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Historic and pier head

I have reason to believe this is a picture of the Seagull Pavilion looking in the direction of the esplanade which was in existence at Ryde Pier Head from 1895 until it fell into disuse and was demolished in 1971. The second picture below shows the ballroom approaching up the pier.

I give a little of the history of the pier as background information to the above picture.

The pier was designed by a architect by the name of John Kent and the first stone was laid on the 29th June 1813 and the pier was opened on 26th July 1814, length being 1740 feet.

To assist in the movement of passengers and light goods a second pier was built on he eastern side of the existing structure in 1864 to allow horse drawn trams to operate, later the horses were withdrawn and third rail rolling stock became he method of transport [1886-1927] and then this was changed to petrol driven to twin coach stock, this ceased to operate in 1969, I believe one of the original carriages used on this service is being refurbish by Steam Railway

In 1880 a third pier was added, again on the eastern side to allow steam trains to operate. this was later changed and became third rail. The pier is still in operation carrying passengers in old London Underground stock which operates from Shanklin to the pier head.

In its heyday Ryde Pier was a very busy and popular place, at weekend the pier was packed with holiday makers making their way to and from the British Rail ferries which carried them to .

The pier was given grade 2 listed status in 1976

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