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Tilbury-Gravesend Ferries
Page 3: Tilbury & Gravesend Piers
This page is one of a series devoted to postcards and photographs of the Tilbury-Gravesend ferries, and describes the piers used at Tilbury & Gravesend, plus the other Gravesend piers.
It can argued that Gravesend was the first seaside destination of mass tourism. Brighton and Margate were older, but travel to them was still difficult in the early 1800s. Gravesend was the first town suitable for day trips by steamer from London, and 50,000 people visited annually in the early 1820s, growing to 120,000 by 1831. Initially travel was by stagecoach or sailing boat, but the steamship rapidly gained ascendance, and the last sailing boat ceased in 1834. The London-Gravesend trip was known as the 'Long Ferry' (the 'Short Ferry' being Gravesend-Tilbury). In the mod-1830s, 8000 day trippers could arrive at Gravesend by steamer on a Sunday (the only day that most people were not working). By the mid-1840s there were 1.5 million visitors per year - mass tourism had arrived. Many hotels were built to cater for the visitors, and there were pleasure gardens at nearby Rosherville. Initially, passengers would disembark from the steamers using watermen, but piers were soon built -
Gravesend Town Pier
(1834), Rosherville (1840), and
Gravesend Royal Terrace Pier
(1842). The site of Rosherville Pier can still be seen, but the pier is long gone. By 1836, there were 28 steamboats on the Gravesend run. The North Kent Line of the South Eastern Railway to Gravesnd Central opened throughout in 1849, but despite this, steamboat excursions to Gravesend remained popular for many years to come. The rival London Chatham & Dover Railway line to
Gravesend West
did not arrive until 1881. Gravesend's heyday as a tourist resort had declined by the end of the Eigthteenth Century, mainly due to the industrialization of the surrounding areas, and the railways now making more distant locations available for day trips.
Sections on this Page:-
Gravesend Railway Pier
Gravesend Royal Terrace Pier
Gravesend Town Pier
- used by Tilbury-Gravesend Ferries
Gravesend West Street Pier
- used by Tilbury-Gravesend Ferries
Tilbury Riverside
- used by Tilbury-Gravesend Ferries
Tilbury & Gravesend Pages:-
Tilbury - Gravesend: Page 1
- Railway Ferries: 1862-1984
Tilbury - Gravesend: Page 2
- Private Operators: from 1984
Tilbury - Gravesend: Page 3
- Piers
- this page!
Lower Thames & Medway Passenger Boat Co
- Ferry operators in 2007
Associated Pages:-
Invicta Line
Kingswear Castle - Page 1
Kingswear Castle - Page 2
Ferry Postcards
Cruise Ship Postcards
Ocean Liner Postcards
Simplon Postcards - Recent Updates
Simplon Postcards - Home Page
www.gres.org.uk
- Gravesend Railway Enthusiasts Society
www.gres.org.uk/News
- Gravesend Railway Enthusiasts Society - Gravesend-Rotterdam Service
References:-
The Five Minute Crossing -
John M.Ormiston
- Thurrock Local History Society, 1998
London, Tilbury & Southend Railway -
R.J.Essery
- Oxford Publishing Co, 2001
London, Tilbury & Southend Album -
George Dow
- Ian Allan, 1981
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Tilbury Riverside
The London Tilbury and Southend Railway built a station and large booking hall by the river at Tilbury . There was a floating pontoon about 300 feet long connected by a long covered walkway. the landing stage was used from 1854 until 1928 when it was dismantled to make way for the much larger Tilbury Passenger Landing Stage. The construction of this was authorised in 1922, but did not start until 1926. The landing stage was over 1100 feet long and 80 feet wide. The 300 feet at the eastern end were allocated to the Gravesend ferries. The Riverside Terminal consisted of a Port of London Authority baggage hall and railway booking hall. Four bridges connected these to the new landing stage, which was used by ocean liners of many companies such as P&O. More recently it has been used for cruise ships. The complete terminal was formally opened in 1930.
Photograph of
Rose (1)
and
Catherine (1)
at Tilbury in 1922, before the building of the Riverside Terminal and Passenger Landing Stage.
