the-pier.co.uk

Location and Construction

At the Southern end of Swanage Bay in Dorset, lie two Piers. One very active and the old original Pier now just a sparse collection of vertical piles.

The original Swanage Pier was constructed in 1859/60 by James Walton of  London for the Swanage Pier and Tramway Company (now known as Swanage Pier Company) and opened by John Mowlem. The Pier was built primarily for shipping the local Purbeck stone to London. Horses were used to pull carts along the narrow gauge tramway which ran along the Pier and seafront linking Swanage to the local quarries.

In 1874 local entrepreneur, George Burt started a steamer service between Swanage, Poole and Bournemouth, but with the Pier being used for day-trippers as well as stone cargo, it soon became clear that the Pier was unable to cope with the ever increasing traffic and it was decided a new and longer Pier was needed.

A second Pier was built in 1896 and opened to traffic on March 29th 1897.

Facts and Figures

• The new Pier was originally constructed of 170 imported Greenheart Timber Piles,the  wooden section is 196.3m (642½ ft) long on the centre line.
• The average width is 8.5m (28ft), widening to a two tier landing stage at its head.  The tidal rise and fall is 2m (6½ft).
• The depth of water at the Pier Head is 4.3m (14ft) at high water on spring tides.
• The high point of the paddle steamer era at Swanage Pier was prior to World War 1 – ten steamers a day served Swanage in the 1905 season.
• Return fares to Bournemouth were as follows:
  • 1/6 or 7½p in 1899
  • 6/6 or 32½p in 1956
  • Around £5 in 2002

Problem Era

By 1927 the Gribble worm (a marine wood-boring crustacean) had caused such damage by eating away the wood between the sea bed and the high water level, that concrete cladding had to be added to several of the badly eroded timber piles.

In 1940 the landward end of the Pier was blown up as an anti invasion precaution – being restored in concrete in 1948.  Steamer traffic was temporarily revived after 1948 but with the Paddle Steamer, Embassy’s departure in August 1966 the Pier deteriorated for almost 30 years in the hands of often indifferent owners.

With many missing railings and parts of the promenade extremely unsafe due several of the piles being completely eaten through by the Gribble worm, the Pier eventually had to be closed.

Pier Ownership Today

The Pier is owned by the Swanage Pier Company established in 1859, but in September 1994 a Swanage Pier Trust was formed with the aim of renovating the Pier. The Trust took over an 80% interest in the Company and became responsible for the restoration, maintenance and day by day running of the Pier.

Members of the Trust are made up from local organisations including The Town Council, The Isle of Purbeck Sub-Aqua Club, Swanage Sailing Club, the local Angling Club and Swanage Fishermans’ Association.

Restoration 1994

Funding was sought and a Lottery Grant & English heritage funding accounted for £700,000 of over £1,100.000 which was spent on restoring the timber structure.

With the piles restored, the decking itself was renewed in Ekki wood, including the upper promenade deck, (which was completely missing).  A new Victorian Wind Shelter was rebuilt to its original design and reinstated on the top deck.  The concrete pile section was also replaced along with the hand railings and side panels and railings, together with the Victorian lamp standards which have all been recast in iron in original 1896 moulds.

The small boat landing deck half way along the Pier, which was destroyed during the early 1950’s has been replaced and is now in regular use by Dive Boats and visiting Yachts.  Water and electrical services to the Pierhead have been renewed enabling replacement of the Victorian lamps and seats along the length of the Pier and promenade deck, most being funded by individual sponsorship, recognised by appropriately engraved Brass Plaques.

Daily Running of the Pier

The Pier Master is an unpaid Trustee and the Gate and Shop are manned by volunteers from the  ‘Friends of Swanage Pier’ formed in March 1995 to raise funds for the Pier.

Marine Villas, half way up the Pier houses a well stocked shop selling hot and colds snacks and drinks, sweets, ice creams, books, toys and souvenirs.  There is also an exhibition of old Swanage memorabilia, mainly in picture form and much Swanage maritime history, together with a pictorial history showing the progress of the Pier renovations and repairs. Another part of the exhibition displays artefacts and treasure trove brought up by divers from the many ship wrecks along the Dorset Coast.  One room contains original Edwardian gaming machines (What the Butler saw etc.) playable by purchasing old ‘pre-decimal’ pennies from the Pier shop and an amusing display of dozens of Donald McGill’s ‘naughty’ seaside postcards of the mid 1900’s.

Pier Visitors

All visitors are welcome on the Pier and providing you can find a space, you may park on the Pier alongside the waters edge.

In a typical year around 100,000 visitors ’stroll’ the Pier, 16,000 Scuba Divers and Anglers use the Pier while 15,000 boat passengers alight/depart.

Swanage Pierfriends

The ‘Friends of Swanage Pier’ pay a minimum of £6 as an annual subscription or £60 for Life Membership, for which they receive a strolling pass and three Newsletters a year.  They also have access to a ‘Pier Friends’ Website which keeps them up to date with the latest happenings.

From time to time the ‘Pier Friends’ Committee plan money raising functions, the most successful on-going fund raiser being the ‘Sponsor a Plank’ scheme.  This costs £50 and entitles the sponsor to a Brass Plaque bearing a 30 letter message, fixed to a Plank on the Pier.So far (after costs for the brass and engraving) over £244,456.00 has been raised by this scheme.

The Friends also offer a Full Colour Certificate to compliment the Plaque, these cost £12 each and show the owner’s plaque in close up together with a picture of the Plaque’s location on the Pier. Attractive to people who do not live in the area but have sponsored a Plank and like to be reminded of how it looks.

Forms are available from the Pier Gatehouse or Shop, or may be printed out from the Pier Friends Website. www.swanagepierfriends.co.uk

Latest additions

Visitors to Swanage can now enjoy watching the wildlife beneath the waves without putting a toe in the water, thanks to a new underwater camera situated beneath the end of the Pier.

A display screen is in the Pier shop so that visitors may view the happenings beneath the Pier and enjoy watching the blennies, pollack and stripped  bib. Pipefish (a relative of the seahorse), bass, wrasse and sand eels also a diver or two passing the camera.

The underwater camera is a joint project between Dorset Wildlife Trust, Durlston Country Park, Swanage Pier Trust and Isle of Purbeck Sub-Aqua Club (IPSAC) and financed with a Dorset Biodiversity Grant.

“A Wonderful Pier in a Beautiful Area”

LINKS

http://www.swanagepiertrust.com/

http://www.diversdownswanage.co.uk/

http://www.swanagepierfriends.co.uk/

http://www.dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk/article363.html