Home > Ryde Pier

Before the pier was built, passengers to Ryde had the uncomfortable experience of coming ashore on the back of a porter and then, dependant on the state of the tide, having to walk anything up to half a mile across wet sand before reaching the town. The need for a pier was obvious, not least if the town was to attract the wealthy and fashionable visitors which were beginning to patronise other seaside resorts across England.

Designed by John Kent of Southampton, the foundation stone of Ryde Pier was laid on 29th June 1813. The completed pier opened on 26th July 1814, and was, as it still is, a timber-planked promenade. The structure was originally wholly timber, and measured 527m. By 1833, extensions took the overall length to 681m. A second 'tramway' pier was built next to the first pier, opening on 29th August 1864. Horse-drawn trams took passengers from the pier head to the esplanade. Later, the trams were powered by electric winches.

On 12th July 1880 a third pier was opened, alongside the first two, providing a direct steam railway link to the pier-head. In 1895 a concert pavilion was constructed at the pier-head and over the next sixteen years the original wooden piles were replaced in cast iron. It was at Ryde Pier that the Empress Eugénie landed from Sir John Burgoyne 's yacht " The Gazelle" after her flight from Paris in 1870.

The pier head was remodelled in the 1930s using concrete, and during the Second World War the pier was used for military purposes, with various modifications made to accommodate this.

The tramway pier closed in 1969 and was partially dismantled. This left a gap which still exists between the railway and promenade piers, in which the rotting iron piles of the tramway pier are very plainly visible. The pier was made a Grade II listed buildingIn the United Kingdom the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 requires the government to create lists of buildings that are to be specially protected as part of the national heritage. Buildings on these lists are referred to as lis in 19761976 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). Events January January 12 UN Security Council votes 11-1 to admit the Palestinian Liberation Organization January 15 Would-be Gerald Ford presidential assassin Sara Jane Moore is s. In the early 1980sMillennia: 1st millennium 2nd millennium 3rd millennium Centuries: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s 2030s Years: 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 Events and trends a modern waiting area, including some of the original buildings, replaced the original VictorianThe term Victorian architecture can refer to one of a number of architectural styles during the Victorian era: Neoclassicism Gothic Revival Italianate Second Empire Neo-Grec Romanesque Revival (Includes Richardsonian Revival) Renaissance Revival Queen Ann waiting rooms at the pier-head.

Today the pier is still a major gateway for passenger traffic to and from the Isle of Wight, with the Island LineIsland Line can refer to: The Island Line, one of the six lines on the MTR metro system. Island Line, a train operating company that runs one line on the Isle of Wight. train running from the pier head, via Ryde Esplanade down to the eastern side of the island. The WightlinkWightlink is a ferry company operating routes between Hampshire and the isle of Wight. catamaran runs regularly between Ryde and Portsmouth. Unusually, it is possible to drive down the pier, and there is car parking on the large pier head.