The dock was named after the Herculaneum Pottery Company that had previously occupied the site.

From 1767, a tidal basin in the area that would become the dock was used for unloading copper for a smelting works.

In 1878, specialist casemates were built to store this and other volatile cargo within the sandstone cliffs above.

[3] Liverpool remained an important port during the Second World War, with Herculaneum Dock acting as a terminus for the North Atlantic Convoys.

The area south of the dock contained a tank farm; this was reclaimed for the Liverpool Garden Festival and residential properties.