Royal Albert Dock
Stephanie Heneghan
The largest group of Grade I-listed buildings in the UK; the red-brick former warehouses that comprise Royal Albert Dock Liverpool were built in the 1840s by Jesse Hartley, an engineer with architectural flair. Designed to store “high value bonded goods”, they fell into disuse in the 1950s and by the 1970s were earmarked for demolition. Luckily, instead, they were brought back to life, with the first phase of development completed by 1984. The subsequent move here by the Tate – it opened Tate Liverpool in 1988 as celebrated architect James Stirling converted the warehouse into a gallery – cemented an altogether brighter future not only for the Albert Dock but the until-then disused waterfront as a whole.
There’s plenty to do here. The star attraction is undoubtedly the Tate’s northern outpost but alongside that gallery there is the award-winning Beatles Story, Merseyside Maritime Museum and the International Slavery Museum. There are several shops offering souvenir gifts, and a selection of cafes and restaurants suiting varying budgets and tastes along the waterfront.
