Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

Grade II listed building. Main construction periods 1810 to 1999.

Summary from record TR 37 SE 267:

The harbour pier at Margate was constructed in 1810-15. It was made so that it protected the harbour hence its original design in five angled sections of stone. There is also a raised promenade and a lighthouse at the end.

Monument Types

• SITE (Post Medieval to Modern - 1810 AD to 2050 AD)

Full description

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The following text is from the original listed building designation:
The following item shall be added to the list:-
TR 3571 MARGATE THE PARADE
2/277 Stone Pier
II
Pier. 1810-15. Designed by John Rennie. Stone and concrete. The pier consists of five sections, angled so as to form a westward curve enclosing the harbour. The basic structure is about 900 feet long, 60 feet wide and 26 feet high; a raised promenade runs from a point just above the Droit House as far as the lighthouse at the west end. The pier is built of roughly dressed stone and there are considerable remains of the cast iron balustrade in the second and third sections of the pier (numbering from the lighthouse; the remains of cast iron lamp standards at the beginning of the pier and along the promenade are more fragmentary. The original lighthouse was destroyed in 1953; the present lighthouse, in concrete, reproduce the general form but not the details of its predecessor. It was designed by W R H Gardner and built in 1854. Single-storey C20 workshops have been built on the fourth and fifth sections of the pier, backing up against the promenade.
Listing NGR: TR3524571233

Description from record TR 37 SE 267:
Margate Harbour Pier, constructed 1810-15 to designs by John Rennie. Curves westwards to protect harbour. Constructed in 5 angled sections in stone. Raised promenade runs part of the 900' length. The pier is 60' wide and 26' high with a lighthouse (TR 37 SE 1025) at the end. The original was destroyed and the present concrete one replaced it in 1954. Listed grade 2.

History of the structure and survey of it in 2002. (15)

A detailed survey was undertaken in 2005 by the Trust for Thanet Archaeology. (16)

English Heritage, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest (Map). SKE16160.

<1> Eve, D., 1999, A guide to the Industrial Archaeology of Kent, I13 (Monograph). SWX9293.

<2> Bullock, 1843, River Thames from Ramsgate to the Nore (Chart). SWX8112.

<3> Bullock, 1846, The Downs (Chart). SWX8126.

<4> 1946, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX9658.

<5> 1946, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX9671.

<6> 1948, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX9722.

<7> 1942, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX9901.

<8> 1942, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX9925.

<9> 1942, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX9927.

<10> 1942, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX9929.

<11> 1941, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX9990.

<12> 1941, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX10096.

<13> 1998, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX10147.

<14> 1992, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX11783.

<15> ArupGeotechnics, 2002, Turner Centre Margate: Heritage Desk Study (Unpublished document). SKE17475.

<16> Trust for Thanet Archaeology, 2005, Turner Contemporary Art Centre, Margate Pier, Margate, Kent: Historic Recording of Margate Pier (Unpublished document). SKE17683.

Sources and further reading

Related records