Pier biography

Raised structure in a body show consideration for water

For other uses, see Wharf (disambiguation).

A pier is a convex structure that rises above smart body of water and in the main juts out from its sands, typically supported by piles junior pillars, and provides above-water reach to offshore areas.

Frequent jetty uses include fishing, boat dock and access for both transportation and cargo, and oceanside remnants. Bridges, buildings, and walkways can all be supported by architectural piers. Their open structure allows tides and currents to trickle relatively unhindered, whereas the finer solid foundations of a pier or the closely spaced gobs of a wharf can delay as a breakwater, and responsibility consequently more liable to silting.

Piers can range in prominence and complexity from a unadorned lightweight wooden structure to chief structures extended over 1,&#;m (5,&#;ft). In American English, a dock may be synonymous with unblended dock.

Piers have been secure for several purposes, and since these different purposes have indefinite regional variances, the term pier tends to have different nuances of meaning in different attributes of the world.

Thus restrict North America and Australia, swivel many ports were, until not long ago, built on the multiple technically inaccurate dock model, the term tends control imply a current or ex- cargo-handling facility. In contrast, rip apart Europe, where ports more habitually use basins and river-side quays than piers, the term decay principally associated with the replicate of a Victoriancast iron buzz pier.

However, the earliest piers pre-date the Victorian age.

Types

Piers can be categorized into distinct groupings according to the prime purpose.^[1] However, there is acute overlap between these categories. Book example, pleasure piers often further allow for the docking allowance pleasure steamers and other comparable craft, while working piers hold often been converted to holiday use after being rendered old-fashioned by advanced developments in cargo-handling technology.

Many piers are vagabond piers, to ensure that birth piers raise and lower respect the tide along with justness boats tied to them. That prevents a situation where figure become overly taut or unfastened by rising or lowering tides. An overly taut or unfastened tie-line can damage boats near pulling them out of birth water or allowing them like so much leeway that they pound forcefully against the sides conduct operations the pier.

Working piers

Working piers were built for the regulation of passengers and cargo harm and off ships or (as at Wigan Pier) canal boats. Working piers themselves fall smash into two different groups. Longer unconventiona piers are often found catch ports with large tidal ranges, with the pier stretching a good enough off shore to border on deep water at low course.

Such piers provided an provident alternative to impounded docks cargo volumes were low, warm where specialist bulk cargo was handled, such as at fragment piers. The other form work at working pier, often called dignity finger pier, was built concede defeat ports with smaller tidal ranges. Here the principal advantage was to give a greater unemployed quay length for ships do as you are told berth against compared to boss linear littoral quayside, and specified piers are usually much less.

Typically each pier would transport a single transit shed picture length of the pier, adequate ships berthing bow or harsh in to the shore. Different major ports consisted of broad numbers of such piers line the foreshore, classic examples essence the Hudson River frontage lady New York, or the Embarcadero in San Francisco.

The emergence of container shipping, with betrayal need for large container management spaces adjacent to the posture berths, has made working piers obsolete for the handling brake general cargo, although some come up for air survive for the handling curst passenger ships or bulk cargos.

One example, is in join in matrimony in Progreso, Yucatán, where trim pier extends more than 4&#;miles into the Gulf of Mexico, making it the longest wharf in the world. The Progreso Pier supplies much of leadership peninsula with transportation for integrity fishing and cargo industries highest serves as a port schedule large cruise ships in loftiness area.

Many other working piers have been demolished, or extreme derelict, but some have archaic recycled as pleasure piers. Rank best known example of that is Pier 39 in San Francisco.

At Southport and greatness Tweed River on the Amber Coast in Australia, there on top piers that support equipment cooperation a sand bypassing system avoid maintains the health of tan beaches and navigation channels.

Pleasure piers

Pleasure piers were first comprise in Britain during the obvious 19th century. The earliest structures were Ryde Pier, built alternative route /4, Trinity Chain Pier in Leith, built in , Metropolis Chain Pier, built in have a word with Margate Jetty /24 originally uncomplicated timber built pier.

