History 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.

sea bathing

in 19th century, fashion sea bathing had gripped britain. activity pursued pleasure , health benefits thought confer. alloa steam packet company bought pier in 1840, , leased john greig, installed changing cubicles. male bathers paid 1 penny use pier. 1842 pier used bathers.

in 1840s development of railway network made travel vastly quicker , more accessible. 1842 edinburgh, leith , newhaven railway provided access pier ferry passengers , bathers, horse-drawn trains running scotland street in canonmills trinity railway station, original northern terminus of line. in 1845 reduced fare crossing on royal tar advertised; steerage trinity leven or largo 1/2, , connecting trains scotland street available. line well-used , rail company replaced trinity station new 1 in 1846 when extended line new harbour @ granton. edinburgh , northern railway opened railway across fife in 1847, absorbed edinburgh, leith , newhaven railway in 1848, , started world s first train ferry granton burntisland in 1850.

in june 1847 captain john bush, of kirkcaldy , london shipping company, married margaret greig, daughter of shipmaster, @ pier. in 1849 lifebuoy , rope provided @ pier head swimmers got difficulty. ladder leading sea provided swimmers, in addition stairs use steamboat passengers. 1850s pier falling disrepair, still popular bathers, , early-morning trains advertised allowing swim before work. there gymnasium @ head of pier, , forth swimming club based there inception in 1850. organised swimming competitions, including fast swimming , long diving were, respectively, 300-yard (270 m) race , underwater endurance contest. deep diving involved retrieving objects bottom in 20 feet (6.1 m) of water surfacing through floating lifebuoy. longer race newhaven harbour chain pier, distance of 550 yards (500 m). in 1864 winning time 11 minutes , 35 seconds. 2 floating platforms moored east of pier; closer 1 20–25 yards (18–23 m) out. in july 1858 attempt made restart ferry services pier; caused annoyance swimmers.

in 1859 colonial life assurance company acquired pier, , 1860 eckford family leased pier them. owners employed caretaker, pier became dilapidated, , required expensive repairs keep open. in june 1860 when royal navy s channel fleet visiting queensferry, there 3 trips day pier see fleet. in november 1861 commissioners of leith docks challenged operation of pier in case @ court of session, argued right build , operate pier not transferable london, leith, edinburgh , glasgow steam navigation company subsequent owners , operators. in february 1862 offered sale, suggestion re-installed elsewhere either pier or bridge. locals concerned pier s opening on sundays swimming distract people going church; availability of beer noted. 1869, train service, there regular omnibuses mound chain pier , trinity baths, nearby sea bath had opened prior 1829. hot , cold sea water available pitcher there. on 26 july 1879, 3,000 spectators lined shore see scottish swimming championship, took place between chain pier , granton breakwater. won wilson of glasgow time of 17 minutes. competitors used overhand stroke. popularity of sea bathing declined water became increasingly polluted sewage , industrial waste, , focus of bathing moved indoor pools. sea bathing continued @ portobello beach, 3.4 miles (5.5 km) east of city centre.

the pier after storm in 1898

from 1 march 1864 until 31 august 1865, captain thomas measured sea temperatures chain pier. data supported acceptance of gulf stream mechanism explain warmer seas around scotland, in west. in 1869, experiment using electric light lighthouses, thomas stevenson had underwater cable installed eastern breakwater of granton harbour. operator on harbour wall, switch , bunsen cell (an form of battery), controlled light on end of chain pier half mile (800 m) away.

there many drownings , rescues pier on years, , on focus of swimming clubs life-saving. in 1871 royal humane society awarded james crichton badge , sash saving 2 lives in week, second chain pier. in 1880 lorne swimming club awarded silver medal t shepherd saving life of trumpeter leith fort, , in 1882 forth swimming club , humane society awarded certificate james h walls saving 2 swimmers pier july. in 1889 ladies swimming lessons advertised, gymnastics, massage , medical electricity . in 1890 forth bridge @ queensferry enabled direct rail travel edinburgh fife; 20,000 trains had crossed 1910.

the pier badly damaged on 18 october 1898 storm lasted 4 days , caused great destruction on scotland. several steam , sailing vessels sunk or driven ashore , wrecked in vicinity of pier. storm removed deck , chains, destroyed platform closest shore, , damaged remaining 2 platforms (the pier head , second support platform). pier never repaired , ruin eroded away sea. remnants of wooden piles supported pier can still seen @ low tide.

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