Post Office, Kilmun Pier

Kilmun Pier and Associated Buildings

Kilmun Pier was built around 1828 by marine engineer and entrepreneur David Napier to serve a new passenger route from Glasgow to Inveraray via Loch Eck. It was the first of several piers built on Loch Long and represents an early example of a Clyde pier, of which nearly 100 had been constructed by the late 19th century.

The pier complex comprises a masonry block main pier with a later timber projection, several timber buildings erected on the pier itself, and a pair of parallel stone buildings positioned at the shore end. The main stone pier, built around 1828, features squared rubble blocks with ashlar kerbs and a cobbled surface. The two parallel stone buildings at the shore end, built in rubble with gabled ends facing the road and piend roofs toward the loch-side, appear to date from this initial construction phase. Both buildings have splayed inner corners to allow access to the pier. Historical evidence suggests each was constructed in two stages: an 1839 map indicates they were originally shorter. During the mid-19th century these buildings were extended further onto the pier, initially as single-storey structures but later heightened. The south-eastern building features a blocked-up arched doorway and was possibly a smithy, while the north-western building has a large squared window and is thought to have served as a waiting room. By 1863, the Ordnance Survey map documents service buildings stretching south-east along the road in what is now the car park area.

Later in the 19th century, the pier was extended with a new timber platform to accommodate larger steamers. During the 20th century, two timber buildings were constructed on the timber section of the pier, and a large modern flat-roofed masonry building containing public toilets was erected. The north-western stone building was used as a Post Office during the 20th century.

Materials consist of the stone pier with timber jetty, rubble buildings with sandstone dressings and slate roofs, predominantly timber sash and case windows, timber pier buildings, and a cement-rendered toilet block.

David Napier (1790–1869), the celebrated marine engineer and pioneer of deep-sea steam navigation, purchased land along the Holy Loch and Loch Long shore from General Campbell of Monzie in 1828. He developed the site with a hotel, the pier, and several villas, including the Tea Caddies (also listed). Napier disposed of most of his Scottish interests around 1837, and by the time of the first Ordnance Survey, the pier was recorded as the property of Campbell of Monzie.

The pier ceased operation for passenger traffic in 1971 and has since been used by Western Ferries to moor ferries overnight. In 2003, consent was granted for the conversion of the former Post Office building to residential use.

The pier is part of a B-group listing that includes a K6 telephone kiosk.