Coleraine Harbour

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

1. Riverside Quay and Transit Sheds
A 55m long quay (1A) projects into the river at the north end of the harbour complex. Reinforced-concrete deck over concrete piles, with vertical timber fenders and horizontal rubbing strake. Cast-metal bollards along edge. The bank, underneath and at the back of the quay, comprises a vertical concrete wall.
This quay is served by a crawler crane and also a 20-ton boat trailer to move yachts and cruisers from the quayside to an adjoining boat park and the transit sheds behind the quay for over-wintering.
The four transit sheds (1B) behind the quay are all large single-storey buildings with profiled metal roofs and wall cladding over steel frames on concrete-block base walls; large metal roller shutter doors. Traces of the track on which the Scotch derrick crane ran are still evident along the quay side of the sheds.

2. Harbour Office
A single-storey Portacabin-type building is situated at the entrance to the modern harbour. Shallow pitched profiled-metal roof, prefabricated glass-fibre walls over brick base, and casement windows.

3. Coleraine-Londonderry Railway
No traces of the former mainline railway and bridge survive. The line to its immediate east is now covered over by a boat park hardstand. The defunct Oil Jetty on the opposite side of the river marks the site of the bridge’s other end.

4. Brook Culvert
The Brook flows through Anderson Park and is then culverted under the Coleraine Harbour Commissioners' premises. It discharges into the Bann through two reinforced-concrete box culverts.

5. Slipway
A wide concrete slipway with piled sheet-steel sides projecting into the tideway. There are concrete steps and a vertical metal ladder down to the water along its upstream side.

6. Pontoons
Two pontoons adjacent to the former Potato Quay. The first is along the front of the quay and is a five-unit fibre-concrete pontoon which slides up and down on galvanised steel rails affixed to timber fenders up the front of the quay. Just downstream from it is an identical pontoon, also aligned parallel with the bank. It is secured with three cylindrical steel piles and is accessed by a galvanised steel truss gangway hinged at its top end. The first pontoon is accessed from this one.

7. Potato Quay and Transit Sheds
This now-disused 40m long quay (7A) projects from the right bank. Its reinforced-concrete deck rests on concrete beams projecting at right angles from the bank. Each of these beams is, in turn, supported on three concrete piles. There are also timber fenders along the outside faces of the quay. Cast metal bollards along edge of quay. The bank beneath the back of the quay is pitched with quarried stones.
Behind the quay are two conjoined transit sheds (7B), now derelict. Pitched steel truss-framed roof (cladding removed), concrete walls and large openings on W gables.

8. Bannside Wharf
This quay extends downstream for c.270m from the Millennium Bridge to beyond Dunnes Stores. Although the quay underwent at least 11 phases of development, only four are now physically evident.
The 160m section at the downstream end comprises the section built in 1939-40 and also the 1961-62 replacement of the former 1912-13 quay. Extending up to Dunnes Stores, it consists of a reinforced-concrete deck supported on two rows of concrete piles, with timber vertical fenders and horizontal rubbing strake. Cast-metal bollards. The bank underneath and at the back of the quay is sheeted with interlocking steel piles. The track of the former travelling crane runs parallel with edge of quay. This section is still in use by T-Met Recycling for loading scrap metal on to boats for export and is locally known as the Scrapyard Quay. A modern metal framed and clad shed is associated with this enterprise.
The next section is 85m long and extends upstream from Dunnes Stores. It is fronted with interlocking sheet steel pile, with a metal railing along the top. This is the most recent section, dating from when the Dunnes Stores car park was built in place of the former coal yards and transit sheds in the late 1980s.
The final 25m long section extends upstream to the Millennium Bridge. It formerly went as far as Coleraine Bridge, but this section was removed to make way for the new footbridge’s abutment. It is also of sheet pile construction and dates from 1930-31. Timber vertical fenders, horizontal rubbing strake, vertical metal ladder and metal handrail across the top. An automatic depth gauge has been added in the recent past. Dunnes Stores car park behind.
Near the west bank, opposite Dunnes Stores, is a timber post surmounted with a circular metal plate which marks the turning circle for vessels returning seawards. The maximum width of the river hereabouts is c.100m.

