Douglas Harbour () is located near Douglas Head at the southern end of Douglas, the capital of the Isle of Man. It is the island's main commercial shipping port. The Port of Douglas was the first in the world to be equipped with radar.Ramsey Courier, Friday, 5 March 1948; Page: 3
Description Douglas Harbour is composed of the Outer Harbour and the Inner Harbour separated by the Bascule Bridge and Flapgate. There is a sea terminal building at the north-east end of the harbour, co-located with the harbour control.
The Outer Harbour features two jetties, four piers, eleven berths, and an area designated for lifeboats. The piers are: Princess Alexandra Pier Battery Pier King Edward VIII Pier Victoria Pier
The two jetties are: Fort Anne Jetty Oil Jetty
The Inner Harbour allows access and berthing of small vessels.
Traffic By tonnage, the port's primary traffic is from the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company fleet.
In the vicinity of the Sea Terminal are the following stations/stops which facilitate passenger transport connections: Bus Vannin - Lord Street (A1) Depot (Stands A - E) near Parade Street (A11), serves most bus routes Bus Vannin - Loch Promenade Stop (Stands F, G) near Regent Street, serves Ramsey and intra-Douglas routes Isle of Man Steam Railway - Douglas Railway Station on Bank Hill near Lord (A1) and Athol (A22) Streets. Douglas Bay Horse Tramway - Loch Promenade near Victoria Pier
By connecting with the appropriate bus or tramway, sea passengers may also transfer to the Manx Electric Railway to points north.
History
The earliest record of infrastructure for the use of Douglas Harbour dates back to 1660. From about 1800, many things happened to open up the island to more traffic.Island Lifeline. Connery Chappell, (1980) In 1760 construction of what amounted to a pier was begun, however it was wrecked in a severe storm before work was completed. Then the sides of the small Douglas River basin were shored up, and there was another try to extend some sort of protective structure out to sea; but this again failed. In 1787 the pier was reduced to rubble following a series of winter storms, and so for many years Douglas Harbour was fully exposed to easterly gales, whilst in the bay the perilous Conister Rock claimed many victims.
By 1815 sail was giving way to steam. The first steamer called at the island on its voyage from the Clyde to Liverpool, and in 1819 James Little opened the first steamship service to the island, with Douglas as a port of call between Liverpool and Greenock. A year later this service was augmented, with three ships appearing on the station - these being the Robert Bruce, the Superb and the Majestic..Journal of The Manx Museum, Friday, 1 January 1971; Page: 29 With the sailings of these vessels augmented by the arrival of the City of Glasgow, the full journey from the Mersey to the Clyde via Douglas could be made in 25 hours.
By 1833 passenger traffic had undergone a remarkable process of progressive development, and due to the imposition of the Passenger Tax accurate passenger records became available. In the 1830s arrivals at Douglas were under 100,000 but increased steadily throughout the century, peaking at over 650,000 by 1913.Mona's Herald, Tuesday, 26 May 1936; Page: 6
Red Pier Work on the Red Pier commenced in 1793 and was completed in 1801, the foundation stone being laid by John Murray, 4th Duke of Atholl, following his appointment as Governor General of the Isle of Man.
Construction The Red Pier was designed by George Steuart, a Scotsman who had long been under the patronage of the Dukes of Atholl, and who carried out a number of important commissions in the Island. The Red Pier, paid for by the British Treasury, cost £25,000 (). The pier was long, and was driven out to the limit of low water, extending more than 50 yards beyond the end of the old wrecked pier which had preceded it. The pier and its associated public buildings were constructed with stone imported from the Isle of Arran off the west coast of Scotland. The stone was a distinct reddish colour, and this gave rise to the pier's name. In its offices passenger arrivals and departures could be logged, and there could be checks for smuggled goods which in the early 19th century were commonplace between the Isle of Man and the United Kingdom. In addition to the construction of the pier there were also a courthouse and a temporary gaol.
Opening ceremony The Red Pier was officially opened in 1801. The opening ceremony was led by the Duke of Atholl, who had laid the foundation stone in 1793. The construction was the first public works scheme to be carried out on the Isle of Man in many years, and the ceremony was said to have been an occasion for immense civic pride. Contemporary reports state that almost every inhabitant of the town attended; many took the opportunity to walk on the pier, which was then the nearest thing to a promenade in the town. .
The Red Pier allowed passengers to disembark from a steamer more readily at high tide, but until 1871, passengers sometimes had to board rowing boats in order to be ferried to any vessel lying off. The reverse applied when they were disembarking. The scene could be chaotic, and quite often in winter, passengers would reach the Red Pier from the vessel soaking wet and exhausted.
Owing to its openness to swell generated by easterly winds, there were many shipwrecks in Douglas Bay and the surrounding area. This culminated in the heroic rescue of the crew of the SS St. George by Sir William Hillary and the crew of the Douglas lifeboat on 20 November 1830.