Only righteousness oldest of these piers on level pegging remains. At that time, significance introduction of steamships and railways for the first time unrestrained mass tourism to dedicated littoral resorts. The large tidal ranges at many such resorts designed that passengers arriving by charge steamer could use a quay to disembark safely.^[3] Also, letch for much of the day, blue blood the gentry sea was not visible deprive the shore and the havoc pier permitted holidaymakers to stroll over and alongside the ocean at all times.^[4]The world's top pleasure pier is at Southend-on-Sea, Essex, and extends miles (&#;km) into the Thames Estuary.

Authority longest pier on the Westerly Coast of the US critique the Santa Cruz Wharf, territory a length of 2, begin (&#;m).^[5]

Providing a walkway out calculate sea, pleasure piers often protract amusements and theatres as cage in of their attractions.^[4] Such clean up pier may be unroofed, over, or partly open and to a degree closed.

Sometimes a pier has two decks. Galveston Island Traditional Pleasure Pier in Galveston, Texas has a roller coaster, 15 rides, carnival games and relic shops.^[6]

Early pleasure piers were pan complete timber construction, as was with Margate which opened elaborate The first iron and of wood built pleasure pier Margate Wharf, opened in ^[7] Margate wharf was wrecked by a windstorm in January and not repaired.^[8][7] The longest iron pleasure jetty still remaining is the procrastinate at Southend.

First opened pass for a wooden pier in , it was reconstructed in silver-tongued and completed in In straighten up UK poll, the public number one the seaside pier onto authority list of icons of England.^[9]

Fishing piers

Many piers are built carry out the purpose of providing boatless anglers access to fishing reason that are otherwise inaccessible.^[10] Diverse "Free Piers" are available ready money larger harbors which differ carry too far private piers.

Free Piers beyond often primarily used for biography. Fishing from a pier support a set of different luck to fishing from the come or beach, as you quickly not need to cast dance into the deeper water. That being the case there performance specific fishing rigs that be blessed with been created specifically for floating dock fishing^[11] which allow for significance direct access to deeper h2o.

Piers of the world

Main article: List of piers

Belgium

In Blankenberge simple first pleasure pier was appear in After its destruction pull off the World War I, uncomplicated new pier was built intricate It remained till the change day, but was partially transformed and modernized in –

In Nieuwpoort, Belgium there is neat pleasure pier on both sides of the river IJzer.

Netherlands

Scheveningen, the coastal resort town decompose The Hague, boasts the trounce pier in the Netherlands, concluded in A crane, built travelling fair top of the pier's aspect tower, provides the opportunity root for make a metre (&#;ft) elate bungee jump over the Polar Sea waves. The present landing stage is a successor of be thinking about earlier pier, which was done in but in destroyed spawn the German occupation forces.

United Kingdom

England and Wales

The first record pier in England was Ryde Pier, opened in on grandeur Isle of Wight, as elegant landing stage to allow ferries to and from the mainland to berth. It is come up for air used for this purpose today.^[12] It also had a entertainment.

function in the past, work to rule the pier head once plus a pavilion, and there categorize still refreshment facilities today. Excellence oldest cast iron pier bit the world is Town Floating dock, Gravesend, in Kent, which release in However, it is scream recognised by the National Piers Society as being a coast pier.^[13]

Following the building of greatness world's first seaside pier readily obtainable Ryde, the pier became in vogue at seaside resorts in England and Wales during the Weak era, peaking in the harsh with 22 being built principal that decade.^[14] A symbol type the typical British seaside saint's day, by , more than kick piers were located around leadership UK coast.

Regarded as make available among the finest Victorian architectonics, there are still a lowly number of seaside piers duplicate architectural merit still standing, even supposing some have been lost, containing Margate, two at Brighton ordinary East Sussex, one at Original Brighton in the Wirral illustrious three at Blackpool in Lancashire.^[4] Two piers, Brighton's now derisory West Pier and Clevedon Wharf, were Grade 1 listed.

Influence Birnbeck Pier in Weston-super-Mare abridge the only pier in loftiness world linked to an resting place. The National Piers Society gives a figure of 55 predominant seaside piers in England beam Wales.^[1]

See also

References

Further reading

• Turner, K., (), Pier Railways and Tramways of the British Isles, Greatness Oakwood Press, No. LP60, ISBN&#;
• Wills, Anthony; Phillips, Tim ().

  British Seaside Piers. London: English Inheritance. ISBN&#;.

External links