Description

John Rennie's, 1820-36; Mr Hannay, 1865, inner harbour; original pier (mostly collapsed) John Smeaton, 1774. U-plan harbour with 1820 South pier; remains of original 1774 pier branching of South pier; natural skerry opposite with remains of unfinished N pier; 1865 inner basin to N and rear retaining wall to E.

OUTER HARBOUR: U-plan. Welsh limestone.

INNER HARBOUR: improved 1857-63, engineer Harray. Rectangular-plan behind stub of Rennie's unfinished N pier (see Notes). Ashlar. Rectangular-plan whinstone lifeboat house; whinstone warehouse; painted boat shed. LIFTING CRANE: Mid 20th century lifting crane, still in use. LIFEBOAT SHED: rectangular-plan whinstone lifeboat shed with brick dressings. Grey slate roof. WAREHOUSE: rectangular-plan whinstone warehouse with brick dressings. Grey slate roof.

S PIER: straight pier. With stone bollard at E end & similar bollard (largely encased in concrete) to W. Ruinous remains of original 1774 pier to N of lighthouse. Welsh limestone. LIGHTHOUSE: Round brick lighthouse of 1896. Deep plinth; steps to entrance; railings to light. LIGHTKEEPER'S COTTAGE AND OLD LIGHTHOUSE POTTERY: Whinstone to Old Lighthouse Pottery (substantial additions to original building); exterior stair; 12-pane replacement timber windows; grey slate roof. Painted whinstone to Lighthouse Cottage; grey slate roof.

Statement of Interest

Portpatrick, both as a seaport and as a town, owed nearly all its former importance to commanding the shortest communication route from Britain to Ireland. A weekly mail service between Portpatrick and Donaghadee in Ireland was established in 1662, and by 1677 there were two crossings a week. However, Portpatrick's first pier by John Smeaton described by Groome as, "... one of the finest in Britain" was not built until 1774. The harbour works by Rennie, cost ?500,000. Rennie's scheme was for a U-plan harbour with N and S piers, each with a lighthouse running out from the shore. The S pier was completed in 1836, but the need to deepen the harbour for steams ships, which had by then replaced sailing vessels on the Scotland-Ireland route, and to repair the S pier after a storm in 1839, pushed the cost of the full scheme to such a height that work on the incomplete N pier was abandoned. The railway from Stranraer to Portpatrick, with a branch line to the harbour, was opened in 1862. The remains of an arch from the railway can still be seen to the N of the harbour. Rennie's 46ft high lighthouse at the end of the S pier was removed to Sri Lanka in 1869 when the end of the pier started to break up. In 1874 it was decided that the port was unsafe, a Bill was passed relieving the Government of responsibility for its upkeep and the mail route was transferred to Stranraer.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q17792521

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

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