Glasson Dock.

We arrived down at Glasson Dock basin about 1530 and after a drop of soup. We decided to go out for a walk despite it being a little chilly and windy, but dry. We wanted to find the smokehouse. We had been there when we had visited by road and tasted their wares, and I think that was the last time I had had a kipper too. Glasson Dock is small but perfectly formed, and will have been very busy with visitors this warm Bank Holiday weekend I'm sure. The Basin can house over 200 vessels too.

Just by our mooring was this sign post. The Basin is a big expanse of water that has a lift bridge and lock down into the dock it's self

On the east wall of the basin was this sunken fishing boat. It seems that it had been there a long time, steadily getting into a worse condition before it finally sank in 2014.  You see this on the rest of the canal system where boats are left to get into such a poor condition that their end is inevitable. I assume that legislation means that C&RT, and other authorities, can not just remove a boat once it's licence etc hasn't been paid for a period and all the required steps have been gone through, and before it sinks and the costs of removing it from the canal, plus attendant pollution issues etc. 

This is the current Dalton Arms from the back on the road to the smokehouse. The Dalton Arms is named after the family that lived at the nearby Turnham Hall that were the land owners who sold the land for the dock to the Lancaster Port Commissioners.

This is what the front of the pub used to look like. To find the smokehouse pass round the back of the Dalton Arms and follow the signs round the port facilities.

The Port of Lancaster Smokehouse was started up about 40 years ago by a teacher who wanted to start a trout farm. It moved here from the Quay in Lancaster. They smoke all sorts of things as well as kippers and salmon, framed and wild. We had some smoked black pudding, that was lovely, as well as smoked English cheeses which were very different. There is something for everybody to be had, and I don't suppose anybody comes out empty handed.

http://www.alinapetrescu.com/jimsengineering.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=55:glasson-basin&catid=8:who-is-jim&Itemid=7

This aerial view of Glasson Dock must have been taken during the winter of 1975/76 as it looks like the Isle of Man Steam Packet ship 'King Orry' is moored up on the outside of east quay. She was bought new by the company in 1946 and ran as a passenger vessel for them until 1975. She was laid up in Glasson to await her fate, but in a storm in 1976 she broke adrift and grounded on the mud flats of the Lune. She was finally got off and was broken up in Kent. The dock was started in 1787 by building out the East Quay, where the 'King Orry' is moored. Eventaully the north quay was built in 1787 and the lock gate could be constructed and the dock opened commercially. It could take 25 merchant ships of the day. The dock was needed as the passage of ships to Lancaster up the Lune became too dangerous as the currents and sand banks made the passage of large ships more problematic.


By 1837 there was ship building taking place and around 50 ships were built. The most famous was the 'Ryelands' that was built in 1887 as a three masted schooner, but was used in the film of Treasure Island as the 'Hispaniola'. She was also the 'Pequod' in the film Moby Dick. She traveled as an aquarium and vistor attraction to Scarborough etc. She ended her days in Morecambe where she was burned out in 1970.

A graving dock was built to repair ships in 1840 and it continued until 1968 and it is now filled in. The Glasson Branch of the Lancaster Canal was connected to the Dock in the 1826 and 10,000 of trade was passing up it soon after, as well as the smaller vessels that didn't have to tranship cargoes but just sailed up the broad canal. The railway came to Glasson in 1880's and took much of the trade. The East Quay had to be extended to accommodate. The track has long gone but is now a cycle route along the Lune Estuary to Lancaster and beyond.

Ships where getting ever bigger and to allow vessels that would not fit in the dock to use the port the palce where the 'King Orry' was previously moored was made into an outside berth that dried out at low water. As the lock gate is only open for about 45 mins before HW and closed at HW there is not much of a window for ship's movements.

When the tide is out there is ample evidence of the reason for the bulding of the dock as there is very little water in the estuary, and very much mud too!

Despite the building of a port it never grew too big so there was not a massive increase in the population, or buildings to house the workers. Christ Church, Glasson was not built until 1840 but is Grade II listed. The Chancel and vestry were added in 1932. It is still in use and had a service for seafarers on the following Sunday.

By the time we got back to the boat the wind had dropped a little, but to facilitate leaving is turned 'Holderness' round just using the ropes. The wind was due to change direction over night which would make leaving the quay side difficult.