Southampton Royal Pier
The Royal Pier in 1905
Southampton Royal Pier has all the hallmarks of an early Victorian pier, all be it that it was opened in 1833 by the Princess Victoria, yet to be crowned Queen of England. Designed by Edward Stephens, they used soft wooden piles and as such within five years they had rotted and the pier had to be fully renovated. Various pontoons were added over the following fifty years and the pavilion was built in 1894.
The pier in 1910 with the trains still operating
It wasn’t long before the pier and the timber built railway station had once again fallen into into a dangerous state. It was decided to stop trains running to the pier just before WWI and although some sort of a service operated after the war, by 1921 it was decided to stop the service completely. Ferries however continued their service to the pier.
As with many other piers, WWII bombing caused damage to the iron work and the pier did not re-open until 1947 but it continued to function as a ferry terminal and in 1950 a new vehicle bridge was built out to the pontoon.
