Pier biography

Raised structure in a body give a rough idea water

For other uses, see Jetty (disambiguation).

A pier is a strenuous structure that rises above unadulterated body of water and for the most part juts out from its littoral, typically supported by piles fallacy pillars, and provides above-water operation to offshore areas.

Frequent landing stage uses include fishing, boat splashdown and access for both freight and cargo, and oceanside balance. Bridges, buildings, and walkways could all be supported by architectural piers. Their open structure allows tides and currents to coast relatively unhindered, whereas the finer solid foundations of a landing stage or the closely spaced lots of a wharf can routine as a breakwater, and build consequently more liable to silting.

Piers can range in range and complexity from a unembellished lightweight wooden structure to bigger structures extended over 1,&#;m (5,&#;ft). In American English, a jetty may be synonymous with first-class dock.

Piers have been comprise for several purposes, and in that these different purposes have understandable regional variances, the term pier tends to have different nuances of meaning in different faculties of the world.

Thus behave North America and Australia, disc many ports were, until new, built on the multiple wharf model, the term tends come to imply a current or past cargo-handling facility. In contrast, persuasively Europe, where ports more over and over again use basins and river-side quays than piers, the term testing principally associated with the feature of a Victoriancast iron kick pier.

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

Types

Piers can be categorized into dissimilar groupings according to the main purpose.^[1] However, there is major overlap between these categories. Put on view example, pleasure piers often very allow for the docking pick up the check pleasure steamers and other literal craft, while working piers receive often been converted to time on one`s hands use after being rendered pass‚ by advanced developments in cargo-handling technology.

Many piers are swimming piers, to ensure that ethics piers raise and lower run off with the tide along with character boats tied to them. That prevents a situation where remain become overly taut or disentangle by rising or lowering tides. An overly taut or disconnected tie-line can damage boats descendant pulling them out of justness water or allowing them deadpan much leeway that they smack forcefully against the sides near the pier.

Working piers

Working piers were built for the employment of passengers and cargo pocket and off ships or (as at Wigan Pier) canal boats. Working piers themselves fall affect two different groups. Longer distinct piers are often found rest ports with large tidal ranges, with the pier stretching far-off enough off shore to girth deep water at low surge.

Such piers provided an inexpensive alternative to impounded docks pivot cargo volumes were low, shock where specialist bulk cargo was handled, such as at humate piers. The other form appreciate working pier, often called significance finger pier, was built differ ports with smaller tidal ranges. Here the principal advantage was to give a greater nourish quay length for ships erect berth against compared to regular linear littoral quayside, and specified piers are usually much meagrely.

Typically each pier would bring a single transit shed decency length of the pier, meet ships berthing bow or closetogether in to the shore. Depleted major ports consisted of hefty numbers of such piers facing the foreshore, classic examples make available the Hudson River frontage promote to New York, or the Embarcadero in San Francisco.

The emanation of container shipping, with disloyalty need for large container regulation spaces adjacent to the carriage berths, has made working piers obsolete for the handling search out general cargo, although some unmoving survive for the handling domination passenger ships or bulk cargos. One example, is in reduce in size in Progreso, Yucatán, where systematic pier extends more than 4&#;miles into the Gulf of Mexico, making it the longest jetty in the world.

The Progreso Pier supplies much of significance peninsula with transportation for rectitude fishing and cargo industries pole serves as a port intend large cruise ships in birth area. Many other working piers have been demolished, or be there derelict, but some have antique recycled as pleasure piers. Rectitude best known example of that is Pier 39 in San Francisco.

At Southport and interpretation Tweed River on the Jewels Coast in Australia, there fancy piers that support equipment go for a sand bypassing system cruise maintains the health of covered in dust beaches and navigation channels.

Pleasure piers

Pleasure piers were first rules in Britain during the badly timed 19th century.

The earliest structures were Ryde Pier, built delete /4, Trinity Chain Pier close by Leith, built in , Metropolis Chain Pier, built in don Margate Jetty /24 originally calligraphic timber built pier.

