Listed Building record MWX802 - Swanage Pier

Pier constructed in 1893. It is a crescent-shaped structure, 195.7 metres in length and is now disused. The main structure is of timber (green-heart) but the handrail is of ornamental cast iron. The pier head has two tiers with a kiosk on the top tier. A section of the pier was demolished during the Second World War and this can be seen on aerial photographs of the 1940s.

Swanage Pier is built almost entirely of timber (green-heart) and dates from 1895. It replaced an earlier pier built in 1859 to the south, which only survived as wooden piles in 2007. Concrete muffs were put around the timber piles of the new pier during the 1920s. Its structure is crescent-shaped with a length of 642 feet (195.7m). It has a two-tier pier head with no amusement facilities and elementary facilities at the shore end. The handrail is of ornamental cast iron. The pier head has two tiers with a kiosk on the top tier.

During the Second World War, the pier was breached as a defensive measure. In 1994, the Swanage Pier Trust acquired the pier and began a programme of restoration including restoring the timbers, putting in place a new landing stage, restoring iron work and installing wind shelters. The pier provides regular boat services, a sub-aqua centre, angling and a visitor centre that provides information on the history of Swanage. <2> <5>

The stone 'Swanage First Pier' of 1859 is recorded by the Dorset Coast Forum Maring Archaeology Database. <4>

The pier is visible as a structure on aerial photographs of the 1940s. A section of the pier was demolished during the Second World War as a defensive measure and this can be seen on aerial photographs of the 1940s. A section measuring approximately 38 m by 8 m was demolished at the landward end of the pier <7>. This site was digitally plotted during the South West Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey (Dorset).



Additional source. (5)

<1> Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey Map 6in, 1968 (Map). SWX1540.

Pier (disused)

<2> Council for British Archaeology, 1973, Report of CBA Panel on Industrial Monuments, 7 (Unpublished document). SWX4376.

<3> 1975, Pleasure Piers, 7 (Monograph). SWX3293.

<4> Le Pard, G, 1995-2003, Dorset Coast Forum Maritime Archaeological Database, Structure 23 (Digital archive). SWX8707.

<5> Mickleburgh, Timothy J, 1998, Guide to British piers, 61 (Monograph). SDO19010.

<6> Mawson, C, and Riding, R, 2008, British Seaside Piers, 100-1 (Monograph). SDO19011.

<7> Royal Air Force, 14-MAR-1945, RAF 106G/LA194 275-6 (Aerial Photograph). SDO12875.

<8> Historic England, Historic England Archive, BF076790 (Index). SDO14738.

SWANAGE PIER, HIGH STREET, SWANAGE

<9> National Record of the Historic Environment, 457475 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Aug 23 2024 4:53PM