Portsmouth dry dock
Dique seco de Portsmouth
- Date
- 1495-1496 · confidence medium
- Place
- Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, United Kingdom
- Credited to
- Henry VII; Sir Reginald Bray
- Field
- Movement
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
A basin into which a ship enters, the gate is shut and the water pumped out to leave the hull dry for building or repair. Portsmouth's, ordered by Henry VII, began the Royal Navy dockyard tradition.
There are precedents: docks and slipways in the ancient world and a description of a dry dock in Song China (11th century, Shen Kuo). 'The first' refers to England, not the world.
What it led to
- docking and repair of large warships
- naval yards with dry docks and gates
- Royal Navy stone docks to the present