Ryde Pier

Ryde Pier

Ryde Pier seen from the pier head, showing the well-known twin spires ofRyde.
Type	Working pier with landing stages and railway
Carries	Cars andIsland Linetrains
Spans	TheSolent
Locale	Ryde,Isle of Wight
Official name	Ryde Pier
Owner	Wightlink(road) /Network Rail(railway)
Characteristics
Total length	745 yards (681 m)
History
Designer	John Kent ofSouthampton
Opening date	26 July 1814

Ryde Pieris an early 19th centurypierserving the town ofRyde,on theIsle of Wight,off the south coast of England. It is the world's oldest seaside pleasure pier.Ryde Pier Head railway stationis at the sea end of the pier, andRyde Esplanade railway stationat the land end, both served byIsland Linetrains.

Before the pier

Before the pier was built, passengers had the uncomfortable experience of coming ashore on the back of a porter and then, depending on the state of the tide, having to walk as far as half a mile across wet sand before reaching the town. The need for a pier was obvious, especially if the town was to attract the wealthy and fashionable visitors who were beginning to patronise otherseaside resorts.

The original pier

Ryde Pier Act 1812
Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act for making a Pier and Landing Place at Ryde, in the Isle of Wight.
Citation	52 Geo. 3.c. cxcvi
Dates
Royal assent	13 July 1812
Text of statute as originally enacted

The pier was designed by John Kent ofSouthampton.It was authorised by theRyde Pier Act 1812(52 Geo. 3.c. cxcvi), and its foundation stone laid on 29 June 1813. The pier opened on 26 July 1814,with, as it still has, a timber-planked promenade. The structure was originally wholly timber and measured 576 yards (527 m). By 1833, extensions took the overall length to 745 yards (681 m). It is this pre-Victorian structure that has, with some modifications, carried pedestrians and vehicles ever since.

Additions

Ryde Pier Tramways Act 1865
Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act to authorize the Ryde Pier Company to construct certain Tramways at Ryde in the Isle of Wight; and for other Purposes.
Citation	28 & 29 Vict.c. cccxlvi
Dates
Royal assent	5 July 1865

Ryde Station Act 1866
Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Citation	29 & 30 Vict.c. ccciii

Ryde Pier Railways Act 1867
Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Citation	30 & 31 Vict.c. lix
Dates
Royal assent	31 May 1867
Text of statute as originally enacted

Ryde Pier Railway Extension Act 1870
Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Citation	33 & 34 Vict.c. cxxxvi
Text of statute as originally enacted

The "three piers": the pedestrian and vehicle pier (left), the remains of the old tramway (centre) and the extant railway line (right)

A second 'tramway' pier was built next to the first, opening on 29 August 1864.Horse-drawn trams took passengers from the pier head to theesplanade.TheRyde Pier Tramways Act 1865(28 & 29 Vict.c. cccxlvi) authorised the Ryde Pier Company to extend the tramway to the Isle of Wight Railway'sSt John's Roadstation.

TheRyde Station Act 1866(29 & 30 Vict.c. ccciii) created the Ryde Station Company, and authorised the construction of a railway from the Isle of Wight Railway to St. John's Road. TheRyde Pier Railways Act 1867(30 & 31 Vict.c. lix) and theRyde Pier Railway Extension Act 1870(33 & 34 Vict.c. cxxxvi) combined the two schemes into a single extension of the tramway, and permitted conversion to mechanically-powered vehicles. The extension was abandoned a decade later following construction of the railway pier. From 1886 to 1927, the trams were powered by electricity from athird rail,and from then until 1969 were petrol-powered.

Ex-LSW 0-4-4T on Ryde Pier in 1965

On 12 July 1880, a third pier was opened, alongside the first two, providing a direct steam railway link to the pier-head.It was severely damaged on 18 January 1881, when four ships, theEclipse,Havelock,John WardandLucknow,were driven through it, destroying 200 feet (61 m) of the pier.The railway was part of thePortsmouth and Ryde Joint Railway(a company owned jointly by theLondon, Brighton and South Coast RailwayandLondon and South Western Railway), as far as Ryde St John's Road, to connect with their ship services to Portsmouth. However, trains were run by the independentIsle of Wight RailwayandIsle of Wight Central Railway,who owned the tracks beyond St John's Road and operated services toVentnorandCowesviaNewportrespectively.

In 1895, a concert pavilion was constructed at the pier-head, and over the next sixteen years, the original wooden piles were replaced with cast iron. It was at Ryde Pier that theEmpress Eugénielanded from Sir John Burgoyne's yacht "The Gazelle", after her flight from Paris in 1870.

TheSouthern Railway Act 1924(14 & 15 Geo. 5.c. lxvi) transferred the undertaking of the Ryde Pier Company (the road and tramway piers) to theSouthern Railway.The Southern Railway already owned the railway pier.

The pier head was remodelled in the 1930s using concrete, and during theSecond World Warwas used for military purposes, after various modifications.

Ryde Pier shown from Ryde.

The concert pavilion was at the centre of the narrative inPhilip Norman's book,BabychamNight;the author's family ran this venue when it was known as the Seagull Ballroom in the 1950s, and his relatives produced the eponymousperry.The pavilion was later demolished, but a few of the rotting piles are still visible around the edge of an extended car parking area constructed in 2010.

The tramway closed in 1969and the structure was partially dismantled. This has left the disused and decaying tramway pier between the railway and promenade piers. The remaining structure has proved useful for temporary diversions, such as when a ship sliced through the promenade pier in 1974. In autumn 2010 the whole length was fitted with a temporary deck to provide a walkway, during re-building works on the Promenade Pier.