Postcard of the
London Belle
of
Belle Steamers
at Tilbury.
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Postcard of the
Walton Belle
of
Belle Steamers
at Tilbury.
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Photograph of
Edith (1)
at Tilbury Riverside in 1934.
Photo of
Duke of Argyll
in use as a hospital ship at Tilbury during WW2
Scan: Roger Corfield
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Photographic postcard of
Catherine (2)
and
Edith (2)
Photographic postcard of
Catherine (2)
or
Edith (2)
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Photographic postcard of Tilbury Riverside
The vehicle bridge to the ferry pontoon at Tilbury Riverside
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 4th January 2007
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The vehicle bridge to the ferry pontoon at Tilbury Riverside
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 4th January 2007
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The ferry pontoon at Tilbury Riverside
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 4th January 2007
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Rail Replacement mini-bus at Tilbury Riverside
A bus service replaced the trains from Tilbury Town to Tilbury Riverside when the branch was closed. Initially, standard-sized single deck buses were used. In January 2007, a small mini-bus was in used which could drive down onto the ferry pontoon.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 4th January 2007
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Duchess M
at Tilbury (spring tide)
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 22nd Januay 2008
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Gravesend Town Pier
Gravesend Town Pier was built for the local council in 1834, and was originally open-sided apart from two small pavilions at the end. The Town Pier is the oldest surviving cast iron pier in the world. Steamers were boarded from a series of steps and landings. Initially services were run by Gravesend Council. With the coming of the railway to Tilbury, traffic increased and railway ferries also began serving the Town Pier. A pontoon was added to allow more than one steamer call at a time. The promenade section of the pier was also covered in, resulting in a very attractive structure. Goods and livestock also used this pier, but the railway considered charges to be too high, and built the new goods pier at West Street. Gravesend Council had lost control of the pier to receivers on their bankruptcy in 1852, but it was not until 1884 that the Railway obtained ownership. All ferry services switched to the West Street Pier in 1965, and the pontoon was removed. Following a further restoration, the pier partially re-opened as the bar Riva in 2006. The latest restoration was not finally completed until November 2007 with the opening of the restaurant section of Riva. There is a small public viewing area adjacent to the new restaurant at the end of the pier. The delay in completion (the bar area near the pier entrance had been open for some time) was problems with installing the modern floors and large glass windows into a structure based around the world's oldest surviving cast iron pier.
Early photograph of
Earl of Essex
at Gravesend Town Pier.
The withdrawal date of
Earl of Essex
is unknown, but it was before 1880.
Postcard of
Tilbury (2)
at Gravesend Town Pier.
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Photograph of Gravesend Town Pier entrance in 1922.
Photo: © NRM
Postcard of one of the LTSR steamers at Greenwich Town Pier.
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Postcard of ferries at Gravesend Town Pier.
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Photograph of
Catherine (1)
at Gravesend Town Pier.
Photo: © NRM
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Photograph of
Rose (1)
at Gravesend Town Pier.
Photo: © NRM
Photograph of
Catherine (1)
at Gravesend Town Pier.
Photo: © NRM
Postcard of ferries at Gravesend Town Pier.
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Pamlin photographic postcard of
Catherine (1)
at Gravesend Town Pier.
Gravesend Town Pier in 2002, prior to latest restoration.
Photo: © David Glasspool -
www.kentrail.co.uk
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Gravesend Town Pier
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 13th November 2005.
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Gravesend Town Pier
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 13th November 2005.
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Gravesend Town Pier
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 12th March 2006
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Gravesend Town Pier - with Royal Terrace Pier in the background
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 5th May 2006
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Gravesend Town Pier - with Royal Terrace Pier in the background
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 5th May 2006
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Gravesend Town Pier - with Royal Terrace Pier in the background
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 5th May 2006
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Gravesend Town Pier
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 5th May 2006
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Gravesend Town Pier
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 5th May 2006
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Gravesend Town Pier
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 4th January 2007
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Entrance to Gravesend Town Pier
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 4th January 2007
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