53°25′16″N 2°59′55″W / 53.4210°N 2.9985°W / 53.4210; -2.9985

Stanley Dock Tobacco Warehouse
Map
General information
Town or cityLiverpool
Country England
Construction started1900
Completed1901
ClientMersey Docks Estates
Height125 ft (38 m)
Technical details
Size36 acres (15 ha)
Design and construction
Architect(s)A.G. Lyster

The Stanley Dock Tobacco Warehouse is a grade II listed building and is the world's largest brick warehouse, with a net floor area of 1.6 million square feet (148,644 square metres).[1][2][3] It is adjacent to the Stanley Dock, in Liverpool, England. Standing 125 feet (38 m) high, the building was, at the time of its construction in 1901, claimed to be the world's largest building in terms of area.[2][4][5] The 14 storey building spans across 36 acres (15 ha) and its construction used 27 million bricks, 30,000 panes of glass and 8,000 tons of steel.[1][5]

The overall design is by A. G. Lyster, the Dock Engineer, but Arthur Berrington almost certainly played a part. The warehouse was a late addition to the Stanley Dock complex and was built on land reclaimed from the dock. Stanley Dock is accessible from the dock system or by barge from the Leeds and Liverpool Canal which enters under Great Howard Street bridge.

With the decline of trade going through Liverpool, the warehouse fell into disuse in the 1980s and gradually into disrepair. More recently the building has featured in the Stop the Rot conservation campaign by the Liverpool Echo newspaper. Part of the ground floor of the warehouse was used for the Sunday Heritage Market. In 2010, local club promoter Sean Weaver held a warehouse rave on Boxing Day, which saw 2,500 people descend on the building. Acts included DJ Rolando, Kids in Glass Houses' lead singer Aled Phillips, Hatcha and Chrispy, as well as local DJs from the area.[6]

In 2014, Stanley Dock Properties, under the auspices of the Irish company who had previously transformed Belfast's Titanic Quarter, Harcourt Developments, put forward a proposal for the warehouse to be converted into 550 apartments accompanied by businesses, cafes and retail outlets on the ground floor.[7]

Between 2015–2021, Tobacco Warehouse was redeveloped into several hundred apartments as part of a larger development of the whole Stanley Dock site. The plans involved hollowing out the centre of the warehouse to create a garden-filled courtyard and the building welcomed its first residents in 2021.[8][9][10]

References

  1. ^ a b "The Stanley Dock Tobacco Warehouse". Liverpool World Heritage. Archived from the original on 4 December 2008. Retrieved 12 April 2008.
  2. ^ a b "Liverpool". World Heritage Site. Archived from the original on 23 April 2008. Retrieved 12 April 2008.
  3. ^ "Trading Places: A History of Liverpool Docks (Stanley Dock)". Liverpool Museums. Archived from the original on 28 October 2008. Retrieved 12 April 2008.
  4. ^ "Liverpool Docks". timbosliverpool.co.uk. Archived from the original on 13 May 2008. Retrieved 12 April 2008.
  5. ^ a b Nicholls, Robert (2008). Curiosities of Merseyside. The History Press.
  6. ^ "Tobacco Warehouse website". Archived from the original on 24 July 2012. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  7. ^ Belger, Tom (6 October 2014). "The Evening Read: Stanley Dock in Liverpool facing an exciting future". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 22 November 2015.
  8. ^ "Stanley Dock transformed". Liverpool Echo. 27 March 2007. Retrieved 12 April 2008. [dead link]
  9. ^ "£100m plan for tobacco building". Liverpool Echo. 6 September 2010.
  10. ^ "Dock market fear for jobs". Liverpool Echo. 6 September 2010.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Stanley Dock Tobacco Warehouse.
Buildings and structures in Liverpool, England
Categories