Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

Dover Promenade Pier was opened in May 1893 and is visible on the Ordnance Survey 1899 edition. The pier offered promenade facilities and summer concerts in the pavilion until 1913 when it was purchased by the Admiralty to serve as a naval landing stage. Used as such during the First World War, it never returned to public use. The pier was finally demolished in 1927. The area was given a monument polygon during historic mapping enhancement as part of Phase 1 of the South East Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey. (location accurate to the nearest 10m based on available information)

Monument Types

• PLEASURE PIER (Post Medieval to Modern - 1899 AD to 1938 AD)

Full description

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Dover Promenade Pier visible on the Ordnance Survey 1899 edition [1]. It was no longer visible on the Ordnance Survey 1938 edition [2] or on OS MasterMap dating to 2009 [3]. The area was given a monument polygon during historic mapping enhancement as part of Phase 1 of the South East Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey.

The Promenade Pier was opened in May 1893. The total length was 900 feet, and for the first 640 feet it was 30 feet wide, the width increasing to 100 feet at the pier head where it was planned to build a pavilion. This pavilion would be large enough to accommodate 1,000 people, with an auditorium, stage, dining room and top deck promenade. Before work could commence on the pavilion the pier suffered the first of two set-backs. With the pier only six months old a ship collided with the seaward end which delayed construction of the pavilion. In November 1895, heavy seas carried away two of the piles of the pier and, in that weakened condition, other piers and girders collapsed. Repairs to the 100 ft section proved no easy task, and it was not until 1897 that the pavilion was finally built. The pier offered promenade facilities and summer concerts in the pavilion until 1913 when it was purchased by the Admiralty to serve as a naval landing stage. Used as such during the First World War, it never returned to public use. The pier was finally demolished in 1927. (4)

<1> Landmark, Ordnance Survey 1:2,500 map (OS 2nd Edition, 1897-1900): Landmark Epoch 2, 1899/1:2500 (Map). SKE30965.

<2> Landmark, 1907-1923, Ordnance Survey 1:2,500 map (OS 3rd Edition, 1907-1923): Landmark Epoch 3, 1938/1:2500 (Map). SKE30966.

<3> Landmark, Ordnance Survey 1:2,500 map (OS 4th Edition, 1929-1952): Landmark Epoch 4, MasterMap (Map). SKE30967.

<4> 2016, The Promenade Pier - Dover: Lock and Key of the Kingdom (Website). SKE32122.

Sources and further reading