Scale: 1:1600. Topographic model of the docks in the port of Liverpool, Lancashire (circa 1880). The model is complete with a selection of the various craft that use the docks from the sailing Mersey ‘Flats’ to the large North Atlantic liners.

The great port of Liverpool was at a peak of growth and activity in the late Victorian period. It had been founded by King John in about 1207 as a port from which to attack Ireland, and remained small until around 1600 when the channel of the River Dee leading to Chester began to silt up. With the Industrial Revolution, Liverpool’s trade greatly expanded and the docks developed along the riverbank to what is now the Pierhead, and down river. The docks became so big that a massive sea wall was built to protect them and once ships had entered via a halfway basin or locks (the Langton lock entrance from the Mersey is depicted in the model) they could traverse them by way of cuttings with swing bridges moving out of their way. Cargo working areas were frequently sited in one of the arms or branch docks. Sheds were built close to the quay edge so that cargoes could be worked under cover. Canal, rail and road systems linked the docks with the industrial heart of England.