The Instrument of the Solution
Banjo Pier is named because of its shape. It has a short 'neck' and round bulbous end which, when viewed from above, looks like the shape of a Banjo. Banjo Pier is almost 130 years old and was built as a prototype to try and solve a specific problem. It is therefore the oldest surviving example of a 'Banjo pier' and is a Grade 2 listed structure.
Looe is a famous fishing town and has been for centuries, but one of the issues faced by Looe and its fishing fleet was that the river entrance would regularly clog up with silt carried by the River Looe and deposited at the river mouth where it meets the sea.
In 1897 a local engineer, Joseph Thomas, proposed a radical solution for this by building a shorter, thicker pier with a rounded end. The design was very radical at the time and not well received. But so sure was he that the solution would work, that he offered to pay for it himself if it didn't. The solution did work and the harbour commission agreed to pay for it. The river remains unclogged with silt to this day.
Having a rounded end removes the corners at the end of a regular shaped pier. Corners cause the silt, carried by the outflowing tide, to become trapped. As the outflowing current travels down the length of the pier, it reaches the end of the pier and is 'sucked' into the still water at the front of the pier. This causes the current to stop, and it can no longer support the silt it is carrying which is deposited. As time passes the edges of the deposited silt will also cause the current to stop and deposit even more silt. Having a round end means that there are no corners for the current to get trapped behind and thus the silt is carried out to sea with the moving water. This solution was the first of its kind in the world and has been copied in other locations to solve similar issues.
Today the fishing fleet no longer uses the pier to offload, although there is a navigation light on the pier to guide the fleet home. The pier is often used for visitors to sit and enjoy the view. At high tides it is used by anglers to try to catch Bass, Pollock and the occasional Gurnard. At low tide it is possible to walk around the base of the pier and look up at the structure. In more adverse weather the waves regularly go over the pier 'neck' and it becomes unsafe to walk along, hence there are gates at the start of the pier that are there to ensure visitor safety.
Adapted from:
banjocottagelooe.com/banjo-pier-looe
The Instrument of the Solution
Banjo Pier is named because of its shape. It has a short 'neck' and round bulbous end which, when viewed from above, looks like the shape of a Banjo. Banjo Pier is almost 130 years old and was built as a prototype to try and solve a specific problem. It is therefore the oldest surviving example of a 'Banjo pier' and is a Grade 2 listed structure.
Looe is a famous fishing town and has been for centuries, but one of the issues faced by Looe and its fishing fleet was that the river entrance would regularly clog up with silt carried by the River Looe and deposited at the river mouth where it meets the sea.
In 1897 a local engineer, Joseph Thomas, proposed a radical solution for this by building a shorter, thicker pier with a rounded end. The design was very radical at the time and not well received. But so sure was he that the solution would work, that he offered to pay for it himself if it didn't. The solution did work and the harbour commission agreed to pay for it. The river remains unclogged with silt to this day.
Having a rounded end removes the corners at the end of a regular shaped pier. Corners cause the silt, carried by the outflowing tide, to become trapped. As the outflowing current travels down the length of the pier, it reaches the end of the pier and is 'sucked' into the still water at the front of the pier. This causes the current to stop, and it can no longer support the silt it is carrying which is deposited. As time passes the edges of the deposited silt will also cause the current to stop and deposit even more silt. Having a round end means that there are no corners for the current to get trapped behind and thus the silt is carried out to sea with the moving water. This solution was the first of its kind in the world and has been copied in other locations to solve similar issues.
Today the fishing fleet no longer uses the pier to offload, although there is a navigation light on the pier to guide the fleet home. The pier is often used for visitors to sit and enjoy the view. At high tides it is used by anglers to try to catch Bass, Pollock and the occasional Gurnard. At low tide it is possible to walk around the base of the pier and look up at the structure. In more adverse weather the waves regularly go over the pier 'neck' and it becomes unsafe to walk along, hence there are gates at the start of the pier that are there to ensure visitor safety.
Adapted from:
banjocottagelooe.com/banjo-pier-looe