Port of Gloucester - 400 years - Commercial Road, Gloucester, UK
N 51° 51.863 W 002° 15.074
30U E 551558 N 5746219
This plaque is on the north west wall of a building that stands between Commercial Road and the Gloucester Docks. The plaque was for the 400th year of the Gloucester having a Docks charter.
Waymark Code: WMKEEA
Location: Southern England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 03/31/2014
Views: 3
The plaque, that has curved corners, a white edge and grey background, tells us:
1580
This plaque was unveiled by
HRH Duke of Gloucester GCVO
on the 21st June 1980 to commemorate
the 400th anniversary of the granting
to the City of Gloucester
the status of a port by Royal Charter
dated 20th June 1580
1980
The Gloucester Docks website tells us:
Gloucester was given the formal status of a port by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I in 1580. From that time, the coastline of the Severn estuary north-east of the Aust/Beachley area came under the jurisdiction of a new custom house at Gloucester. This meant that vessels could trade directly between Gloucester and foreign ports without having to call in at Bristol custom house, which had previously been responsible for the area. Gloucester Corporation hoped to benefit from the new status because they collected dues on goods handled at Gloucester's riverside Quay. In practice, however, few foreign-going vessels were seen at the Quay because of the difficulties of navigating the shallow tidal stretch of the River Severn approaching the city.
The opening of the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal in 1827 allowed ships to bypass the difficult stretch of river, and so considerable trade developed with foreign ports. To supervise this better, a new custom house was built in the docks area in 1845. After the new dock at Sharpness was opened in 1874 to accommodate the larger ships then in use, cargo handling activities gradually declined at Gloucester, and in due course customs administration moved to Sharpness.