Details
DOVER
685/7/10042 DOVER HARBOUR
01-DEC-75 THE PRINCE OF WALES PIER
II
Harbour pier. Designed by Sir John Coode,KCMG (1816-1892) in 1890-92 and completed after his death to designs by Coode, Son and Mathews. The contractors were Sir John Jackson Ltd. The later 1970s shelters and 1990s cafeteria are not of special interest.
MATERIALS: The pier is 2,910 feet long; the entrance section and seaward half constructed of stone with granite coping, the intermediate part constructed on a framework of cast iron trestles on screw piles with lattice girders, but this has been concealed under later C20 concrete on the western side and under later piling on the eastern side.
DESCRIPTION: The curved entrance section at the landward end is constructed of stone, with granite coping and cast iron railings. These have ornate end piers with rosette decoration and knops, simpler intermediate posts and horizontal rails.The cast iron pedestrian and vehicle gates at the landward end are of later C20 date, in traditional style. On the north east side of the landward half are the original railings and thirteen cast iron lamp standards bearing the shield of Dover Harbour Board, and shafts with bulbous bases bearing anthemion decoration. The north part of the western side of the pier is now concealed behind reclaimed land of the former Hoverport Terminal, and the original railings have been replaced by tall concrete panels. At the start of the eastern half of the pier is a granite plinth; the base and moulded cornice of white granite, the rest of pink granite, with a panel commemorating the opening of the pier with names of the engineers and contractors and members of the Dover Harbour Board. Along the eastern half of the pier, the stone structure with granite coping is visible on both sides and end. There are a further thirteen lamp standards. The seaward end terminates in a circular end with a flight of granite steps, and some cast iron cleats supporting a painted granite tapering lighthouse with moulded plinth, moulded cornice with handrail and cylindrical lantern surmounted by metal weathervane.
HISTORY: The Prince of Wales Pier was designed by Sir John Coode, KCMG (1816-1892) in 1890-92 and completed after his death to designs by Coode, Son and Mathews. The foundation stone was laid on 20 July 1893 by Edward Prince of Wales, after whom it was named, and completed on 31 May 1902. It was built by the Dover Harbour Board to give shelter to the east side of the harbour and provide berths for cross-Channel steamers and transatlantic liners. By 1905 there was a railway track along it, connecting with the projecting shipping berths. When the Admiralty Harbour, consisting of the extension to the Admiralty Pier, the Southern Breakwater and the Eastern Arm, was completed in 1909 it became an inner pier to the harbour. It is shown partially completed on the 1898 Ordnance Survey map, with three shipping berths on each side, and completed on the 1907 sheet. Early photographs show the railway track, projecting shipping berths, cast iron railings, cast iron lamp standards and iron pedestrian and carriage gates at the landward end, together with a kiosk, probably for collecting tolls. When the Hoverport Terminal was built in 1978 on reclaimed land adjoining the northern half of the western side of the pier, this part of the pier was concealed and the railings replaced by concrete panels. 1970s shelters and a 1990s cafeteria were also built.
SOURCES:
Oxford DNB entry on Sir John Coode.
R A Otter "Civil Engineering Heritage. Southern England". 1994. p245.
English Heritage unpublished report "Dover Harbour-Notes on Historical and Engineering interest". September 2008.
Maritime Archaeology Ltd. unpublished "Dover Terminal 2. Historic Environment Baseline Report." October 2008.
REASONS FOR DESIGNATION:
The Prince of Wales Pier, Dover Harbour, is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* The only Dover Harbour structure designed by probably the most distinguished harbour engineer of the C19, Sir John Coode in 1890-2, and completed by the firm of Coode, Son and Mathews in 1902.
* A handsome and impressive pier, 2,910 feet long; partially constructed of stone blocks with granite coping and partially of cast iron piers on screwpiles with trestle lattice girders, although the latter material is now concealed.
* It survives substantially intact with end lighthouse, cleats and steps, iron railings and lamp standards although the projecting shipping berths were removed and the entrance gates replaced.
* It forms part of a group of designated structures in Dover Harbour.
