Graving Drydocks Reflections

This morning I stopped off at the Graving Drydocks on the way into work. Last week the Pump House of the former Glasgow docks survived two deliberate fire attacks.

This is a view from the docks looking towards the Science Centre and the Glasgow Tower.

There is a petition to save the Govan Graving Docks at Clydebrae Street in Glasgow to create a shipbuilding heritage park on the site. As much as possible of the existing dock structure should be retained, including the renovation of the pump house building as a café and visitor centre.

The site is Category-A listed and identified in the Register for Scotland as being at risk. It is a significant part of the city’s industrial heritage however since closing down it has fallen into disrepair through years of neglect. It consists of three large drydocks that were the largest in Europe and capable of accommodating the largest ships in the world when they were built. The dock walls are of solid granite and despite showing much cosmetic wear they are likely to be structurally intact.

Most other docks in Glasgow have been filled in to make way for modern developments and this is one of the few remaining docks on the Clyde, apart from those still in operation, that have not been completely filled and built over. As such any modern developments that would destroy the character of the site should be ruled out.