The Peterhead graving dock

In the 19th Century the town of Peterhead was heavily involved in the Greenland whale fishery. By around 1850, it was becoming clear that Peterhead harbour needed a larger and deeper graving (dry) dock to accommodate the large Greenland whalers. The Harbour Trustees accepted the need but, as is ever the case, they were short of money. Nevertheless, they agreed to proceed with the venture, but only if the ship-owners were willing to underwrite the cost to the tune of £1,500. This they did, by levying a tax of 6s 8d on every ton of whale-oil landed by their vessels.

This dry dock, with conventional stepped sides, was sited off the North Harbour. It was built in granite from ca.1853–1855 by James Simpson to a design by Thomas Stevenson (perhaps better known for his lighthouses). Originally 148 ft long, about 34 ft wide, the total cost of building was £6000. Stevenson wanted to use steam driven pumps to empty the dock but had to accept two 14 inch atmospheric pumps worked by six horses! These were capable of emptying the dock of water in under 8 hours.

The dock was lengthened to about 192 ft in 1953–54 and this was probably when the dock’s granite masonry was covered with the current concrete. The dock is still in regular use, usually for the repair of fishing vessels. Today, however, it had a rather more impressive occupant, the Hoy Head, a roll-on roll-off ferry that plies its trade between the different Orkney Islands to the north of the Scottish Mainland.