The Old Dock Historical Tide Heights - Liverpool,UK - UK Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

The board and fountain are one small part of Liverpool One, a major redevelopment project in Liverpool managed by Grosvenor, one of the world's largest privately-owned international property businesses.

Measuring the Tides

Jeremiah Horrocks was one of the remarkable scientists of the 17th Century. He had great interests in understanding ocean tides and verifying that tidal changes were closely related to variations in the moon's orbit.

He was born in Toxteth and died there aged 23.

William Hutchinson was a privateer captain, ship-owner, boat builder, commercial trader, inventor, author, philanthropist and the Dock-Master of the Old Dock.

His home was close to where you are standing.

For 29 years from 1764, day and night, he measured the heights and time of every high tide at the entrance to the Dock. His records are still being used in scientific research.

An extract of those records is carved into this pavement and the fountain represents the cycle of the tides and phases of the moon.

William Hutchinson's measurements of the tides were used by Richard and George Holden to derive the first relaible, publicly available tide table in the UK. They first appeared in 1770 and were published for over 200 years.

Liverpool is still one of the world's principal centres of sea level science, with the Poudman Oceanographic Laboratory.

Type of Historic Marker: Standalone metal board Historical Marker Issuing Authority: Grosvenor Related Website: [Web Link] Give your Rating: Age/Event Date: Not listed

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