Pier And Lighthouse

Pier and Lighthouse

A pier constructed between 1810 and 1825 by engineer John Rennie, and a lighthouse built in 1826 to the designs of Joseph Nelson. Both structures are built primarily of sandstone with iron and concrete elements.

The pier extends from the north side of the River Tweed into the harbour mouth for approximately half a mile (880 metres), with a distinct change of angle halfway along its length. The walls are constructed of rock-faced battered sandstone formed from large blocks of slightly convex squared stone. The outer face comprises six courses below a prominent roll-moulding, above which rises a vertical parapet or shelter wall three to four courses high, stepped on its inner side. Much of the pier's stone surface is now covered with asphalt concrete and concrete, though beyond the change of angle, the western edge retains its original stone surface with visible lewis holes. Iron mooring features are set into the surface along the pier's length, and at the landward end stand two concrete anti-tank cubes. At the easternmost end, the shelter wall curves around to enclose a circular lighthouse built in ashlar, now painted. The lighthouse is slightly tapering and divided into three stages separated by projecting bands, crowned with a conical roof. An entrance opens on the south side, with a small recessed window on the western side. The seaward eastern side features a large recessed window opening with a glazed lantern and external gallery above. A roughly semi-circular flat-topped stone platform adjoins the inner face of the pier immediately before its change of angle.

Construction began in 1808 following the transfer of Berwick Harbour to the Berwick Harbour Commissioners by Act of Parliament on 9 June 1808. The pier was built partly on what are thought to be the foundations of an Elizabethan pier. The foundation stone was laid on 27 February 1810 with great ceremony. Stone was quarried locally near Spittal and shipped across from the south side of the Tweed to the pier works. The pier was completed in 1825 at a cost of £61,536. The lighthouse foundation stone was laid on 15 February 1826, and the structure was completed later that year. Joseph Nelson, who designed the lighthouse, had previously been responsible for lights on Inner Farne (1809-10) and Longstone (1826). Despite the substantial investment, the harbour's anticipated prosperity did not materialise, attributed to increased harbour dues required to pay for the works and the decline in the salmon catch. The latter was partly caused by the new pier reducing the size of the harbour mouth, which discouraged salmon from entering. An Ordnance Survey map of 1898 depicts a semi-circular structure adjoining the pier's inner side marked as 'Batt'; its date and function remain unknown.