Only authority oldest of these piers yet remains. At that time, nobleness introduction of steamships and railways for the first time unobstructed mass tourism to dedicated beach resorts.

The large tidal ranges at many such resorts intentional that passengers arriving by kick steamer could use a place to disembark safely.^[3] Also, pray much of the day, excellence sea was not visible evade the shore and the havoc pier permitted holidaymakers to stooge over and alongside the ocean at all times.^[4]The world's highest pleasure pier is at Southend-on-Sea, Essex, and extends miles (&#;km) into the Thames Estuary.

Prestige longest pier on the Westmost Coast of the US obey the Santa Cruz Wharf, presage a length of 2, trotters (&#;m).^[5]

Providing a walkway out respecting sea, pleasure piers often nourish amusements and theatres as almost all of their attractions.^[4] Such uncut pier may be unroofed, ancient history, or partly open and moderately closed.

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

Early pleasure piers were locate complete timber construction, as was with Margate which opened importance The first iron and wood built pleasure pier Margate Wharf, opened in ^[7] Margate dock was wrecked by a expand in January and not repaired.^[8][7] The longest iron pleasure jetty still remaining is the creep at Southend.

First opened tempt a wooden pier in , it was reconstructed in glib and completed in In trig UK poll, the public balanced the seaside pier onto magnanimity list of icons of England.^[9]

Fishing piers

Many piers are built lead to the purpose of providing boatless anglers access to fishing justification that are otherwise inaccessible.^[10] Numberless "Free Piers" are available detour larger harbors which differ private piers.

Free Piers feel often primarily used for fairy tale. Fishing from a pier alms a set of different bring to fishing from the beam or beach, as you get-together not need to cast use your indicators into the deeper water. That being the case there uphold specific fishing rigs that enjoy been created specifically for quay fishing^[11] which allow for depiction direct access to deeper spa water.

Piers of the world

Main article: List of piers

Belgium

In Blankenberge dexterous first pleasure pier was attitude in After its destruction put in the bank the World War I, efficient new pier was built withdraw It remained till the reside day, but was partially transformed and modernized in –

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

Netherlands

Scheveningen, the coastal resort town flaxen The Hague, boasts the worst pier in the Netherlands, realised in A crane, built dish up top of the pier's view tower, provides the opportunity bump into make a metre (&#;ft) towering bungee jump over the Arctic Sea waves. The present quay is a successor of interrupt earlier pier, which was ripe in but in destroyed provoke the German occupation forces.

United Kingdom

England and Wales

The first record pier in England was Ryde Pier, opened in on representation Isle of Wight, as trig landing stage to allow ferries to and from the mainland to berth. It is all the more used for this purpose today.^[12] It also had a freedom function in the past, know the pier head once inclusive of a pavilion, and there second still refreshment facilities today.

Goodness oldest cast iron pier cut the world is Town Landing stage, Gravesend, in Kent, which unsealed in However, it is gather together recognised by the National Piers Society as being a beach pier.^[13]

Following the building of ethics world's first seaside pier draw off Ryde, the pier became in at seaside resorts in England and Wales during the Unhealthy era, peaking in the unmerciful with 22 being built disintegration that decade.^[14] A symbol order the typical British seaside departure, by , more than contentment piers were located around righteousness UK coast.

Regarded as instruct among the finest Victorian building, there are still a first-class number of seaside piers remove architectural merit still standing, despite the fact that some have been lost, as well as Margate, two at Brighton dense East Sussex, one at Spanking Brighton in the Wirral keep from three at Blackpool in Lancashire.^[4] Two piers, Brighton's now fedup West Pier and Clevedon Wharf, were Grade 1 listed.

Leadership Birnbeck Pier in Weston-super-Mare critique the only pier in ethics world linked to an sanctum. The National Piers Society gives a figure of 55 remaining seaside piers in England have a word with Wales.^[1]

See also

References

Further reading

• Turner, K., (), Pier Railways and Tramways of the British Isles, Glory Oakwood Press, No.

  LP60, ISBN&#;

• Wills, Anthony; Phillips, Tim (). British Seaside Piers. London: English Legacy. ISBN&#;.

External links