SZ0378 : Swanage Pier
taken 9 years ago, near to Swanage, Dorset, England
Swanage's Victorian pier is over 100 years old and is one of two built, although it is the only one that survives complete today.
The original Swanage Pier was built between 1859 and 1861 for use primarily by the local stone quarrying industry, and included a tramway which ran the length of the pier and some way along the seafront. The old tracks can be seen to this day, inset into the seafront walkways.
When local businessman George Burt introduced regular steamer services between Swanage and nearby towns Poole and Bournemouth in 1874, a need became apparent for a second pier to be built primarily for use by passenger steamers. Construction on the new pier began in 1895, and by 1896 was first used by a steamer. The pier was officially opened for traffic in 1897. While regular steamer services ran on the new pier, up until 1966, the older original pier declined along with the stone industry it served some years earlier. Today all that remains of the old pier are some of the timber piles.
After steamer services discontinued in 1966 the remaining pleasure pier also began to fall into disrepair. After a failed attempt to restore the pier by a development firm in 1986, Swanage Pier Trust took over ownership of the pier in 1993.
Swanage is a coastal town in the south east of Dorset. It is situated at the eastern end of the Isle of Purbeck, approximately 6 miles south of Poole and 25 miles east of Dorchester. Nearby are Ballard Down and Old Harry Rocks, with Studland Bay and Poole Harbour to the north.
The town, originally a small port and fishing village, flourished in the Victorian era, when it first became a significant quarrying port and later a seaside resort for the rich of the day. Today the town remains a popular tourist resort, this being the town's primary industry, with many thousands of visitors coming to the town during the peak summer season, drawn by the bay's sandy beaches and other attractions.
The town is located at the eastern end of the Jurassic Coast, a World Heritage Site.
Wikipedia: Link