Glasson Dock, Thurnham, Lancaster, England
This is an unused P. Frith & Co. Ltd. card featuring a photograph of Glasson Dock, located in Thurnham, Lancaster, England. The title “Glasson Dock” and GNDK 42 are just off center at the bottom on the front of the card. The photographer is not listed.
The small village of Glasson Dock, also known as Glasson, is located at the mouth of the River Lune in Lancashire, England. Originally it was a community with farming and fishing as the main occupations. As early as 1779 it was suggested that a dock or series of locks be built at Glasson to help ships navigate the River Lune to the port of Lancaster. Difficulties, lack of funding, design problems, resulted in continuing delays. Finally in 1823 work began. The project involved building locks that would drop 52 ft or 16 m over 2.5 miles or 4 km. Due to financial problems the warehouses and wharves could not be built first. As a result, trade on the canal was slow.
By 1830 over 10,000 tons of goods passed through the dock. The locks were 14 ft or 4.3 m wide, so smaller ships did not have to move cargoes to canal boats but could sail through. The goods included slate, timber, potatoes, and grain. Then in 1883 the dock was connected to the railway in Lancaster. Passenger services stopped in 1930 but goods continued until 1964.
The trackbed is now a linear park and cycleway. A limited amount of outgoing commercial traffic still uses the dock, including shipping coal to the Isle of Man and the Western Isles of Scotland. Incoming shipments include animal foodstuffs and fertilizer that is stored in sheds located on the dock side.
Because the River Lune has very little water during low tide, vessels can only enter during tidal windows. Currently the broken sea gate is under repair and not expected to reopen until sometime in 2026. In the meantime, a cofferdam will be installed this year (2025) and later removed when the repair work is completed on the gate. This will help lessen the impact on sailing during the 2025-2026 season. Glasson Dock is part of a hub connecting the Irish Sea, Morecambe Bay, the River Lune estuary, Glasson Marina, and the Lancaster Canal.
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