[3] Part of the working Dublin Port facilities for several hundred years, the quay was a docking point for coal carrying cargo vessels,[4] and the site of a number of industrial buildings – including a chemical works which was destroyed by fire in the early 20th century.

[7] A time ball sat on top of this station which, when operated remotely from Dunsink Observatory, signaled that it was 1pm.

[8][4] In the early 21st century this station, by then a protected structure, was demolished by the Dublin Docklands Development Authority.

[10] That project was later scrapped in the economic downturn, and ultimately Capital Dock was erected on the site (Ireland's tallest building on its completion in 2018).

[10] Remaining buildings on the Record of Protected Structures on Britain Quay include a former lock keeper's cottage and the three nearby canal locks which separate Grand Canal Dock from the River Liffey.