In
1999 TBPT were
commissioned by Forth Ports Plc. to compile a conservation plan for the
redevelopment of Dundee's historic docks. The area of the plan centred
around the two surviving wet docks, Victoria and Camperdown dating from
1865 and 1857 respectively, and the ancillary buildings which group
around them. Also of significance to the site are the harbour workshops
(1837), transit sheds (from 1865 onwards), six storey Clocktower
Warehouse (1877), swing bridges, graving dock and surviving dock
furniture. Together these elements represent the most complete area of
docks heritage in Scotland, with associations which make it significant
on a UK level. Victoria Dock is home to the Frigate Unicorn
which is
the oldest British warship still afloat.
The
port has a long
history of development and its fortunes have been inextricably linked
with those of the city. Much of this history is embodied in the
buildings that have survived through to the present day. Many of the
buildings are listed, some, including the two wet Docks, as category A.
Ironically the Frigate Unicorn, because it is movable, has no
protection. There was no conservation area status in place.
Since
the
redevelopment the Docks now house a number of new uses which include
leisure, retail, housing and a hotel. Many of the buildings were of an
age where they required considerable repair which, coupled with the
need to convert to new uses, made them extremely vulnerable. The
conservation plan was prepared to assess the significance of the site
and suggest policies aimed at retaining this significance.
Whilst
the buildings
were large, and on the whole robust, there were a number of subtleties
which any proposals for the site needed to acknowledge. The plan
suggested adopting a broad philosophical base in which the previous use
and associations should remain evident and the educational potential of
the site realised. A level of significance was attached to each element
of the site and a plan of action, split into the categories of urgent,
necessary and desirable works, was formulated.
Brief History of Dundee docks.
According
to Hannay
Thompson, (1912) Dundee had one of the few natural harbours on the east
coast of the United Kingdom. It is clear that the harbour was being
used for trade in the 11th century, with merchandise arriving for use
at the Abbey at Coupar Angus. One of the earliest written references to
a built harbour is in Robert the Bruce's Charter of 1329 which
mentioned a "free harbour" existing at the time.
In
1447 it was
proposed that the harbour be repaired and James II gave letters
ordaining that money be lifted from vessels using the port to help pay
for its ongoing maintenance.
A
storm in 1600
damaged the harbour so severely that an application was made to James
VI for assistance and he granted a letter under the Privy Seal to allow
a "towst", or tax, to be imposed over a period of 28 years to pay for
the necessary repairs (Hannay-Thompson 1912). Another storm in 1658
once again seriously damaged the harbour which at this time was of
sufficient size to hold at least one hundred vessels (Dundee Harbour
Trustees 1933).
By
1723 there was a
linen trade with England, trade with Norway, Danzig and Riga, and
imports of iron, tar, copper, pitch and timber from Sweden (McKean and
Walker 1984). However the harbour was still essentially a tidal basin
and as late as 1724 Daniel Defoe said of Dundee, that while being one
of the "best trading towns in Scotland£ it had "but an indifferent
harbour"(Torrie 1990 P.37).
In
1815 improvements
to the harbour were undertaken based on plans by Thomas Telford.
However it was not until the 24th of December 1823 that the West
Graving Dock was publicly opened. This was quickly followed by the
completion of the wet dock on the 24th of November 1825, named the King
William IV Dock. Principal imports were flax, hemp, tow, timber and
cotton, while principal exports were linen, thread, sail cloth and
cotton bagging.
By
1848 rough
protective walls had been placed around the Wet Dock, or Victoria Dock
as it had become known, and the Eastern Tidal Harbour, later to become
Camperdown Dock, had been built. The Customs House and Trustees Offices
were built in 1843 extended to the east in 1884 and to the south in
1938. This Customs House signified Dundee's success as at the time it
was one of the largest customs houses in Scotland. The Royal Arch was
built in 1849-50 to the neo-Romanesque designs of JT Rochead to
commemorate Queen Victoria's visit in 1844 and was located at the north
gap between the two old docks, the Earl Gray and the King William. The
arch was demolished between 964-7.
Although
started in
1833 by James Leslie to Thomas Telford's design, construction of
Victoria Dock had halted for a while during the 1840s due to a slump in
the textile industry and competition from the railways. Victoria Dock
as we know it today was only completed from 1869-75.
Dundee
Harbour Trustees, (1933) "Dundee
Harbour Trust Official Handbook." Dundee, Barrow and Co.
Ltd.
Hannay-Thompson,
J. (1912) "The Progress
and Development of the Harbour of Dundee." in Paton, A,
& Miller, A (Eds) "Handbook
and Guide to Dundee and District." Dundee, David Winter
and Son.
McKean,
C. & Walker, D. (1984) "Dundee:
An Illustrated Architectural Guide." Edinburgh, Pillan and
Wilson Ltd.
Torrie,
E. (1990) "Medieval
Dundee, A Town and its People." Dundee. Abertay Historical
Society Publication No. 30.
