Hythe Pier, Southampton
Hythe Pier stretches 700 yards (640 m) from the centre of Hythe to the deep water channel of Southampton Water, making it the 7th longest pier in the British Isles. It is approximately 16 feet (4.9 m) wide, and carries a pedestrian walkway and cycleway on its northern side and the Hythe Pier Railway on its southern side. During normal high tides the pier is 4 feet (1.2 m) above the surface of the water.
A company was formed to construct a pier in 1870 and in 1871 it obtained an Act of Parliament in order to do so.[10] This effort then stalled and a pier was not constructed.
A second company called the Hythe Pier & Hythe & Southampton Ferry company was formed in late 1874. A new act passed parliament in 1875 but legal disagreements with the Southampton Harbour and Pier Board delayed royal assent until 1878.
1879 Construction started and the pier opened on 1 January 1881 having cost £7,000 to construct. Originally there was a toll house at the landward end of the pier, and this was replaced by the present ticket office in the first decade of the 20th century. The original toll house still exists and is occupied by a local travel operator. Large scale maintenance was carried out on the pier in 1896 at a cost of £1,500.