Monument MPM1979 - Pier, Horsea Island

Remains of a wooden pier constructed on the western side of Horsea Island in 1898. The pier was used as a mooring point for vessels unloading to the torpedo testing range. It had a standard island two-foot gauge railway track. Significant remains of the pier legs/supports were recorded during a field walking survey in 2016.

Remains of a pier constructed on the western side of Horsea Island in 1898 which projected into Portchester Lake. The wooden pier was originally around 230m long and had a standard island two-foot gauge railway track. A half ton hand-operated crane was positioned at the seaward end for unloading. Known as the Long Pier, it was used as a mooring point for all vessels with the exception of heavy stores and coal barges, which moored at the Stores Pier. The pier had fallen out of use by 1952.

A walk over survey in 2016 recorded significant remains of the pier legs extending into the intertidal zone. The leg posts were made from concrete, and several had the remains of wood within their central cavity. The posts were approximately 0.75m wide with 0.30m walls. The distance between them increased towards the shore.

Ordnance Survey, 1952, Ordnance Survey Map 1952 (Map). SPM67.

Ripley, Basil, 1982, Horsea Island and The Royal Naval (Bibliographic reference). SPM410.

Maritime Archaeology Trust, 2018, Forgotten Wrecks of the First World War: First World War Wireless Stations of the South Coast of England (Bibliographic reference). SPM582.