WEST PIER: the western harbour pier, which started construction in 1752, runs for approximately 230m south of the crosswall in a south-easterly direction before turning north-east and continuing for approximately 125m to the circular pier head. It is constructed of a chalk and cement core faced with stepped Purbeck stone with a granite coping and stone parapet. The pier head, which was reconstructed under Rennie in 1840, comprises Aislaby sandstone for the lower courses of masonry and Cornish granite for the upper courses. A lighthouse built in 1842 by John Shaw is located at the pier head and is listed separately at Grade II (LE 1086089). Stone flag paving survives although this is largely covered with C20 tarmac, except at the head where the paving is set in a radial pattern. The low coping at the pier head contains inset iron pulleys, or fairleads, which were used to guide boats into the harbour. A vertical iron post located along the inner face of the pier, approximately 77m south-west of the lighthouse and adjacent to the modern gangway, is all that remains of the moveable crane that was erected by Peter Kier in 1802.
During 1829 and 1830 repairs became necessary to both the east and west piers, with water penetration on the former causing the partial collapse of the carriageway above. Rennie advised the opening up of the pier along its entire length and the core to be consolidated with cement. Princess Victoria visited Ramsgate in 1831, when she was 12, and agreed to officially name the stone stairs, which had been completed on the eastern pier, the 'Victoria Stairs'. They are known today as the Dover Stairs. In 1835, Sir John Rennie (knighted in 1831 for his work on London Bridge) reported to the trustees that the 'great entrance' to the basin should be increased in width to forty feet and deepened with a wing wall on the east side having eight rectangular openings to allow waves to pass through, thus preventing any recoil which might inconvenience ships entering the basin. 30,000 cubic feet of Cornish granite were employed for the work, which was completed in 1837. Following the collapse, in 1840, of twenty feet of masonry in the lower courses of the west pier head, the decision was made to rebuild the old hexagonal head to a circular plan. Hard Whitby (Aislaby) sandstone was chosen for the solid masonry below the low water mark, with Cornish granite for the upper courses. The outer walls were set five feet into the chalk bottom. Due to frost damage, fissures and deterioration, the entire west pier facing was removed, in 1845, down to foundation and rebuilt in conformity to the rest of the pier, and the core consolidated. In 1850, underpinning work on of the foundations of the west pier was carried out. A Select Committee report of the same year noted the harbour was, to all intents and purposes, complete and that only minor repairs and 'embellishments' were now being undertaken. In 1861 a Bill was passed transferring ownership and responsibility of Ramsgate Harbour to the Board of Trade. During 1861-62 the inner face of the crosswall underwent major renovation and by 1865 most repairs had been completed and the harbour was generally in good working order. In 1882 a series of improvement works were undertaken in the harbour area and beyond; the town quay was rebuilt, with adjacent berths deepened. The quay was topped with granite coping between May and September 1892. <1>

Ordinance Survey, 1872, Ramsgate Kent XXXVIII.5.2 (Map). SKE56205.

Ordinance Survey, 1872, Ramsgate Kent XXXVIII.5.3 (Map). SKE56206.

<1> Historic England, The Royal Harbour, Ramsgate (Digital archive). SKE56260.