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Civil Engineering heritage: Scotland - Lowlands and Borders
Date 2007
Event ID 589175
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Publication Account
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/589175
Early records show proposals for a harbour at the entrance to the Eye Water at Eyemouth as early as 1660. Silting was a problem and in 1747 what is now known as the Old Pier was constructed by William Crow to channel the river.
This effected an improvement but the harbour was badly damaged by the sea in 1767 and further damaged by a severe flood in 1794. John Smeaton made recommendations for the building of a North Pier, which was begun in 1769 and completed in 1773 to his design as shown. This gave a measure of protection for the harbour entrance. Inclined masonry courses, which Smeaton considered better for resisting wave action than the customary horizontal ones, were used in constructing the pier, some of which can still be seen.
In 1882, after the fishing fleet disaster of 1881, new plans were prepared which were carried out in 1885–87. The harbour was extended to 9.5 acres and deepened by 2 ft. The middle pier was constructed and rock cutting on the Gunsgreen side improved the river course. In 1892–93 the harbour was deepened by a further 3 ft.Eyemouth was nearest to the most abundant of the white fishing grounds and over the years the harbour became known as ‘The Hope of the Town’. In the 20th century further improvements were carried out and in 1995 the harbour was still being improved and developed.
R Paxton and J Shipway 2007
Reproduced from 'Civil Engineering heritage: Scotland - Lowlands and Borders' with kind permission of Thomas Telford Publishers.