Ryde Pier was made a Grade IIlisted buildingin 1976. In the early 1980s, the road pier was transferred from British Rail to Sealink, and a modern waiting area, including some of the original buildings, replaced the originalVictorianwaiting rooms at the pier-head. Further modifications were made in 2009, including the provision of a conservatory-style refreshment area with views towards Ryde. In May 2011 the lighting columns on the Promenade Pier were fitted with Victorian-style brackets and lanterns.

Sealink (Transfer of Ryde Pier) Harbour Revision Order 1991
Statutory Instrument
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Citation	SI 1991/10
Dates
Made	21 January 1991
Laid before Parliament	22 January 1991
Commencement	22 January 1991
Other legislation
Made under	Harbours Act 1964
Text of statute as originally enacted

TheSealink (Transfer of Ryde Pier) Harbour Revision Order 1991(SI 1991/107) transferred ownership of the road pier from Sealink Harbours Limited toWightlink,and made Wightlink the harbour authority for the waters immediately surrounding the pier.

Ryde Pier Harbour Revision Order 2010
Statutory Instrument
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Citation	SI 2010/1900
Dates
Made	20 July 2010
Laid before Parliament	10 August 2010
Commencement	10 August 2010
Other legislation
Made under	Harbours Act 1964
Text of statute as originally enacted

TheRyde Pier Harbour Revision Order 2010(SI 2010/1900) gave Wightlink the power to make byelaws to regulate the use of the road pier.

The pier today

View along the pier fromRyde Esplanade station

The pier is still a gateway for passenger traffic to and from theIsle of Wight,with theIsland Linetrain running fromRyde Pier Head railway station(at the pier head), via Ryde Esplanade down the eastern side of the island. TheWightlinkcatamaranruns regularly betweenRydeandPortsmouth.It is possible to drive along the pier, and there is parking at the pier head.

People are still allowed to walk along the pier but must contend with motor traffic driving along the same wooden walkway. From the pier head, there are panoramic views acrossthe Solentto Portsmouth four miles away. On clear days,Fawleyandits refinerycan be seen away to the west.

In 2005, Ryde Pier featured briefly in the filmFragile,in an inaccurate scene whereCalista Flockhartis driven along the pier after leaving aRed Funnelcar ferry. In reality, the pier is only served by Wightlink craft, with Red Funnel services based out of Cowes and East Cowes, six miles (ten kilometres) to the north-west.

From August 2010 to March 2011, Ryde Pier was closed to vehicles to allow structural repairs underneath the promenade pier, which had failed a regular inspection by Trant Engineering Limited (Mechanical, Electrical and Civil Engineers). The pier remained open to pedestrians, who from October 2010 used temporary decking on the tramway pier. SomeWightlink foot passengers were allowed to use Island Line train services along the pier free of charge. Work to extend the Pier Head to allow for additional car parking continued during this period. The promenade pier then re-opened.

On the weekend of 26 July 2014, the pier celebrated its 200th anniversary.Network Rail's Strategic Route Plan in February 2018 warned that renewing the railway pier was "unaffordable" but failure to do so would be terminal to the operation of the railway,and as part of a wider programme to upgrade theIsland Linehave agreed to invest £5minto this project.

In 2020, as part of a wider regeneration of Ryde Esplanade train and bus station, a plan to reinstate the disused tramway pier as a pedestrian and cyclist route was announced with works due to be completed by the end of March 2023.Funding restrictions subsequently reduced the width of the new deck to 3m, which resulted in cyclist usage being eliminated from the plans.The tramway pier reopened in June 2023.

Victoria Pier

For a few decades, Ryde had a second pier, the Victoria, a few hundred yards to the east. It was promoted by theStokes Bay Pier and Railway Companyto provide a landing for a rival ferry service fromGosport.It opened in 1864 as the main pier was getting its tramway. Being somewhat shorter than Ryde Pier, it could not be used at all points of the tide, and so offered little competition to the main Ryde to Portsmouth ferry services. When the Stokes Bay company was acquired by theLondon and South Western Railwayin 1875, the ferry service ceased, and Victoria Pier became apleasure pieronly, with public baths at the head and a swimming platform at the dry end.

By 1900, the use of the bathing facilities was declining, and the second pier gradually became derelict. The austerity of theFirst World Warled to it being considered redundant and a hazard, and in 1916, its demolition was authorised by act of Parliament.By the 1920s it had gone. Until the construction of the marina in the 1980s, the outline of the shore-end abutment could be made out in the sea wall near Ryde Pavilion, and at low spring tide, the stumps of the piles could be seen in the sand offshore.

Pier Hotel

The Royal Pier Hotel was built soon after the original pier, to serve its increasing trade and traffic. It stood on Pier Street opposite the bottom of Union Street for a hundred years, becoming a well-known local landmark.

Its position across the end of the steep final section of Union Street created a difficult 90-degree turn for drivers. In 1930 a bus descending Union Street took the turn into Pier Street too fast and overturned, killing several passengers and pedestrians, and damaging the south front of the hotel. At the inquest, the Pier Hotel was found to be a hazard to drivers, and instead of being repaired its demolition was ordered. By 1931, the Pier Hotel and the entire range of buildings back to the end of St. Thomas's Street had been removed, and Pier Street itself ceased to exist, becoming part of the Esplanade.