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King's Wharf on the Quay
Page updated 7 July 2009
These
two prominent
warehouses on the quay
were
built in 1834 and
1835 following the enlargement of the canal and the construction of
the canal basin in 1830 by James Green. The Warehouses' acted as the
backdrop for a 19th century Liverpool Dock in the BBC's Onedin Line in the 1970's.
In September 1988 they were converted into prestigious office accommodation with a glass walled atria and hydraulically driven lift, bridging the gap between the buildings.
Pre-cast reinforced concrete was used for the staircase, fixed directly to the existing structures. The architect responsible was Lucas, Roberts and Brown Partnership. The ground floor space is used for retail, as a centre for hiring bicycles and canoes and the Waterside pub and pizza house.
The grey warehouse on the left was originally designed and built by Robert Cornish the Younger in 1834. It is constructed of Pocombe limestone from Torquay. In 1972, the building was the reception area for the Maritime Museum before it was converted into luxury apartments.
The warehouse on the right was built a year later, in 1835 from red Heavitree sandstone, by Messrs. Hooper. Between each of the five bays is a thicker buttressing which was designed to carry the iron cranes that could be swung out and used to haul goods to the upper floors.
A plaque on the wall of one reads:
THE
PORT OF EXETER
Since Roman times Exeter traded from the quay,
first by river then from 1566, through the Exeter Canal, the earliest
in the country. These warehouses date from 1835.
Kings Wharf when it was a
working facility.
King's
Wharf as Liverpool Dock during the filming of the Onedin Line.
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