Dublin Port Archive

Photographic Collections

The Late Victorian Period entailed the consolidation of an era of expansion towards the mouth of the Liffey. This was the era of Bindon Blood Stoney, Chief Engineer from 1868 to 1898. He completed major port infrastructure as North Wall Quay Extension or Alexandra Basin.

The Late Victorian period marks an era of change in the port. The port authority was reconstituted in the Dublin Port and Docks Bord. Important infrastructure improvements were devised by the Chief Engineer, Bindon Blood Stoney. The river channel was deepened and widened, additional timber wharfs constructed and deep water quays were built in the north and south sides of the river using a ground-breaking method, employing concrete blocks, along with deep water berths for ocean steamers. The 19th century sought an unprecedented increase of ships size. In 1786, the total tonnage of vessels arriving at the port was about 300,000 tons. By 1836 this figure had increased to 400,000 tons. Stoney foresaw the need for deep-water berthing and in 1861 he put forwards his proposal to finish the construction of North Wall Extension. Thanks to him, the Great Eastern, the biggest ship built at the time with a draft of 30ft loaded, was able to berth there in 1886-1887.

He also rebuilt some of the most iconic bridges of the Liffey such as Essex (Grattan) Bridge and Carlisle (O’Connell) Bridge and designed the Beresford (Butt) Swing Bridge.