9. Coleraine Harbour Railway
Nothing of this railway now survives. The access road down to the T-Met’s premises at the N end of Bannside Wharf follows its line.

Setting
The harbour is bounded along its W side by the River Bann and to N by marshy ground which extends up to the mainline railway which crosses the Bann on a bascule bridge. Part of this ground is occupied by a sewage treatment works. Along its E side, the harbour is bounded by a housing estate and Anderson Park, beyond which is the main Coleraine to Portrush/ Portstewart road. Dunnes Stores and carpark delineate the side’s S end.

Historical information

For much of the 19th century, the port of Coleraine was administered by the Coleraine Town Commissioners. The 1830 and 1853 OS maps show a small quay c.30m long immediately downstream of the town bridge (the precursor of the present bridge) on the right bank of the Bann at the mouth of the Brook.
Under an Act of 1879, the Coleraine Harbour Commissioners were established specifically to run the harbour. This Act also empowered this new public body to raise finance for improvements along the tidal stretch of the Bann as far up as Coleraine Bridge (above this, the Lower Bann Navigation Trust had jurisdiction since 1859).
It was the Commissions who instigated the Barmouth Scheme from 1879 to 1888, whereby moles were constructed at the seaward entrance to the River Bann to improve access to the port.
The 1882 large-scale town map shows the quay to have been extended by c.15m northwards, but whether this was an action of the Town or Harbour Commissioners is uncertain.
In 1883-84, the Commissioners extended the quay once again, this time by c.105m and also built transit sheds alongside. This extension was significantly higher than the existing quay and was faced with stone except for a section at its downstream end which was of open piles
The rudimentary nature of the old quay next the bridge was always an issue and the Commissioners intended to raise it to the same height as the new one whilst the latter was being built. Lack of finance seems to have limited them to piecemeal repairs. In 1887, however, they were in a position to replace a 15m section next to the new quay.
Cargo handling facilities at the quay were further improved in 1892 with the opening by the Harbour Commissioners of a spur from the main Coleraine-Derry railway line. This did away with having to tranship goods to the railway station, some distance to the east.
In 1912, the quay was extended downstream yet again, this time by 45m, bringing the wharfage to c.195m. The next year, the 35m-long open-piled downstream end of the 1883 quay was also replaced. Additional goods transit sheds were also built alongside. Instead of timber piles, reinforced-concrete ones were used on both sections, to specifications drawn up by Messrs L.G. Mouchel & Partners Ltd of Westminster. At that time, the use of reinforced concrete was still in its infancy and Mouchel was one of the pioneers of its use.
In 1930-31, the surviving 70m of the 1884 timber wharf was replaced with sheet steel piling along its frontage. The older and much lower section nearest the bridge was also brought out into line with it, heightened and rebuilt with sheet steel piling. The river in front of the new quay was also dredged to improve access thereto. This work was carried out simultaneously with the upgrading to the moles at the Barmouth.
In 1939-40, the quay was extended downstream yet again, this time by 75m in reinforced-concrete piling, and bringing the total length of the quay to 270m. At the same time, the harbour railway was also upgraded and extended to run alongside the new quay. This work was carried out by the Royal Engineers as part of the war effort.
The post-war era brought a marked increase in traffic through the harbour. In the 1950s, there were at least 300 ships per year, with a peak of 449 vessels in 1955. Imports at that time included timber, coal and fertilizer; potatoes were the main exports.
In 1953-54, a separate 130ft reinforced-concrete piled quay and associated transit sheds were constructed just downstream from the existing quay on ground reclaimed through dredging in the late 1930s. It was built primarily for the exportation of potatoes and for that reason is known as ‘Potato Quay’.
In 1961-62, the entire 80m length of the concrete quay of 1912-13 was totally rebuilt with reinforced-concrete piles. The metalwork of the original ones had rusted in places and caused the concrete to spall and weaken the structure.
Much of the harbour’s post-war decline can be attributed to the modernisation of the ports along the east coast, notably Belfast, Larne and Warrenpoint. Moreover, the upgrading of the province’s roads, improvements in bulk transportation, containerisation, and the inception of roll-on/roll-off ferries have all made Coleraine and its hinterland just as serviceable from the east coast as via the River Bann. The decline in traditional cargoes through the port is reflected in the abandonment of the harbour railway in 1966, three years after the departure of the last train.
Despite the decline in traditional goods, the harbour did attract specialist cargoes in the wake of new industries such as Chemstrand being established in the town. Liquefied naptha was also imported for the new town gasworks.
The years 1985-86 saw the last major addition to the harbour in the form of a 55m long piled reinforced-concrete wharf and associated storage sheds at Riversdale, just downstream from the Potato Quay.
In the late 1980s, most of the piled metal sheet quay of 1931 (just downstream from the bridge) was abandoned. It was completely re-piled with sheet steel to form the frontage of a car park for the Bannside Wharf shopping centre
As a result of the River Bann Navigation Order (NI) 2002, the remit of the Commisioners now comprises the river downstream from the Millennium Footbridge (opened in 2001) to 500m beyond the Barmouth. The mid-1980s’ Riversdale Quay is now the focus of their operations. The piled concrete quays erected in the 1930s and ‘60s are also still in use, having been leased by the Commissioners to T-Met, a metal recycling firm, for the export of scrap metal.
The latest development, in late 2010, has been the abandonment of the 1954 Potato Quay to make way for pontoons and slipway in front of it for leisure cruisers. A second pontoon, also for recreational use, has also been built on the Waterside bank just below Coleraine Bridge.
For ease of description, the harbour complex will be split up into its constituent components, from N to S: (1) Riverside Quay and transit sheds, (2) Harbour Office, (3) Former Coleraine-Londonderry Railway, (4) Brook Culvert, (5) Slipway, (6) Pontoons, (7) Potato Quay and Transit Sheds, (8) Bannside Wharf, and (9) Harbour Railway.
For clarity, the specific history of each of these features will be recapped.

