Margate Jetty (or Pier). 1890. Eugenius Birch (1818-1882). Built 1853-1857, but opened to the public in 1855. This was the first of Birch's famous iron piers to be constructed. Picture source: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs collection (Photomechanical print. Reproduction Number: LC-DIG-ppmsc-08702). Commentary by Jacqueline Banerjee. [Click on the image to enlarge it.]
Another view of the pier in 1890. Source: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs collection (Photomechanical print. Reproduction Number: LC-DIG-ppmsc-08703).
The caption for both views in the Library of Congress collection is "The jetty, Margate, England." The earliest structure here had indeed been a simple wooden jetty, dating from 1815, which, like the original wooden pier at Ryde that just predated it, was used primarily as a landing stage. But the opportunity to raise money by opening such early structures to the public was soon recognised. By mid-century, their potential as extensions of the seaside promenade was "already well established" (Dobraszczyk 140). When Margate jetty was badly damaged, and its replacement was mooted, this secondary possibility became the primary goal.
Margate Pier, the first of many that Birch designed, was revolutionary. Structurally, it was the "first, and by many years, single example of a screw-pile pier" ("Eugenius Birch"), supported by iron pillars that screwed into the seabed — the patented invention of the Irish engineer, Alexander Mitchel (1780-1868), and best known for facilitating lighthouse construction. Wooden trestles were still employed, as is clear from the Library of Congress image at the top (see also "Margate Pier: The Pier Structure"). But iron would be the way forward. Unadorned, this structure was not particularly attractive: it must have looked like the kind of railway bridges Birch and his brother had worked on during their spell in India (see Ferry 5). But refinements were introduced both in Margate itself and in Eugenius's subsequent piers.
Embellishments aimed at the comfort and diversion of the public included ornamental, often exotic entrances, gates, railings, benches, kiosks and pavilions. As Kathryn Ferry says in talking about Birch's later Brighton West Pier, "Every new facility conferred a competitive advantage" (7). The camera obscura seen in the postcard above would have been one such attraction, aimed at drawing in the crowds and sending them towards the pavilion at the seaward end. There, the pier would still serve as a landing stage. Indeed, a paddle steamer is seen approaching on the left in the top picture, and other boats can be seen on the right.
Sadly, having already become unsafe, Margate Pier was badly damaged by a storm of January 1978: "The final pieces of the pier head structure were finally dismantled in 1998" ("The Destruction of Margate Jetty") and this is now classed as a "lost" pier.
Bibliography
"The Destruction of Margate Jetty in the Great Storm of January 1978." The Isle of Thanet News. Web. 29 June 2020.
Dobraszczyk, Paul. Iron, Ornament and Architecture in Victorian Britain: Myth and Modernity, Excess and Enchantment. London and New York: Routledge, 2016.
Eugenius Birch. Minutes of the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Vol. 78 (4/1884): 414-16. The ICE [Institution of Civil Engineers] Virtual Library. Web. 29 June 2020.
Ferry, Kathryn. "The Genius of Eugenius." The Victorian (The Magazine of the Victorian Society). No. 58 (July 2018): 4-7.
"Margate Pier: The Pier Structure." The Museum of Thanet's Archaeology: Virtual Museum. [Thank you to Colin Price for pointing me in this direction.] Web. 4 July 2020.
Created 4 July 2020