Hartley Hut was only open to visitors for one day a year
The hut has been around for almost 200 years(Image: Christopher Megrath)
Liverpool’s newest tourist attraction has been hiding in plain sight for decades. Officially reopening for the public to enjoy as a micro-museum, Hartley Hut offers a fascinating glimpse into docklands history. Just make sure you visit solo rather than a group because you’d struggle to swing a cat by its tail.
Previously only accessible to visitors once a year during Heritage Week, the hut is now permanently open as a micro-museum. Using the real accounts and experience of Liverpool Dock gatemen, an audio installation will immerse visitors in the memories of those who worked there.
Located near the river entrance or exit into the Canning Half Tide Dock, all three huts were part of civil engineer Jesse Hartley’s dock development and served an important role as a shelter and watching point for dock gatemen who operated the lock gates.
Visitors can step into the hut and enjoy new artwork, Ebb and Flow, by mosaic artist Caroline Jariwala. Inspired by its waterfront location, the piece has been created with fragments found during the 2007 excavation in Manchester Dock, now the site of the Museum of Liverpool.
Inside Hartley Hut on Liverpool’s waterfront(Image: Christopher Megrath)
The door remains open throughout the day to allow visitors to pop in as they please, just as long as its between Tuesday to Sunday 10am to 4.30pm. I was lucky enough to have the hut to myself for ample time to soak up the museum at my leisure.
Set against the year’s first rays of sunshine and a busy Royal Albert Dock, the hut is a fantastic addition to an already vibrant waterfront. Don’t be deterred from visiting if the docks aren’t your speciality subject because it’s still a fascinating learning experience.
The audio is the star of the museum, humanising what could be seen as just an empty space for pessimists. I found myself walking in circles, re-examining the texts adorned on the walls just to hear the final words of the docklands workers, as if in direct conversation.
Hartley Hut on a sunny day in Liverpool, a historic structure on the waterfront(Image: (c) Pete Carr)
The building has been exceptionally maintained with 200 years barely making a crack in the stone. The interiors are simplistic and teeter on modern, with subtle lights illuminating the perimeter and copper finishes acting as a nod to yester-year. You may not spend more than 10 minutes in the micro-museum but a visit should be on everyone’s list the next time you’re in the area.
Liz Stewart, head of the Museum of Liverpool, said: “We find visitors to Liverpool’s waterfront are impressed not only by the beauty of the place and the wonder of its architecture, but also the strong connection they feel to its fascinating history.
“The Hartley Hut may not be a grand building in scale, but we believe it’s a real treasure among the architecture of the waterfront and that its stories will resonate with our visitors.
“Those with their own connection to the dock worker community, along with anyone who has a passion for history and what the built environment can reveal about our past, should make a trip to this wonderful new attraction on our waterfront.”