2-854-297 - Historic England Archive/Heritage Images

Devonport Dockyard, South Yard, Covered Slip No. 1, Devonport, Plymouth, 1942. The interior of No. 1 covered slip in the South Yard of Devonport Dockyard. Number 1 slipway at the South Yard dates from the 1770s. Its timber framed cover, designed by Sir Robert Seppings, was erected in 1814. Covers for slips were introduced to protect wooden ships during construction and they were, at the time, some of the widest span roofs in Britain, pre-empting the subsequent iron sheds of the railway age.