Margate Jetty
Type | Victorian pleasure pier, steamboat jetty |
---|---|
Carries | Pedestrians |
Spans | The Bay |
Locale | Margate, Kent |
Owner | Margate Pier Harbour Company |
Characteristics | |
Total length | 1,100 feet (340 m) (wooden pier) |
History | |
Designer | Eugenius Birch (iron pier) |
Construction start | 1853 (iron pier) |
Completion date | 1824 (wooden pier) 1857 (iron pier) |
Opening date | 1855 (iron pier) |
Closure date | 1976 |
Destruction date | 1978 |
Demolition date | 1998 |
Coordinates | 51°23′41″N 1°22′49″E / 51.3947°N 1.3804°E |
The Margate Jetty (also known as Margate Pier)[1] was a pier in Margate, Kent, in England initially constructed of wood in 1824. It was rebuilt in iron in 1855 and extended and added to over the years. It closed in 1976 over safety concerns and was severely damaged in a storm two years later. Demolition took many years and some parts remained until 1998.
Wooden jetty
The first jetty on the site was a 1,100 feet (340 m) wooden structure built by the Margate Pier Harbour Company in 1824.[2] It was known as the Jarvis Landing Stage and allowed ships to load and unload passengers at low tide when Margate Harbour was inaccessible.[2][3]
Iron jetty
The wooden structure required frequent repair and, on 4 November 1851, was broken in two places during a storm. A new iron jetty, designed by Eugenius Birch, was begun in 1853. It became the first iron seaside pier in the world when it opened in 1855, though work to complete it continued until 1857.[2] A pavilion was constructed at the pierhead in 1858 and used as a station building for steamship departures and arrivals.[4] The pier was extended between 1875 and 1878, at which time the distinctive octagonal pierhead was added.[2] On 1 January 1877 the pier was cut through by a shipwreck driven by a storm; between 40 and 50 people were trapped on the seaward side of the break until the next day when they could be rescued.[1] On 24 November 1877 the jetty was struck again by a drifting vessel that caused £4,000 of damage to the structure. Additions were made to the pier in 1893 and 1900.[2] In 1898 a building and slipway was constructed on the pier to allow the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) Margate Lifeboat Station to be relocated to the pier.[5]
The Margate lifeboat was one of the
Destruction and aftermath
Some relics from the pier structure are held at Margate Museum, these include the entrance plaque and portions of the railings and deck. The museum also holds a collection of memorabilia relating to the pier. Other pieces of salvaged wreckage can be found at locations across the town.[2] A fundraising campaign was begun in 2007 to raise money to rebuild the pier.[4] In summer 2018 a Dreamland Margate Mural-by-the-Sea art installation was erected at the former landward end of the pier. This took the form of a horseshoe-shaped lifebuoy with the words "Save Yourselves" written on it.[2]
Turner painting
The artist
Gallery
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A late-Victorian depiction of the pier
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The iron pier shown on a circa 1892 map
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The pier, including lifeboat station, shown on a circa 1949 map
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The burning of debris on the beach in 1978
References
- ^ a b c d e f Bailes, Kathy (13 January 2018). "The destruction of Margate jetty in the great storm of January 1978". The Isle Of Thanet News. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Bailes, Kathy (16 May 2018). "Margate's 'lost' jetty inspiration for Dreamland's new Mural by the Sea". The Isle Of Thanet News. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
- ^ a b c "Margate Jetty - Turner, Joseph Mallord William". National Museum Wales. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f Dyson, Jack (30 July 2020). "The glory days of Kent's piers and what they look like now". Kent Online. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
- ^ Fawkes, Leslie G.; Barker, Tony; Morris, Jeff (1991). 125 years of CISPOTEL support for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution: A History of the Fund and its Lifeboats (PDF). London: Trident Services. p. 18. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 September 2014.
- ^ Fawkes, Leslie G.; Barker, Tony; Morris, Jeff (1991). 125 years of CISPOTEL support for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution: A History of the Fund and its Lifeboats (PDF). London: Trident Services. p. 22. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 September 2014.
- ^ "Margate Lifeboat Station". Royal National Lifeboat Institution. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
- ^ "JMW Turner: National Museum Cardiff's paintings 'genuine'". BBC News. 24 September 2012. Retrieved 15 March 2021.