 yards by 95 yards;Queen’s Dock 280 yards by 120 yards.
The principal basin of the West India Dock measures 2600 feet by 510 feet, and is29 feet deep; contiguous to it is another of the same length, 400 feet wide; the firstcontains 30 acres, and will hold nearly 300 sail; the latter contains 24 acres, and is usedfor the vessels about to proceed outwards.
The London Dock, for unlading, is 1262 feet long, 699 feet wide, and contains about20 acres.
The East India Dock, for unlading, is 1410 feet long, by 560 feet wide, and contains18.‘ acres ; that for loading is 780 feet long, 520 feet wide, and contains 9^ acres.
Between all these docks there is a communication, so that vessels pass from one tothe other, and into the several graving-docks, without going into the river.
Large tunnels pass from one dock to the other, for the purpose of scouring them; sothat when a dock is to be cleansed, it is left dry at low water by closing the gates; thesluices are then opened in different directions, and a number of navigators enter withspades and shovels, to throw the mud into the channels or currents made by the sluices;this, continued for several days or a fortnight, once in the year, keeps them tolerably freefrom accumulation.
Formerly such an operation was effected by means of flat-bottomed boats, and thesluicing here introduced was a vast improvement.
The Bridgewater Dock is for the use of the barges that belong to the several canals.
The five old docks, without including the Bridgewater basin, and the two others, have3600 yards in length of quay, or a superficies of 28 acres. The dimensions of thesedocks were increased by the late Mr. Rennie to an area of 62 acres; this was effected bysuppressing one dock, enlarging three others, and constructing two new ones, one to thenorth, and the other to the south.
The new bridges are on the best principle, and the cranes of superior construction: thecapstans for opening and shutting the gates, the rollers and chains, are all of iron.
'Die distance between the quay at Manchester and these docks is 33 miles; ,but thechannel or natural course in the Mersey was 15 miles further; but this has been lessenedconsiderably, and reduced now to a little more than 41 miles.
At Manchester the river is 108 feet in width, at Warrington 140 feet, at Fidler’s