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Dunoon Pier

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Coordinates: 55°56′48″N 4°55′18″W / 55.946658°N 4.921629°W / 55.946658; -4.921629
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Dunoon Pier
Dunoon Pier in 2011
TypeHistorical Pier
SpansFirth of Clyde
LocaleDunoon, Cowal, Scotland
OwnerArgyll and Bute Council
Characteristics
ConstructionGreenheart timber (piles)
History
DesignerClarke & Bell
Sir William Copland
Robert Alexander Bryden
C. J. M. Mackintosh
Opening date1898 (126 years ago) (1898)
Coordinates55°56′48″N 4°55′18″W / 55.946658°N 4.921629°W / 55.946658; -4.921629

Dunoon Pier is a Victorian pier in Dunoon, Cowal peninsula, Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is owned by Argyll and Bute Council,[1] and was completed in its current form in 1898. Reaching out into the Firth of Clyde, the earliest parts of the pier date to 1835. It is now a Category A listed structure (upgraded from Category B in 2011) and, according to Historic Environment Scotland, the best surviving example of a timber ferry pier in Scotland.[2]

The pier is constructed of Greenheart timber piles,[3] first built in 1835. A more substantial structure followed in 1841 after tourism to the town had increased. This second incarnation was destroyed in a storm three years later. It was rebuilt the following year and extended in 1867 by Campbell Douglas.[2]

The pier was purchased in 1868 by James Hunter, of Hafton House,[4] and was "considerably enlarged, with every convenience for passenger and goods traffic".[5] A ferry also ran from the pier to Cloch lighthouse at one stage.[6]

The pier was extended to the current structure between 1896 and 1898.[2] It was shortened to allow the building of a breakwater in 2005, just to the south of the pier. As well as protecting the pier and its architecture from storm surges, a new link span was installed alongside the breakwater. This was to allow the berthing and loading of roll-on/roll-off ferries instead of the side-loading ferries that used to serve the pier. A tender to serve the new link-span between two interested parties, Caledonian MacBrayne and Western Ferries, came to nothing. Prior to June 2011, the pier was in daily use by Caledonian MacBrayne, who ran a regular foot passenger and car-ferry service to Gourock. However, after June 2011, a renewed tendering process produced a passenger-only ferry service (Argyll Ferries, owned by Caledonian MacBrayne) using the breakwater for berthing. On 1 September 2004, during the construction of the breakwater, the cargo vessel Jackie Moon (82 metres in length) ran aground on the breakwater, with six people on board. Since the breakwater became operational in June 2011, Argyll Ferries operate from this docking facility. The Waverley struck the breakwater on 26 June 2009, with some 700 people on board. The pier was partially refurbished by Argyll and Bute Council during 2015. Now containing meeting rooms, it is purely a tourist attraction.[7]

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  • Around 1890, looking southeast
    Around 1890, looking southeast
  • The steamboat Caledonia departing the pier in 1967
    The steamboat Caledonia departing the pier in 1967
  • Looking north from Castle Hill, 1997
    Looking north from Castle Hill, 1997
  • The eastern side of the pier
    The eastern side of the pier
  • Aerial view, 2003
    Aerial view, 2003

See also

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References

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  1. ^ https://www.argyll-bute.gov.uk/ports-and-harbours/dunoon-pier [bare URL]
  2. ^ a b c DUNOON PIER WITH WAITING ROOMS AND PIER MASTER'S OFFICE, SIGNAL TOWER AND ADJOINING TEAROOM, TICKET LODGE, PIER RAILINGS Archived 20 June 2019 at the Wayback Machine – Historic Environment Scotland
  3. ^ "Dunoon Pier, Dunoon | Buildings at Risk Register". www.buildingsatrisk.org.uk.
  4. ^ Pigot and Co.'s national commercial directory for the whole of Scotland and of the Isle of Man ... to which are added, classified directories of ... Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, etc (1837 ed.). London: J. Pigot & Co. 1837. pp. 222–223. OL 25473488M. Archived from the original on 3 November 2021. Retrieved 3 November 2021. See https://digital.nls.uk/directories/browse/archive/85587172 Archived 7 June 2021 at the Wayback Machine and https://digital.nls.uk/directories/browse/archive/85587184 Archived 7 June 2021 at the Wayback Machine for individual pages.
  5. ^ John COLEGATE (1868). Colegate's Guide to Dunoon, Kirn, and Hunter's Quay. Second edition. [With plates.]. John Colegate. p. 6. Archived from the original on 3 November 2021. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  6. ^ John COLEGATE (1868). Colegate's Guide to Dunoon, Kirn, and Hunter's Quay. Second edition. [With plates.]. John Colegate. p. 7. Archived from the original on 20 September 2021. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  7. ^ "Dunoon". National Piers Society. 10 June 2015. Archived from the original on 21 November 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
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