Sharpness is one of the most inland ports in Britain and the 8th largest in the south west!
It is the gateway from the River Severn to the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal.
The Sharpness Canal Old Entrance was opened in 1827 and the sturdy tidal lock holds back the ravages of the River Severn. The canal is probably built to the designs of Thomas Telford, who is the awesome civil engineer behind the suspension bridge to Anglesey, the massive aqueducts, at Pontcysyllte and Chirk as well as the first decent roads, such as the A5.
The River Severn famously has the 2nd largest tidal range in the world – whoop!
The canal is 16 miles long and 16-18ft deep; built to enable big boats to reach Gloucester Docks and avoid the narrow and heavily convoluted stretch of the River Severn.
At this time, there were no warehouse or cargo facilities at Sharpness and the vessels had to progress up to Gloucester before they could unload. However, after the early 1860s many seagoing vessels had already become too large to use the canal, so the Canal Co concentrated on the development of the facilities down at Sharpness.
In 1874 the dock at Sharpness opened up and provided cargo-handling facilities, mainly for imported grain, thus relieving the canal and Gloucester of shipping traffic.
It is now run by the Canal & River Trust and information regarding the facilities can be found – HERE!
The former Harbour Master’s House remains prominently overlooking the tidal lock and is now grade II listed. It sports a pair of doric columns at the front door and its grandeur hints towards the former commercial importance of this site. Check out the Historic England entry regarding the architectural details – HERE!
Now-a-days, the site is a picturesque dwelling for pleasure craft with, views to die for. On a calm day the view across the River Severn is fascinating a glimpse over the edge of the retaining wall shows you how quickly the water is moving, so you can imagine the journey!
Check out a fascinating film from the BBC archive, showing how the port operated in 1978 – HERE!
Drive through the interesting and still active Sharpness Docks to reach a small area to park and walk down to the Old Entrance. If you have the time, walk along the Sharpness canal and see the listed canal markers en route!
Sharpness Docks, Gloucester
Sharpness is one of the most inland ports in Britain and the 8th largest in the south west!
It is the gateway from the River Severn to the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal.
The Sharpness Canal Old Entrance was opened in 1827 and the sturdy tidal lock holds back the ravages of the River Severn. The canal is probably built to the designs of Thomas Telford, who is the awesome civil engineer behind the suspension bridge to Anglesey, the massive aqueducts, at Pontcysyllte and Chirk as well as the first decent roads, such as the A5.
The River Severn famously has the 2nd largest tidal range in the world – whoop!
The canal is 16 miles long and 16-18ft deep; built to enable big boats to reach Gloucester Docks and avoid the narrow and heavily convoluted stretch of the River Severn.
At this time, there were no warehouse or cargo facilities at Sharpness and the vessels had to progress up to Gloucester before they could unload. However, after the early 1860s many seagoing vessels had already become too large to use the canal, so the Canal Co concentrated on the development of the facilities down at Sharpness.
In 1874 the dock at Sharpness opened up and provided cargo-handling facilities, mainly for imported grain, thus relieving the canal and Gloucester of shipping traffic.
It is now run by the Canal & River Trust and information regarding the facilities can be found – HERE!
The former Harbour Master’s House remains prominently overlooking the tidal lock and is now grade II listed. It sports a pair of doric columns at the front door and its grandeur hints towards the former commercial importance of this site. Check out the Historic England entry regarding the architectural details – HERE!
Now-a-days, the site is a picturesque dwelling for pleasure craft with, views to die for. On a calm day the view across the River Severn is fascinating a glimpse over the edge of the retaining wall shows you how quickly the water is moving, so you can imagine the journey!
Check out a fascinating film from the BBC archive, showing how the port operated in 1978 – HERE!
Drive through the interesting and still active Sharpness Docks to reach a small area to park and walk down to the Old Entrance. If you have the time, walk along the Sharpness canal and see the listed canal markers en route!
Sharpness Docks, Gloucester
