Designed by Thomas Steers and being built from 1734,[4] Salthouse Dock was completed after his death by Henry Berry, opening in 1753.

[14] A Royal Navy training ship, HMS Eagle, was based at Salthouse Dock from the end of the 19th century.

[6] At this point, transit sheds still remained on the east and west sides of the dock, with a former lifeboat training school also present at the north end of the western quay.

[15] During the 1980s, direct access from Canning Dock was removed with the entrance being filled in, and a permanent roadway and slipway installed.

[17] Non-native marine wildlife found in the vicinity included giant snails, Korean sea squirts and Australasian barnacles.

[16] A granite stone gable and arch entrance survives at the south east corner of the dock, from a transit shed built by Jesse Hartley.

The waterspace of this and the other docks in the southern system was owned by British Waterways from 2003 to 2012, now transferred to the Canal & River Trust.