1. Riverside Quay and transit sheds
Riversdale Quay (1A) was built by the Commissioners in 1985-86. It was the last major development of the port and is now the only part still operated by them. The quay was originally served by a travelling Scotch derrick crane but this was scrapped c.2005 in favour of a crawler jib crane. Behind the quay are four transit sheds (1B) built at the same time.

2. Harbour Office
The harbour office, at the entrance to the port, was built in the 1990s to replace the previous office where Dunnes Stores now stand. It was supposedly a temporary building, but has become permanent.

3. Coleraine-Londonderry Railway
The original railway between Coleraine and Derry originally crossed the River Bann downstream of the original harbour on a lattice truss bridge which was opened in 1860. A pivoting middle section allowed boats to pass through. With the realignment of the railway and opening of the present Bann Railway Bridge further downstream in 1924, this bridge was abandoned and subsequently dismantled. A boat storage hardstand was latterly built over the former line at the harbour end of the bridge.

4. Brook Culvert
The Brook (also known as the Lodge Burn) supplied the former 16th century Manorial Mill on the west side of what is now Railway Street. It originally discharged into the Bann just downstream from Coleraine Bridge but was realigned along its present course when the quay was extended by the Coleraine Harbour Commissioners in the 1880s. The section nearest the river was culverted under the present quay in the later 1900s.

5. Slipway
This slipway is part of the Commissioners’ new marina and was constructed by them in 2011.

6. Pontoons
This pontoon was installed by Commissioners in 2011 at the front and side of the Potato Quay and, with the above slipway, forms part of the marina.

7. Potato Quay and Transit Sheds
This quay (7A) was built by the Commissioners in 1953-54, primarily for the export of potatoes, along with adjoining transit sheds for their storage (7B).

8. Bannside Wharf
The multi-phase development of this quay has already been noted above. As it now stands it dates from the 1930s to ‘80s. The adjoining Dunnes Stores and its adjoining car park stand on the site of three coal yards (Kelly, Watt and Dalzell,), transit sheds, and previous Harbour Office, all of which were cleared to facilitate this redevelopment. The section of quay immediately downstream from Dunnes Stores is still in use for the export of scrap metal from an adjoining scrap depot.

