Broadford Pier

Broadford Pier

ID: QZP40_CARD_5844 DESCRIPTION: A paddle steamer, one of several to ply the waters around the Hebrides, is docked at the end of Broadford Pier on the Isle of Skye, in this tinted photograph taken in the early part of the 20th century. Broadford 'new pier' replaced an old drystone pier built about a century previously closer to the centre of the village. Planning for this new pier in deeper water was started in the 1880s, but the actual drive to complete it was not until the early 1900s, when Skye Marble Limited was formed. The marble, quarried near Kilchrist, was taken on a narrow gauge railway to the pier then loaded onto boats. There are still remnants of the rail line on the pier, although most of it has now been covered in concrete. The construction of a more substantial pier provided a major increase in goods and people coming to the village. Cattle were shipped away to markets, the quarry in Strath provided marble which was shipped worldwide, and paddle steamers and puffers made regular stops. From a very small settlement of only three or four houses in the 1840s, Broadford grew to become the second largest village on Skye. As improvements to the main road through Skye were carried out however, particularly after World War II, transportation gradually shifted to the more predictable roads rather than the sea, and the use of the pier diminished. Despite local opposition, by 1935 it had to be closed because of its dilapidated condition. PLACENAME: Broadford DISTRICT: Skye OLD COUNTY/PARISH: INVERNESS: Strath PERIOD: 1910s; 1920s SOURCE: Highland Libraries COLLECTION: Highland Libraries' Postcard Collection Asset ID: 37481 KEYWORDS: