Victoria Pier (Ryde) (Historic)

East of the current Ryde pier by some 150 mts the orriginal Victoria Pier was began in 1863. The Stokes Bay Pier and Railway Company provided the funding for this project, and its primary objective was to provide a connection between Stokes Bay and the new Gosport ferry service. The length of Victoria Pier was reduced to 970 feet due to a lack of funding, despite the fact that it had been planned from the beginning to be the same as that of the other piers in terms of its overall length. It was inaugurated in November 1864, but even though it had an asphalt surface, ships could only use it at specific tides. This was despite the fact that it was believed the asphalt surface would prevent the issues that plagued the promenade pier.

Victoria Pier Ryde

The Ryde Pier Company purchased the pier in 1865, and when the London and South Western Railway acquired the Stokes Bay Pier and Railway Company in 1875, the ferry service to the pier was discontinued. In 1865, the pier was sold to the Ryde Pier Company. After that, the Victoria Pier was turned into a bathing station, which did away with the need for bathing equipment. At the top of the pier, public baths were constructed, and at the beach end, a free bathing platform was constructed. In addition, advertisements for hot and cold ozone baths appeared during this time period, and the baths proved to be highly popular.

Unfortunately, by the turn of the century, the bathing facilities had become obsolete, and in 1916, an Act of Parliament authorised its destruction so that it could be done away with. Nothing at all is left of it.

The entrance of the pier is now occupied by the Hovertravel offices and reception area.

• http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A492013
• https://piers.org.uk/piers/ryde-victoria/
• https://rshg.org.uk/2021/08/the-victoria-pier/

• https://h2g2.com/dna/h2g2/plain/A492013