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Communication >> History of the port >> Calais, gateway to France |
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| History of the port |
| The Chamber of Commerce of Calais has been in charge of the destiny of the Port of Calais since its creation in 1828, and has been the official concessionary company for the port facilities since 1925. |
| Introduction : |
In the beginning, the Port of Calais was just a natural bay formed at the mouth of the Hames and Guînes rivers. It was improved in the 10th century by order of Baudouin IV, Count of Flanders. At that time the defences of the city and bay consisted of two large towers, one of which was located on the sand dunes to the north of Calais, and the other at the north-west angle of the bay.
Legend has it that the first was built by the Roman emperor Caligula and that the other was one of the towers built by Charlemagne to protect the coasts of Morinie (the name of the region at the time) against the devastations inflicted by the Normans; the towers later became part of Fort Risban and the Castle. |
| Calais, gateway to France : |
In 1190, Henri of Lorraine authorised the construction
of a port, which later became known as the old Basin or "Paradise" as
it was called. The small Basin was excavated under English domination,
in 1397, in order to satisfy trade requirements, which had gained considerable
importance. The small basin, or Paradise, located opposite the Courgain,
or fisherman’s district, which was used to harbour fishing vessels,
is the only remainder of the old port of the Middle Ages; under English
domination, it was called the "Fisher's Gap".
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The first piers were built in 1405, oriented North
by North-West. They were extended in 1700 and 1822
to a length of 550 toises, a pre-revolutionary French
unit of length corresponding to about 1.949 metres.
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As the centuries passed, on various occasions forts
were raised to defend the port against the attacks of the enemy. The
oldest and the largest, which has best withstood the attack of time,
is Fort Risban. To the large tower attributed to Caligula, Philippe
Hurepel, Count of Boulogne, added other works. In 1604, Fort Risban
was surrounded by a new enclosure, flanked by two bastions defending
a stone seawall leading to the Sangatte seawall.
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The other forts defending the roads or the port were
the Lapin, Estram, Crabe, Rouge, and Vert forts. The three first were
built in 1690. Fort Lapin was located on the western dune and was covered
by brick. Fort Estram was between Fort Rouge and Fort Lapin: it was
made of wood, built on piles, and stood in the sea, but burnt in 1739
due to the carelessness of a guard. Fort Crabe, covered by freestones,
stood about halfway between the Citadel and Fort Nieulay, on a seawall
which led from one to the other of the fortifications. Fort Rouge was
built after the bombardment of Calais by the English in 1695. It was
made of wood, on piles, standing to the north of Fort Risban and almost
contiguous to the western pier. The following year, in 1696, a second
bombardment by the English on the east coast resulted in the idea to
build Fort Vert. Like Fort Rouge, it was built on piles, and stood
in the sea, but at a certain distance from the east pier. It was demolished
in 1777.
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The Port of Calais around 1825 (Painting by Bonington
engraved by G.Reeve)
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In 1830s, the Chamber of Commerce took an interest
in the project of Monsieur Raffeneau de Lisle, Chief
Engineer, presented by Mr Nehou, a Civil engineer,
concerning work to be carried out in the Port of Calais to connect
the Saint-Omer canal to the sea and to establish a tidal basin and
a flushing sluice in the port. The project included the closing of
the creek by a flood lock located opposite the Citadel and a flushing
lock opposite Fort Risban. In this way a tidal basin and a flushing
basin were formed, separated by a seawall. Inland navigation communicated
direct with the port via the lock of the Citadel and the piers were
extended to the low-water line which had moved back 250 meters.
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At that time, the port simply consisted of a shallow
channel between two piers leading to a natural basin
between Fort Risban and the seawall to the North
and the Courgain fisherman's district and ramparts of the city to the
south.
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| Construction of the tidal basin began in 1838 was
opened for trade in December 1842. To mark the event,
a commemorative medal was struck by the Ministry
of Public Works. The basin, built under the terms of the laws of 15
November 1834, and 19 July 1837, had a total surface area of 2 hectares.
It was 255 meters long and 75 meters wide. |
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Its quays were 550 meters long. A single lock 17 meters
wide connected the tidal basin to the outer dry harbour.
The lock was inaugurated on 25 December 1843, in the presence of the
Civil and Military authorities. An ordinance dated 11 November 1844
authorised the Town of Calais to give the name of "Raffeneau de
Lisle" to the
lock.
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The northern quay, built between 1837 and 1843, was
intended for wood trade with the north; the piers
were also extended.
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To complete the facilities, in 1839, the Chamber started
to study the construction of a new lighthouse, and
work started on the fortifications in November 1845.
The lighthouse was lit for the first time on 15 October 1848.
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In 1850s, the port, although a priority for the Chamber
of Commerce, was still relatively modest. Its entryway
was signalled to navigators by means of a system
of balloons and flags which were hoisted using an apparatus consisting
of a mast and a yard arm located at Fort Rouge, to the west of the
piers. The boats entering to the Port of Calais could either berth
at the tidal quay, or in the part of the outer harbour known under
the name of Colonne quay, or, finally, at the Northern quay; the southern
quay was reserved for steamers and Paradise basin for fishermen.
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The provisional maritime station in 1850
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As part of its harbour concerns, from 1856 to 1858
the Chamber carried out work to consolidate and lengthen
the keel block in the shipbuilding yard in order
to install heavy tonnage ships in complete safety. In 1852 the Chamber
also built barracks on the tidal quay for use as a pilot station. In
1860, it was decided to create a station for the officers and harbour
masters. The Chamber took part to some extent in the construction of
the shelter, which was opened on 6 July 1860.
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In 1862, the Chamber studied a scheme to build a tidal
basin in the East side of the port. In order to accelerate the completion
of the work to extend the western tidal basin, which was approved in
1865, in its meeting of 29 February 1868, the Chamber decided to offer
the government the sum of 1,650,000 Frs. considered necessary to carry
out the scheme. But after damage was caused to the Basin lock, and
a thorough examination of the question, the Chamber of Commerce abandoned
the first project and requested the immediate construction of a new
lock placed at the east end of the Steamer quay.
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Under the Second Empire, the Chamber managed several
services for the Port, including the warehouse, cranes,
the ropes, the keel block, and piloting. In 1869, the government asked
for a report on "the state and needs for trade and industry in
the district".
This report highlighted the place of the Port of
Calais. Cross-Channel traffic was already its main
activity.
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