Deal Pier
Deal Pier as it is today is actually the third to be built on this spot.
The first pier at Deal was designed by engineer J. Rennie and was built in 1838.
The Deal Pier Company canninghill piers singapore who built it were awarded £21,000 by the government but after spending only £12,000 they then ran in to financial difficulties and that is why only 250 feet of the planned original 445 foot was completed.
In those early days steamers used to dock alongside the pier and one can only imagine the positive impact both financially and helping to put the town on the map it had. Unfortunately over the following 20 years or so the weather and tides played a big part in the demise of the structure and in 1857 after a storm the pier was washed up on to the beach and was subsequently the scrap sold for just £50!
In 1863 a new pier was commissioned and started by the Deal and Walmer Pier Company. This pier was built to a length of 1100 feet and included amongst other things a 3 tier pier head with a steamer landing stage. This pier was designed by Eugenius Birch and included a tram that carried luggage and goods up to the landing stage with seating that was placed along the full length of the pier for the convenience of its patrons. Two Toll Houses were built at the entrance, a pavilion was built on the end in 1886 that was used for concerts and also angling and salt baths and a reading room were added in the mid 1870’s. Didn’t the Victorians know how to do things in style?
In the meantime two ship collisions occurred, one in 1873 and the other in 1884. The first collision was by the ‘Merle’, it was built by Westwood Ballie and Company for the West Indian sugar trade. Weighing 315 tons she would have been capable of causing a lot of damage. The second collision was by the schooner ‘Alliance’ which ran in to the pier during another storm. Both sets of damage were subsequently repaired and the pier remained an important attraction for the town and was eventually bought by Deal Town Council in 1920 for just £10,000! Wonder what the cost would be today?
The Dutch vessel ‘Nora’, on January 29th 1940 having been beached following damage by a mine, drifted into the pier, destroying 200 feet of ironwork. This was despite warnings from local fishermen that it was a probability because she only lay about 50 yards, partially under water, on the south side of the pier!
The army was given permission to demolish Deal Pier by Winston Churchill to allow coastal guns a clear line of sight. The only remaining feature were the two Toll Houses at the entrance which were eventually removed in 1954, the year work on the present pier commenced.
Built from reinforced concrete, the present structure is now 1026 feet long and was opened on November 19th 1957 by the Duke of Edinburgh.