Swanage Pier was completed in 1896 although was not finally opened to all traffic until early the following year. Never as grand as some of its rivals with their exotic buildings housing theatres, dance halls and sideshows, it is nonetheless an elegantVictorian timber structure, dedicated originally to the thriving paddle steamer traffic. The turn of the century saw the heyday of the paddlers. No seaside holiday was complete without a trip on one and they vied with each other by advertising their speed and the splendour of their appointments to attract passengers.

Sleek racers like the elegant Lorna Doone and Balmoral competed in day trips across the channel. At a cost of around 12s 6d (62'/zp) the holidaymaker could voyage to France while enjoying comfortably furnished lounges or smart dining rooms with crisp linen table cloths and sparkling silver. Yet for all their comforts the reality of the ocean was never far removed and the pleasure steamers were dubbed "the sixpenny sickers" by some unhappy passengers.

The first steamer to call at Swanage was the Lord Elgin on the 1st May 1896 and soon as many as ten different boats were serving Swanage, landing up to 11,000 passengers in a single day. The pier was designed to withstand the constant shocks of the vessels mooring alongside, often not too gently, with extra piles known as dolphins being built clear of the main deck. Even so, passengers waiting on the pier could feel it move under the strain.

Once disembarked the visitors, 200 or more at a time, would head for the delights of Swanage. They could stroll on the newly-built promenade around the bay, refresh themselves in the shaded palm-filled Burt’s Restaurant (now the White Horse Inn) on steaks, chops or lobster teas at popular prices or, perhaps, take a pony and trap up the steep hill to Durlston Head to view the "castle" and the remarkable Great Globe.

The pier continued to thrive between the wars. The paddle steamers prospered and an amusement arcade was added on adjoining land in a corrugated roofed building which later served as the Swanage Sailing Club’s headquarters. Marine Villa, originally built as saltwater baths in 1825, was converted into accommodation for the piermaster and his assistant, who for many years sported the nautical rig appropriate to their position.

The paddle steamer era, with some interruptions, continued for over 60 years. In 1939 some 200 feet were blown out of the pier at the landward end as a precaution against enemy landings, but the gap was restored with concrete piles in 1948. The steamers themselves came back from the war, changing their drab coats of wartime grey to their smart black and white hulls, gildedpaddle boxes and colourful house funnels and, for a time, the passengers flooded back aboard. It seemed like a new golden age but it wasn’t to be. One blustery September day in 1966 the PS Embassy called at Swanage en route for Bournemouth and Poole. She never came back. A few months later, despite the best efforts of the Paddle Steamer PreservationSociety, she was towed away to Belgium and broken up. It was the end of an era but the pier survived.

The pier we see today is, in fact, the second to be built. It replaced an earlier structure dating from 1859 and used to accommodate the sailing ships carrying Purbeck stone from the extensive quarries at Cowleaze, Townsend, Durlston and Langton Matravers to London and elsewhere. It was originally stored in ‘bankers’ extending from the Royal Victoria Hotel to the site of the present Mowlem Theatre. When required for shipment the slabs would be manhandled into high wheeled horse-drawn carts which were driven into the sea, with men and horses working waist deep in the water. It was then transferred to rowing barges and taken out to the waiting vessel where it was loaded for a third time; a costly and labour intensive process.

It was in 1858 that a consultant engineer, Captain Moorsom, working on a nearby railway project, visited Swanage and was appalled by the way in which the stone was handled. Being a practical man he went on to propose a tramway and pier for moving the stone and this proposal was duly accepted, with the railway company putting up much of the £20,000 needed for the project. An Act of Parliament was passed on 8th August 1859 "for making a Pier in Swanage Bay in the County of Dorset, and a Tramway in connection therewith; and for other purposes". This Act still forms the basis of the present Pier Company’s constitution.

The pier was not an unqualified success because the local stone merchants resented the Company’s tolls and the old and the new existed side by side until 1885 when the railway came to Swanage. The stone trade transferred to rail and the pier was taken over by people holidaying in the already thriving seaside resort. It was, however, clearly inadequate for an expanding holiday town and the Swanage Pier Company applied to Parliament for permission to construct a new pier. An Act was duly passed enabling the Company to erect the pier and to "construct upon it such saloons, pavilions, waiting, refreshment, concert, reading and other rooms, lavatories, shops, bazaars, baths, upper promenade and other conveniences as they may from time to time think fit" (SwanagePier Act 1895).

The new structure was 642.5ft feet long and built of 170 timber piles. The timber used was greenheart, a tropical hardwood of such density that it will not float but which is highly resistant to the attentions of marine life, especially wood boring creatures such as the notorious gribble worm which literally eats the timber. At the seaward end there was a boat deck and promenade deck but no "pavilions or saloons", just two well proportioned wood and glass wind shelters for the promenaders. Diving boards were placed on the boat deck and screens could be erected to provide shelter for dancing and other entertainment's. The old pier, meanwhile, was used as a coaling berth for the steamers but gradually fell into disrepair and was used finally by the Swanage Swimming Club as a diving platform. A plan in 1934 to build a dance hall and beach huts on it came to nothing and all that remains today are a few broken piles.

In 1927 extensive repairs were made to the "new" pier and concrete sleeveswere added to the piles by hard hat divers working above and below water at all states of the tide. This addition proved extremely effective and is the reason that it survived the subsequent years of neglect by indifferent owners.

The paddle steamers have long gone but the pier today is as popular as it has ever been. The reasons are the increasing popularity of all forms of watersports and the unique environment around the pier itself.

Beneath the pier is an underwater photographer’s paradise. The effect of the daylight filtered through the planks on the deck creates the low light conditions that would normally prevail in a much greater depth of water. As a result, there is insufficient light for the normal growth of seaweed, particularly kelp, to thrive and plant-like animals predominate. The inner piles at the seaward end are covered with extensive invertebrate growth such as sponges, hydroids and anemones. Two noted species occurring on and around the pier are the sea spider "Nymphon gracile" and the anemone "Actinothoe spyrodeta".

Filter feeding invertebrates such as anemonies require an abundant supply of plankton and therefore need sufficient water movement to ensure their food supply. The abundance and diversity of life on and around Swanage pier suggests there is the right balance of water movement around Peveril Point and in the bay. This rich marine life attracts large numbers of sub-aqua divers and the pier is probably the most popular diving venue on the south coast. In addition to the local marine environment there are many wrecks offshore, some of which can be reached by a shuttle service of boats taking divers directly to the most interesting sites.

Although the seas around Swanage can appear calm and peaceful on a summer's day, conditions can change with violent and often tragic effect. The high cliffed headlands and their shallow ledges produce the "races" which are areas of rough water where currents race over rocks and reefs, often in opposite directions. For centuries vessels have foundered on the rocky reefs because of these and the violent channel storms. These waters have been used by mariners for thousands of years, from iron age traders from Hengistbury Head, Roman galleys from Wareham, Saxon settlers and Viking raiders. More recently commercial and naval shipping has passed through the waters off Swanage en route to Poole and the Solent ports.

Among the most famous wrecks is that of the 750 ton sailing ship the Halsewell which, after a long struggle in sleet and snow against a channel gale, went ashore on the rocks between Winspit and Seacombe on January 6th 1786. Some 181 passengers saved themselves by scrambling ashore through a raging sea onto the rocky ledges where they were hauled to safety by the local inhabitants but all but five of the crew, including Captain Pierce and his two daughters, were drowned or battered to death on the rocks. A few artefacts were brought ashore and a ship’s mirror amazingly survived and is hung in the church at Worth Matravers. Buttons, coins and other small items are still found by divers today.

Just over 100 years later in 1875 the brigantine the Wild Wave was wrecked on Peveril Ledge but the crew of 11 were taken safely ashore. Less fortunate was the sailing ship Alexandro via which was caught in a severe gale on 29th April 1882 and driven ashore half a mile west of Swanage lighthouse. Her remains the following day were described as"like a box of matches crushed by a wagon wheel" and pieces of wreckage were washed ashore along the Dorset coast and as far away as the Isle of Wight. The only memory that remained of a fine ship.

The Kyarra was built on the Clyde in 1903. She was 415 feet long, 52 feet wide and weighted 6,957 tons. For most of her life she was employed on the Australian coast as a passenger/cargo vessel but was requisitioned as a hospital ship in the First World War carrying passengers from the Middle East to Australia. In 1918 she was based in home waters and left Tilbury for Australia with a crew of 112 and 34 military ratings. At 08.50, one mile due south of Anvil Point she spotted a torpedo track but was too late to take evasive action and was struck amidships. She sank 20 minutes later, victim of the submarine UB2. Today she lies peacefully in 30 metres of water, home to a wealth of marine life. Still within her hull are bottles of beer, champagne, perfume, vinegar and Worcester sauce, watches, silver cigarette cases, spats and lotions; a time capsule from the First World War.

These are just a few wrecks of the many off Swanage. Items recovered from the Kyarraare displayed in the pier exhibition and include a bottle of Chanel perfume, the distinctive smell of which is still recognisable after 77 years under the sea.

The new exhibition centre is located in the ground floor of Marine Villas. As well as artefacts from the wrecks it features a collection of colour photos of the marine life under the pier, and part of the the exhibition is devoted to the early history of the pier and the paddle steamers. This includes a record of the pier's recent £1 million restoration programme. Helped by a major grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the thousands of pounds donated by local residents and visitors, one third of the piles have been renewed and extensive work carried out to the rest of the structure. The upper or promenade deck has been renewed, auxiliary landing deck for small boats reinstated and the cast ironwork replaced. The centre is open daily during the season from 10 to 5 and at weekends during the winter. Entry is free.

Apart from divers, lovers of other watersports are catered for by a watersports centre which offers water skiing, tubing, windsurfing and sailing for all ages. Skilled instructors are available and many parties take advantage of the sheltered waters of Swanage Bay for their first taste of these activities. Angling too is always popular and wrasse, mackerel, flounder and bass are among the fish that can be caught. So, whether you’re diving, sailing, fishing or simply strolling, the pier still offers something for everyone including, of course, the finest views of Swanage.

Despite the money already spent, piers need regular maintenance. If you would like to help then please support the "Friends of Swanage Pier". You might also like to consider joining our friendly group of volunteers. As well as helping to run the pier, there are numerous social gatherings during the year. Finally, our sponsored plank scheme offers you the chance to put your message on an engraved brass plaque on your own plank.

If you are interested in any of the above then please visit the Friends of Swanage Pier website at http://www.pierfriends.com/ by clicking here or the Swanage Pier Trust website at http://www.swanagepiertrust.com/ by clicking here .