A talk by Ray Wilson on Saturday 30th October 2021 at 2.30pm
Ray (Secretary of the Gloucestershire Society of Industrial Archaeology) is well known to members. He is following up his memorable talk to members last year on Sharpness Docks with an illustrated journey round another similar site – Gloucester Docks.
Gloucester Docks developed rapidly at the beginning of the 19th century with the opening of the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal. The very fine surviving brick built warehouses are a testimony to the prosperity brought to the city by the large imports of grain in the middle of the century. However the opening of Sharpness New Docks in 1874 sent Gloucester Docks into terminal decline. Against the odds, the collection of warehouses survived the 20th century and in recent years has been the focus of several ambitious regeneration projects in the docks.
This fully illustrated talk looks at the development of the port along with its buildings, people, vessels, railways and the goods handled. It will also show the major changes that have occurred in recent years and finally consider what might happen in the future.