Douglas Breakwater
Origins Sir William Hillary had campaigned for the construction of a Breakwater at Douglas so as to afford the harbour greater shelter and to provide a sheltered haven to ships plying in the Irish Sea.Manx Sun. Friday October 2nd, 1835 Sir William had written a comprehensive paper on the proposal prior to 1835, when more formal proposals were put forward, and design plans drawn up by Sir John Rennie. However, due to bickering no plans were proceeded with and despite campaigning by the Island's press progress in any direction was slow. Much of this was to do with rival proposals for the construction of breakwaters at Peel and Ramsey both of which, as was the case with Douglas, would ultimately rely on approval and funding from the Admiralty. Plans for the Douglas Breakwater were amended by Capt. Vetch but again these were subject to differing opinions and despite the requisite monies being available from 1851 and a further report submitted in 1859, it was not until 1861 that a further set of plans submitted by James Abernethy were approved by the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty.Manx Sun. Saturday January 18th, 1862.
Battery Breakwater The design incorporated landing berths with three platforms at different levels, adapted for loading and unloading at all stages of the considerable tidal range in Douglas with steps for the accommodation of passengers. The rubble stone for the construction was to be procured near the site and the design lent heavily of the Abernethy's previous designs at Blyth, Northumberland, the breakwater at Falmouth, and the piers at Watchet, Bristol Channel and Port Natal, South Africa.
Two breakwaters were initially to be constructed, a southern one and a northern breakwater. The costs submitted were £54,000 () for the southern breakwater and £28,500 () for the northern breakwater. The estimated time for construction for both structures was two years. This was later amended to construction of the southern breakwater only with the successful tender for the work received from Thomas Jackson of London and a final cost of £47,935 () agreed.Manx Sun. Saturday May 24th, 1862.
Work began in earnest in August 1862, when the brig Thomas Black arrived from London with machinery and a cargo of timber. Work was also cleared to proceed for the breakwaters at Peel and Ramsey with the contract also carried out by Thomas Jackson and with James Abernethy providing the services of a resident engineer and assuming the role of engineer-in-chief himself.Manx Sun. Saturday January 21st, 1863.
Whilst work slowed during the winter of 1862-63 the schedule was maintained, however an un-seasonal bout of easterly storms in mid-May 1863 caused slight damage to the work on the breakwater, but this was quickly put right with little or no disruption to the time scale.
Concerns were expressed by Abernethy as construction continued that the length as initially proposed could affect vessels departing the port during periods of strong southeasterly wind, with particular concern being the chances of a sailing vessel drifting onto the Pollock Rock or St Mary's Isle. Consequently, the drawings were amended and the construction shortened by . During May 1864, serious damage was sustained to the breakwater after supporting timber frames gave way as a consequence of the weight of stone placed on them. This was attributed in a report commissioned by the Harbour Commissioners to non-compliance with certain terms of the specification relative to the stone filling and particularly from neglect to form a homogeneous rubble mound to the level of below low water as the true base of the breakwater, hence the failure of the frames which were placed lower than 15 feet. The quality of the stone being used was also brought into question, with a request for sourcing a better quality in order to furnish the seaward face of the breakwater. In a letter to the Commissioners of the Isle of Man Harbours, Abernethy put forward a recalculated structure of a length of and with a revised cost of completion being £33,705 (£2,891,548 in 2014), (£13,116) less than the original contract sum. In addition a cost was submitted for the improving the roadway to the breakwater. This was submitted at £850 (£72,921 in 2014).
The breakwater sustained significant damage in early February 1865, when a storm described as "unequalled in its fury and unexampled in its effects"Manx Sun. Saturday February 4th, 1865 pounded the structure washing away many of the timber frames which ended up strewn on Douglas shore. This destruction led to serious questions being raised as to the design of the structure and of Abernethy's reputation. It was not until 7 March, that divers were able to inspect the base of the structure with their findings being that damage had been sustained as far as the 45th frame. The timber uprights had been snapped off however the rubble had not been displaced.Mona's Herald. Wednesday March 8th, 1865.
The breakwater was after this not continued with, as it was generally accepted that the calculations and more importantly the method of construction were wrong and that no benefit could be ultimately expected with its continuation. An easterly storm with associated snow on the night of Saturday 5 January 1867, swept away the remaining portion of the breakwater leaving the structure completely demolished.Mona's Herald. Wednesday January 9th, 1867.
Labourer Patrick MacAlinden was killed in the quarry adjoining the Douglas Breakwater on 1 January 1864.
Battery Pier After Abernethy's breakwater was destroyed, Governor Henry Loch commissioned more plans on behalf of the Isle of Man Government for a larger and more modern structure.Mona's Herald. Wednesday June 19th, 1867. Distinguished civil engineer John Coode was appointed to survey the area of Abernethy's breakwater and to submit his recommendations.
Surveys and charts On 7 and 8 March 1867, Coode inspected the shores around Douglas, and gave directions for an accurate and detailed survey of the southern portions of Douglas Bay, together with tidal observations and a complete series of soundings, in order to prepare drawings and estimates for the new breakwater.