A wharf ( or wharfs), quay ( , also
Overview
A wharf commonly comprises a fixed platform, often on
deep foundation. Commercial ports may have warehouses that serve as interim storage: where it is sufficient a single wharf with a single berth constructed along the land adjacent to the water is normally used; where there is a need for more capacity multiple wharves, or perhaps a single large wharf with multiple berths, will instead be constructed, sometimes projecting over the water. A pier, raised over the water rather than within it, is commonly used for cases where the weight or volume of cargos will be low.
Smaller and more modern wharves are sometimes built on flotation devices (pontoons) to keep them at the same level as the ship, even during changing tides.
In everyday parlance the term quay (pronounced 'key') is common in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and many other Commonwealth countries, and the Republic of Ireland, and may also refer to neighbourhoods and roadways running along the wayside (for example, Queen's Quay in Toronto and Belfast). The term wharf is more common in the United States. In some contexts wharf and quay may be used to mean pier, berth, or jetty.
In old ports such as London (which once had around 1700 wharves
Certain early railways in England referred to goods loading points as "wharves". The term was carried over from marine usage. The person who was resident in charge of the wharf was referred to as a "wharfinger".
Etymology
Wharf
The word
wharf comes from the
Old English hwearf,
cognate to the
Old Dutch word
werf, which both evolved to mean "yard", an outdoor place where work is done, like a shipyard (
Dutch language:
scheepswerf) or a lumberyard (Dutch:
houtwerf). Originally,
werf or
werva in Old Dutch (
werf,
wer in
Old Frisian) simply referred to inhabited ground that was not yet built on (similar to "yard" in modern English), or alternatively to a
terp.
This could explain the name Ministry Wharf located at Saunderton, just outside High Wycombe, which is nowhere near any body of water. In support of this explanation is the fact that many places in England with "wharf" in their names are in areas with a high Dutch influence, for example the Norfolk broads.
Staith
In the northeast and east of England the term
staith or
staithe (from the Norse for landing stage) is also used. The two terms have historically had a geographical distinction: those to the north in the Kingdom of Northumbria used the Old English spelling
staith, southern sites of the
Danelaw took the Danish spelling
staithe. Both originally referred to jetties or wharves. In time, the northern coalfields of Northumbria developed
specifically for loading coal onto ships and these would adopt the
staith spelling as a distinction from simple wharves: for example,
Dunston Staiths in
Gateshead and Brancaster Staithe in
Norfolk. However, the term
staith may also be used to refer only to loading chutes or ramps used for bulk commodities like coal in loading ships and barges.
Quay
Quay, on the other hand, has its origin in the Proto-Celtic language. Before it changed to its current form under influence of the modern
French language quai, its
Middle English spelling was
key,
keye or
caye. This in turn also came from the
Old Norman cai (
Old French / French
chai "wine cellar"),
meaning originally "earth bank near a river", then "bank built at a port to allow ship docking".
[ CNRTL (French)] The French term
quai comes, through Picard or Norman-French, from
Gaulish language caio, ultimately tracing back to the Proto-Celtic
*kagio- "to encompass, enclose". Modern cognates include
Welsh language cae "fence, hedge" and
Cornish language ke "hedge".
Gallery
File:Long wharf and shipping, by J.W. & J.S. Moulton.jpg|Stereoscope of Long Wharf in Boston, United States, , jutting into Boston Harbor
File:Boston Long Wharf 2.JPG|Modern view of Boston's Long Wharf (2006)
File:Brygga i Tønsberg.JPG|The Tønsberg City wharf in Tønsberg, Norway, is a popular tourist attraction, and its restaurants and pubs attract many visitors during the summer seasons.
File:Tokoinranta Helsinki.jpg|The shore of the Tokoinranta wharf in Hakaniemi, Helsinki, Finland (2007)
File:Wapping king henrys wharf 1.jpg|King Henry's Wharves, typical London wharves converted to apartments
File:St Thomas Marriott Pacquereau Bay 1.jpg|Wharf by Marriott/Pacquereau Bay on Saint Thomas
File:tourist boat at sa calobra (majorca spain) arp.jpg|Tourist boat loading passengers at a small quay, Sa Calobra, Mallorca, Spain
File:Port Clarence drop (crop).jpg|Coal drops at Port Clarence, Teesside, in 1915 (engraving by T. H. Hair)
See also
External links
