Ferry pier Trinity Chain Pier

old chain pier, newhaven , watercolour painting alexander nasmyth

poor weather delayed driving of piles, took march july 1821. pier decorated flags opening ceremony on 14 august. steamboats fired salutes alongside pier. 3 hundred people walked trinity hotel pier, , boarded steamboat brief excursion, while band played second vessel. opening attended lord provost of edinburgh, local magistrates, crichton, ramsay, scott, stevenson, , other proprietors of company. admiral robert otway (commander-in-chief of naval forces @ leith), general duff, sir george mackenzie, george baird (the principal of edinburgh university), robert jameson, john leslie, william wallace, , brown designer present. when returned took refreshment in tent @ head of pier.

the pier served ferry traffic between edinburgh , ports on firth of forth , beyond, , usable @ states of tide. leith , newhaven having problems sandbars leading vessels being trapped , damaged @ low water, chain pier had 6 feet 8 inches (2.03 m) of water @ lowest tides, , serve vessels when leith , newhaven unable to. in first year pier made profit of £200, , there proposal improve facilities passengers , other visitors, including having telescopes view ferries. traffic far afield aberdeen , london mentioned, , pier referred ingenious , beautiful . late 1823 there small shop @ pier head.

in 1822 organisers of king george iv s visit edinburgh considered using pier landing, following protests chose leith harbour instead. new cut built proposed royal parade chain pier city centre; later became craighall road. in same year, brilliant became first steam packet call @ anstruther, en route chain pier aberdeen.

the existing ferry operators tried maintain monopoly on shortest crossings fife several years. ferries chain pier prevented landing @ dysart, kirkcaldy, aberdour , ports in between. confirmed in court hearing in december 1821, in existing interdict on ferries pier kirkcaldy maintained , extended. seen being detrimental quality of service. august 1829 ferries dysart permitted, , flag raised @ chain pier in celebration. ferries grangemouth connected forth , clyde canal.

in 1823 piles discovered under attack marine crustacean limnoria terebrans, informally referred gribble worm . ⁄6 inch (4.2 mm) long, , bored holes in piles, reducing strength. after many attempts secure , repair them, in 1830 piles had replaced , sheathed in iron. james anderson accomplished difficult , dangerous task of replacing timbers while maintaining tension in chains keep bridge standing. costs involved put company debt , prevented payment of dividend.

in mid-1830 royal george carried 8,168 passengers dysart, leven , largo in two-month period, 1,181 pleasure trippers did not land in fife. in 1831 victory , lady of lake made daily sailings chain pier same destinations. lowest fare largo 2 shillings. stagecoach connections available there anstruther , st andrews.

on 18 september 1832 exiled , bankrupt french king charles x used pier leave scotland hamburg. on 4 june 1833 ferry benlomond caught fire after leaving pier stirling. lion , stirling castle rescued 220 passengers ferry before sank in shallow water west of pier, 40 minutes after departure.

in 1834 clock , large bell placed @ entrance pier. bell rung before each steamer s departure time in order prevent delays. year there ferries trinity stirling, alloa, charlestown, aberdour, dysart, leven, , largo. in 1835 journey dundee cost 5 shillings, or 3/- steerage. rothesay left chain pier @ 6:30 , returned dundee @ 2 pm each day during summer. other destinations 1842 included crombie point, bo ness , limekilns. stirling castle made pleasure trip bass rock , isle of may pier in 1832. in 1836 steam packet chain pier dundee advertised carrying mail, including parcels , light goods.

a calotype of pier in 1840

early in life, alexander nasmyth, keen amateur engineer, depicted pier in watercolour painting; work, old chain pier, newhaven , belongs scottish national gallery. in 2002 featured in exhibition along contemporary edinburgh paintings of turner. calotype of pier taken in 1840 among collection of 206 photographs of edinburgh discovered in auction in swindon in 2002. national library of scotland bought them on £200,000 , placed images online.

in 1835 total number of passengers using newhaven harbour , chain pier estimated @ 400,000 per year, number of ferries using pier began decline leith , newhaven improved harbour facilities. in 1834 there had been rival plans build large new harbour, either @ trinity or granton. latter chosen , in 1838 first phase of duke of buccleuch s new harbour opened @ granton, causing chain pier traffic fall further.

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