9. Coleraine Harbour Railway
A spur off the main Coleraine-Derry railway was built by the Coleraine Harbour Commissioners in 1892 to serve their recently-built quay extension. Even when the main line was rerouted over the new Bann Bridge in 1924, a section of the original line was retained to maintain the connection between the harbour and railway station.
The line was lengthened in 1941 to serve the 1939-40 quay extension. The existing line was also relaid to take heavier rolling stock and the bridge over the Brook rebuilt. This spur was last used in 1963 and officially abandoned in 1966.

References – Primary Sources:
1. PRONI OS/6/5/7/1. First edition OS map, Co Londonderry sheet 7 (1830).
2. PRONI OS/6/5/7/2. Second edition OS map, Co Londonderry sheet 7 (1850).
3. PRONI OS/9/24/1/4. Coleraine town map scale 1:500 (1882).
4. PRONI OS/9/24/1/8. Coleraine town map scale 1:500 (1882).
5. PRONI OS/8/6/2/1. Coleraine town map scale 1:1056 (1904).
6. PRONI OS/8/6/2/3. Coleraine town map scale 1:1056 (1904).
7. PRONI OS/10/5/7/3/2. OS 25-inch map, Co Londonderry sheet 7-03 (1922).
8. PRONI OS/10/5/7/7/2. OS 25-inch map, Co Londonderry sheet 7-07 (1922).
9. PRONI OS/10/5/7/3/3. OS 25-inch map, Co Londonderry sheet 7-03 (1949).
10. PRONI OS/10/5/7/7/3. OS 25-inch map, Co Londonderry sheet 7-07 (1949).
11. PRONI OS/11/13/9/1. First edition OS 25-inch map, IG sheet 13-09 (1965-67).
12. PRONI OS/11/13/13/1. First edition OS 25-inch map, IG sheet 13-13 (1965-67).

References – Secondary Sources:
1. J.R.L. Currie, ‘Coleraine as a railway centre’, in Journal Irish Railway Record Society, vol.8 (1968).
2. Coleraine Borough Council, Coleraine Official Guide, pp 35-37 (Coleraine, 1971).
3. J.R.L. Currie, The Northern Counties Railway, vol.1: 1845-1903 (Newton Abbot: David & Charles, 1973).
4. R. Anderson, The Port of Coleraine (Coleraine: Impact Amergin, 1976).
5. Rev T.H. Mullin, Coleraine in Georgian Times, pp 85-86 (Belfast: Century Services, 1977).
6. T. McDonald & R. Anderson, Memories in Focus: N.E. Ulster from Old Photographs, 1850-1950, vol.2 (Coleraine: Impact Printing, 1983).
7. T. McDonald & R. Anderson, Memories in Focus: N.E. Ulster from Old Photographs, 1860-1960, vol.3 (Coleraine: Impact Printing, 1986).
8. T. McDonald R. Anderson, Memories in Focus: N.E. Ulster from Old Photographs, 1860-1960, vol.4 (Coleraine: Impact Printing, 1992).
9. R. Anderson, A Century of Ships: 100 Years of Shipping on the River Bann (Coleraine: Impact Printing, 2000).
10. M. Kennedy, The LMS in Ireland: an Irish Railway Pictorial (Leicester: Midland Publishing, 2000).
11. R. Anderson, Fading Memories of Coleraine, Portrush and Portstewart (Coleraine: Impact Printing, 2005).
12. R. Anderson, More Fading Memories of Coleraine, Portrush and Portstewart (Coleraine: Impact Printing, 2008).
13. M. Savage, River Bann and Lough Neagh Pilot (River Bann and Lough Neagh Association, 2009).
14. Coleraine Harbour Commissioners website, www.ports.org.uk/coleraine (accessed 2013).

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

The harbour’s many phases of development reflect its varying fortunes over the course of the past two centuries. Many of these changes necessitated the removal or upgrading of existing features and now the earliest surviving ones date only from the 1930s and are of little architectural or historical interest as are the later twentieth century structures.