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Inner Dock
Inner Dock
View this story in pictures
Inner And Outer Dock
Southampton's first dock, the Outer Dock, was opened in 1843 and
traffic grew rapidly. The nearby railway station meant that trade
at Southampton increased quickly so more quay space was needed. The
Dock Company decided to build a new dock.
Inner Dock
The Inner Dock was the only non-tidal dock in the area; access was
only available through a dock gate leading to the Outer Dock.
Because the dock basin was non-tidal, it was only open to ships for
six hours every day. The dock was opened to shipping in 1851, even
though it was incomplete.
Inner And Outer Dock
Almost immediately, work to deepen the dock was started; the
entrance was made wider and the dock was finally finished in 1859.
The first vessel to use the dock after reconstruction was
P&O's Pera. The dock was mainly used for landing
timber, grain and fruit. Berth 13 was equipped with a coal depot.
Berths 14-16 had facilities for discharging fruit. An auction sales
room was built at the quayside so that fruit could be sold and
transported on soon after it was landed at the docks.
Outer Dock Development (Princess Alexandra Dock)
In 1963 the Outer Dock was redeveloped to provide new facilities
for the new cross-Channel vehicle ferries. The Inner Dock was
filled in and storage areas and car parks were built on the
reclaimed land. When the ferry services stopped in 1984, the area
became part of the Ocean Village leisure complex.
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