The dock covers an area of 8 acres (32,000 m2) and provides access to the Great Float from the River Mersey.

[1] Completed in 1866, the dock was named after Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, second son of Queen Victoria, and opened by him on 21 June 1866.

[1][5] This meant the removal of a river lock entrance and an access channel to the Great Float, in order to reconstruct the remaining facilities.

The redevelopment of Tower Road over a decade later precipitated in the removal of the swing bridge and the sealing up of the southern passage.

Tower Road, which links Birkenhead with the Seacombe area of Wallasey, divides Alfred Dock from the Great Float via a bascule bridge.