Reproduction postcard of 1851 lithograph of the first wooden Herne Bay Pier, built 1832 by Thomas Rhodes, assistant to Thomas Telford.

Points of interest

• Shipping includes paddle steamer, fishing cutters, Thames barge, hoy (small rowboat) and a wide-hulled seagoing sailboat which may be a passenger vessel or a fishing boat.
• Hampton Pier was built in 1864 so is not in this image
• On Herne Bay sea front can be seen (L to R): the Clock Tower, Herne Bay Windmill, St George's Terrace, West Cliff (the hill centre right) and shipping close to Tankerton and Whitstable. All this still exists except the windmill and the shipping, and Westcliff is now built up.
• The drawing of the shipping in this position may be fanciful. The sea is shallow here (hence the long pier), and intended for paddle steamers with draft of 1 fathom or 6 ft at high tide. Thames barges have an equally shallow draft, but the fishing boats and the wide-bodied sailboat might have drafts of up to 2 fathoms, and would normally stay further out to sea.
• Note that the piers (vertical timbers) at the end of this first pier are wooden and not clad with copper sheathing. The lack of cladding and infestation with shipworm caused the eventual failure of this pier.