Chain Pier. The grand opening was then said to be fixed for the 15th October. In the interval, it so happened that the beautiful fabric was put to a very severe test by heavy gales which took place in the last week of September and on Wednesday, October 1st. In the latter, the "dolphins" (buoys), with their moorings at the head and by the side of the Pier were considerably disturbed and damaged; but not a brace or a pile of the Pier was shaken, nor could the force of the sea, which dashed with the utmost violence against the Pier-head, be felt upon the deck. Of the stability of the structure itself not a doubt could thenceforth be entertained. Such was the verdict; and the pleasure and satisfaction which the skilful engineer must have felt that his grand work-completed in such a marvellously brief time as less than a year-should have passed through thus early such severe ordeals unshaken and unscathed, must have been indescribable. (The plate annexed shows the Pier shortly after completion.) Despite the hazardous character of the undertaking, the accidents were of the fewest-only four being recorded. One poor fellow was fatally injured by falling from a temporary suspension bridge; another had a similar accident, and though losing consciousness for some hours, he eventually recovered; a third was struck by the "monkey," but the extent of his injury is unrecorded; and a fourth lost his arm by the falling of a chain. It may be added, to Captain Brown's honour, that as soon as he heard of this last accident he generously declared his intention of making a provision for the unhappy sufferer for life.

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Details of the Construction.

At this point it may not be uninteresting to give some
details of the construction of the Pier, as afforded by
Bruce's Brighton (1831), which appears to be the most
accurate of contemporary descriptions:-"The entrance
is by a beautiful esplanade, 1,250ft. in length, and 33ft. in
breadth. The Pier runs out into the sea upwards of 350
yards. The foundation consists of four clumps of piles,
driven roft. into the solid rock, and rising 14ft. above
high-water mark. The three first clumps consist of 70
piles each; the fourth, which is in the form of a T, has
150 perpendicular and diagonal piles, strongly bound by
framings and wale pieces in various places.
At the top

of this fourth clump is a platform 8oft. long, paved with
200 tons of Purbeck stone; and beneath are galleries and
flights of steps for the convenience of embarkation and
debarkation. The groups of piles are 250ft. apart, and
over each rises a pyramidical tower of cast iron, 25ft.
high, formed by two side towers united to an arch at the
top. Over the top of each tower pass the main suspen-
sion chains, which issue from the body of the cliff (the
Marine Parade), into which they are carried 54ft., and
are fastened to an iron plate weighing nearly three tons,
and, thus secured, the excavations are filled up with stone
and brick work. These chains, after passing over the
towers to the outer extremity of the Pier, diverge from the
last tower in an angle of about 87 degrees, and are at the
ends embedded in the solid rock; where they are pro-
perly secured by bolts and keys, with the additional
security of the whole weight of the platform before
mentioned. Of these chains there are four on each side,
composed of 170 links, each link being roft. long, 64in.
in circumference, and weighing 1 cwt. The Pier is

COPYRIGHT.

THE CHAIN PIER IN 1823 (showing the original Entrance). (Kindly lent by Mr. J. H. DANIELS, of Brighton.)

THE BRIGHTON CHAIN PIER: IN MEMORIAM. 15

1,134ft. long, 13ft. wide, with a neat cast iron railing.
on each side, supported by curlines or cross-timbers
resting on two bars of iron, which extend the whole
length of the Pier, and are upheld by suspension rods,
which are of different lengths, and are 362 in number."

It may be added that the wood used for the piles was
Norway fir, which was thickly pitched; the piles were
pointed with metal for the better penetration of the rock
into which they were driven, and for some distance up-
ward to the water-mark they were studded with brass
nails, to prevent the adhesion of barnacles (concha
antifera), by their being poisoned by the verdigris.
The pile drivers, when the Pier was being constructed,
were not paid by the day, but received 25s. per pile.

The plate annexed shows the original entrance to the Pier at the period of the opening, together with the waterwheel (a tread-mill, by means of which a donkey raised water for the watering of the streets of the town), which was erected in the same year.

The Opening Ceremonial.

It had been originally arranged for the grand opening of the Pier to take place on the 15th October, and it was hoped that the ceremony would be performed, if not by His Majesty George IV., either by the Duke of Clarence or by the Duke of York. The delay of the opening until the 25th November-the day on which the Company first took over the Pier from Captain Brown-was doubtless owing to negotiations being carried on to secure, if possible, a Royal opening. The gallant Captain was deputed by the Directors, on the 14th November, to wait upon the Duke of Clarence; but all that could be ascertained was that, from previous engagements, neither the Duke of Clarence nor the Duke of York was able to

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