1. I am grateful for the comments of anonymous referees. All the unpublished material cited in this paper is to be found in the Maritime Archives and Library, Merseyside Maritime Museum, and the sometimes enigmatic reference numbers refer to their handlists
2. 1902. There was extended debate as to the size of ships which Gladstone Dock should be designed to accommodate, which continued from the first proposals in until construction began in earnest in 1910
3. This argument, of course, excludes the handful of ports which, like Bristol, Brixham and Preston, were owned and managed by the Local Authority