It was formally opened by King George V and Queen Mary on 26 July 1933 although the final construction work was only complete the following year.

The dock was built virtually entirely of concrete, with granite dressings for the sills and caisson stops, the flights of steps leading to the floor and the coping of the walls at the entrance.

The caisson door, which weighed 4,000 long tons (4,100 t), slid sideways into a chamber at the right (east) of the entrance from the River Test.

At 200 ft (61 m) intervals, there are vertical buttresses projecting from the sides of the dock; these prevented the bilge keels of vessels striking the base of the walls.

It is a rectangular block building, with a half-hipped roof, built of red brick with stone dressing in the "inter-war classical revival style suggesting a temple".

[14] A few weeks later, there was another incident at the dock when firefighters were called to attend a pile of wood chips which were releasing steam vapour.

[15] In June 2006, despite the gates having been removed, the dock and the adjacent pump house were both granted Grade II listed building status.

It has special architectural interest as a good example of the evolution of dock design as it stood in the mid-20th century, innovative in its construction.

[1] Of the pump house, they said:The inter-war classical style is impressive and temple-like, and the interior is exceptional for its survival of fixtures and fittings.

Although there have been some alterations to the periphery of the building, its function is amply illustrated by the surviving features and its architectural presence offsets the largely below-ground dock.