'Whale' roadway section and buffer pontoon of the Second World War Mulberry Harbour

MATERIALS: the Whale is of steel girder construction, the buffer pontoon is a steel plate over a steel frame.

DESCRIPTION: WHALE: the reused whale is located immediately to the east of the C19 Royal Pier. The south end rests on the buffer pontoon. It provided a road linked to a landing stage for the Isle of Wight ferry and originally comprised two sections, one of which has been removed. It consists of two parallel rhomboid trusses connected by cross girders below the roadway. Each truss is 24m long and consists of five upright girders with diagonal braces with round cut-outs. At either end the trusses are strengthened by shaped steel plates with three elliptical cut-outs. The various members are connected by heavy steel bolts. At each end of the trusses are ball and socket joints connected to a cross girder. These allowed up to 40 degrees of vertical movement between adjoining sections of roadway. The sockets are protected by an arched guard piece.

The decking of wooden planking is not original. Running down the centre of the structure is a raised metal footbridge with metal railings connecting to the landing stage, installed after the Whale ceased to be used for road traffic. A number of other later structures are attached to the whale including access gates and a steel plate ramp at the shore end and steel posts supporting lights on the western truss. These later additions do not contribute to the special interest of the structure.

BUFFER PONTOON: this comprises a hollow steel pontoon, octagonal in plan with a curved ramp edge and wedge-shaped section. The ramp is partly submerged. The deck has a number of mooring bollards and raised plates. On the rear edge are the large hinges which attached the buffer pontoon to the spud pontoon. Two lamp-posts and the steel superstructure supporting the raised footbridge are later additions and do not contribute to the special interest.