The Town Pier

The Town Pier is a pleasure pier dating from 1831-4, designed by WT Clark, a Civic Engineer. It is considered to be one of the earliest surviving iron pleasure piers in the world. The pier has a T-shaped construction using cast iron, supported at the shore end by two rows of four cast iron Doric columns and on the river side by three rows of six columns, with cast iron arched ribs. Originally, there were two pavilions at the angles of the T-portion, featuring pitched roofs supported on decorative columns with cast iron cupolas topped by urn-shaped finials; these pavilions remain but have been boarded in. One cupola originally housed a clock, and the other a bell. A 35-foot high, cylindrical cast-iron lighthouse stands between the pavilions, with a blocked light at the top surmounted by a finial. Later in the 19th century, the remainder of the pier was roofed over, and now includes twelve wooden pilasters and twelve 20th-century casement windows. The walls are based on tongue-and-groove boards, with 20th-century corrugated iron above. An original stone causeway lies beneath the pier. A 20th-century addition to the front consists of yellow brick construction with a wooden canopy featuring a fretted cornice and four decorative cast iron columns.