This week there will be a spectacular outdoor show at the Thompson Dock in Belfast. From 25 – 29 September you’ll be able to see a show designed by Henry Sykes, with lighting by Conal Clapper and Alan Mooney and a soundscape created by Katie Richardson.
The show is called Shadowdock and it’s part of Belfast City Council’s Belfast 2024 programme of events.
The Shadowdock show
You can choose to view the show in two ways – Above Deck, which is suitable for all ages and accessibilities, and Below Deck, where you actually climb down the 66 steps to the bottom of the dock, 40ft below sea level!
The performance runs for approximately 30 minutes and will take place from Thursday 26th to Sunday 29th September. Tickets are free for under 5s, £5 for Above Deck and £10 for Below Deck.
It looks like great fun, but if you can’t make the show, you can still explore the Thompson Dock in your own time.
Finding the Thompson Dock
The dock lies right at the end of the Maritime Mile, so you could start at the Big Fish and take an hour to follow the trail past the other sights along the way, like HMS Caroline and the Great Light. Finally you’ll arrive at the Titanic Distillers Whiskey Distillery, and the dock is right beside it. The distillery owns the dock, and they run regular guided tours of it.
Cardboard cutouts of people give you an idea of the scale of the dock.
The Thompson Dock is where the Titanic and its sister ships spent their final days in Belfast. Quite simply it is the world’s single largest original Titanic relic and is often referred to as “Titanic’s Dock”.
The history of Thompson Dock
Opened in 1911 and with construction taking seven years, the dry-dock was purpose built for the iconic Olympic class liners of the White Star Line, the era’s new giants of the sea. Once the structure of the mighty ships was finished, the empty hulls were brought to the dock to be fitted out. Imagine the skilled engineers, craftsmen and painters applying the finishing touches to the Titanic before it set sail to Southampton prior to its maiden voyage.
At the time, the Thompson Dock was the largest dry-dock ever built and represented the pinnacle of Edwardian engineering. Whilst the ravages of time and coastal weather are evident, the dock is a Scheduled Historic Monument, unchanged since 1911.
The original caisson dock gate remains in place; the ships entered the flooded dock, the dock gate then closed and the pumphouse pumped the water out, thus creating the dry-dock in which the work would be carried out.
Thompsons Dock was the largest dry dock ever built when it opened in 1911
Exploring the Thompson Dock
As part of the guided tour, visitors can step back in time and descend to the bottom of this enormous dry dock, part of the physical footprint of the birth of the Titanic and the only location to properly appreciate the scale of the ship. At 259 metres in length, the sheer size of the dock alone is impressive. You can even get up close and personal to the very keel blocks upon which the Titanic rested.
From the bottom of the dock it is very easy to imagine the Titanic gliding into Belfast Lough, through the huge gate and off to commence its fateful journey into history.
Jamesy and I went on the tour last year, and the atmosphere when you are in the dry dock is really unique. Jamesy even got a go on the old control panel!
So if you’re looking for something unique to do after one of our tours, just take the Maritime Mile and visit the largest original relic of the Titanic.
Jamesy takes the controls at Thompson Dock!
