Swanage Pier
of Swanage, Dorset
1859-60 The first Swanage Pier, which was 750 feet long, was built for use primarily by the local stone quarrying industry and included a tramway which ran the length of the pier and some way along the seafront. The old tracks can be seen to this day, inset into the seafront walkways.
1874 When local businessman George Burt introduced regular steamer services between Swanage and nearby towns Poole and Bournemouth a need became apparent for a second pier to be built primarily for use by passenger steamers.
1895 Construction on the new pier began and by 1896 was first used by a steamer. The pier was officially opened for traffic on 29 March 1897. While regular steamer services ran on the new pier up until 1966, the older original pier declined along with the stone industry it served some years earlier. Today all that remains of the old pier are some of the timber piles.
After steamer services discontinued in 1966 the remaining pleasure pier also began to fall into disrepair.
In 1976 Grade II listed status was awarded to the pier. After a failed attempt to restore the pier by a development firm in 1986, Swanage Pier Trust took over ownership of the pier in 1994.
The Trust took on the task of raising over £1,000,000 needed to carry out major restoration work on the pier's piles, timbers and ironwork fittings. It was reopened in 1998.