• Home
  • About
    • British Railways Motor Boat Services at Shotley Pier, Suffolk
    • Thank You to Organisations Who Have Supported Us
    • Find Us
    • Weather & Tides
      • Weather & Tides By Tide King
      • Weather & Tides by Willy Weather
  • Support
    • Register Your Plaque Interests
    • Celebratory Plaque Price List
    • Shotley Pier Rum
  • Blog
  • Contact

Shotley Pier

Suffolk's Only Railway Pier

When Is A Pier Not A Pier?

December 2, 2016 • Sarah Cousins • Leave a Comment

A Pier

/pɪə/
noun

A platform on pillars projecting from the shore into the sea, typically incorporating entertainment arcades and places to eat.

A Railway Pier

Sometimes called pier tramways – a railway pier provides transport via railway lines along the length of a pier.


Contrary to the name, Shotley Railway Pier has never seen any trains.  Its name comes from the railway lines along the length of the pier on which railway trucks, aka dollies, were used on the rails to transport Royal Mail from Harwich to Shotley.  The mail was delivered at the pier and transported up the hill, to be sorted at the Shotley Gate Post Office before making its way into Ipswich.  It was a working pier, used by fishermen and ferrymen.  It is sturdy and strong, built to withstand the ravages of sea and weather, time and tides.

Filed Under: Historical

Share

Facebook Google+ Twitter Pinterest Email

Comments Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Back to Blog

About Us

We are the Shotley Heritage Charitable Community Benefit Society Ltd. Established 2016 to raise funds to purchase and restore the Shotley Pier.

>> Weather and Tides

Sign Up For News + Updates

Latest Posts

  • A wonderful moment for the Shotley Peninsula
  • 2025 Pier Fund Raising Coffee Mornings Schedule
  • Coffee Morning 2024 – Last Wednesday of the month
  • October 2023 News letter
  • Happy Christmas 2022

Copyright 2025 Shotley Pier