 | This article needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(March 2022) |
| Bramley-Moore Dock | |
|---|---|
 Dock gates on the Dock Road | |
| Location | |
| Location | Vauxhall,Liverpool,United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 53°25′30″N3°00′11″W / 53.4250°N 3.0030°W /53.4250; -3.0030 |
| OS grid | SJ334924 |
| Details | |
| Owner | Everton FC[1] |
| Operator | Mersey Docks and Harbour Company |
| Opened | 4 August 1848[2] |
| Type | Wet dock |
| Joins | |
| Area | 9 acres (3.6 ha), 3,106 sq yd (2,597 m2)[3] |
| Width at entrance | 60 ft (18 m)[3] |
| Quay length | 935 yd (855 m)[4] |
  Bramley-Moore Dock Location within Merseyside | |
| Owner | Everton FC |
|---|---|
Bramley-Moore Dock was a dock on theRiver Mersey inLiverpool,England, and part of thePort of Liverpool. The dock is located in the northern dock system in Liverpool'sVauxhall area, and was connected toSandon Half Tide Dock to the north andNelson Dock to the south.Jesse Hartley was the architect. The dock opened in 1848.
The dock was infilled withEverton FC's new home ground,Everton Stadium, being constructed on the dock with a 2025 opening date scheduled. The Club received planning approval for a 52,888 capacity stadium which is set to be opened in time for the start of the 2025/26 football season.[5] The project was cited as one of the reasons for the revocation of Liverpool'sWorld Heritage Site status as theLiverpool Maritime Mercantile City, with theWorld Heritage Committee stating that the project was one of the developments which had resulted in a "serious deterioration" of the historic site.[6]
The dock was opened on 4 August 1848,[2] as part of Jesse Hartley's major northern expansion scheme of that year, and was named after and opened byJohn Bramley-Moore, chairman of the dock committee at the time.[1][2] When built, Bramley-Moore Dock was the most northerly part of the dock system.[2] At the time, access to theRiver Mersey was from the south, through the newNelson andSalisbury Docks, which were all commissioned simultaneously. When built, Bramley-Moore Dock was used for the largest steamships of the era.[7]
In 1851, further docks were opened to the north. These includedWellington Half Tide Dock, which gave a second access point for Bramley-Moore into the Mersey. The berthing of the larger ships was moved to the newSandon Dock andHuskisson Dock within a few years of opening because of the ease of access to the river these docks offered. Around 1900, the Wellington Dock and the adjoining Sandon Dock were realigned, with thehalf tide dock separated asSandon Half Tide Dock, as it remains today.
Although a mixed-use dock, with one of the original transit sheds still in place, Bramley-Moore did extensive coal trade.[8] The coal handling included both coal for export and bunker coal forsteamships in the port, transported from theSouth Lancashire Coalfield. A high-level railway opened in 1857 to transport coal directly to the north quay.[8] The high-level railway was connected by viaduct to the adjacentLancashire and Yorkshire Railway line.[9] The high-level railway was operational from 1856 to 1966.[7]
After the decline in coal-fired steamships, the dock continued to export coal. Following the demise of coal mining in South Lancashire, and most of the UK, the export market for coal dissolved with the dock ceasing coal exports in 1988.[8]
Bramley-Moore Dock is the location of one of Liverpool's brick-builthydraulic accumulator towers.[10] The Grade II listed tower is in severe disrepair with Everton's plans for a new stadium including the commitment to invest in heritage and repair and restore the tower for public use. The tower providedhydraulic power to dock gates and lifting equipment but is no longer active.
In 2007, thePeel Group, owners of theMersey Docks and Harbour Company, unveiled the £5.5 billionLiverpool Waters regeneration programme. Bramley-Moore Dock is encompassed in the 150-acre (0.61 km2) site.[11]
Bramley-Moore Dock is the most northern of the docks within the formerLiverpool Maritime Mercantile CityWorld Heritage Site and the planned Liverpool Waters and the most southerly of the working docks.[12] The hydraulic tower and dock retaining walls areGrade II listed buildings.[1][13] Bramley-Moore Dock may have been listed as World Heritage Site but sits behind locked gates, semi-derelict with no access to the public, its heritage assets are decaying and is next door to a waste water treatment plant.[14]
In March 2017 agreement was reached between Liverpool City Council,Everton F.C. andPeel Holdings to acquire the dock for a newfootball stadium.[15] A planning application was submitted in December 2019,[16] with approval granted by the city council in February 2021 for development of a 52,888 capacity stadium.[17][18] Everton's plans were stated as delivering a £1.3bn boost to the economy,[19] create more than 15,000 jobs,[20] attract more than 1.4m visitors and act as a catalyst for £650m of accelerated regeneration.[19] At the planning meeting Everton also committed to investing up to £55m[20] to repair, preserve, restore and open up Bramley-Moore Dock's heritage assets.
In July 2021,Liverpool Waterfront'sUNESCO World Heritage status was revoked. A report from theWorld Heritage Committee described the forthcoming Bramley-Moore Dock development, along with theLiverpool Waters project, as having caused an "irreversible loss of attributes".[6]
Ground was broken on the project in August 2021.[21] A first test event was held in February 2025, and Everton are due to fully move ito the stadium in time for the start of the2025-26 football season.[22]
