The Chain Pier Models
The history of Brighton is never better illustrated than by its iconic buildings, land and seascape. Many of these have given creative inspiration to model makers over the last two hundred years. After the Pavilion, as a subject, the Chain Pier must run a close second. The museum has recently received two excellent, yet very different examples of this feat of construction and how it would have looked in its heyday. Both models are much appreciated transfers from Brighton Museum. So - before we look at the models - what was the Chain Pier? To understand the accuracy of our two new models we need a few facts! After the Napoleonic wars (1803-1815) between Britain and France, there was significant growth in cross channel traffic between Brighton and Dieppe. Without a harbour, passengers and cargo needed to be safely ferried in small boats to and from larger vessels. The Royal Suspension Chain Pier was built to provide this, with an 80 foot landing stage of Purbeck stone at the pier ...