Tower Pier is a

pier A pier is a raised structure that rises above a body of water and usually juts out from its shore, typically supported by piling, piles or column, pillars, and provides above-water access to offshore areas. Frequent pier uses include fishing, b ...

on the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

, in

Tower Hill Tower Hill is the area surrounding the Tower of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is infamous for the public execution of high status prisoners from the late 14th to the mid 18th century. The execution site on the higher gro ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England and is located in the

London Borough of Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London boroughs, borough in London, England. Situated on the north bank of the River Thames and immediately east of the City of London, the borough spans much of the traditional East End of London and ...

. It is operated by Uber Boat by Thames Clippers and served by various river transport and cruise operators. The pier is close to

Tower Bridge Tower Bridge is a Listed building#Grade I, Grade I listed combined Bascule bridge, bascule, Suspension bridge, suspension, and, until 1960, Cantilever bridge, cantilever bridge in London, built between 1886 and 1894, designed by Horace Jones ...

and is situated in the immediately adjacent to the southwest corner of the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...

History

City of London skyline from London City Hall - Oct 2008

Tower Millennium Pier was opened on 14 July 2000 by London Mayor

Ken Livingstone Kenneth Robert Livingstone (born 17 June 1945) is an English former politician who served as the Leader of the Greater London Council (GLC) from 1981 until the council was Local Government Act 1985, abolished in 1986, and as Mayor of Londo ...

. It was funded by the

Millennium Commission The Millennium Commission, a United Kingdom public body, was set up to celebrate the turn of the millennium. It used funding raised through the UK National Lottery to assist communities in marking the close of the second millennium and celebra ...

as part of the Thames 2000 project, and was one of five new piers provided by the Commission on the Thames (the others being Blackfriars Millennium Pier,

London Eye Pier The London Eye (Waterloo) Pier is directly in front of the London Eye ferris wheel on the South Bank of the River Thames in Central London, England. It was opened as the Waterloo Millennium Pier in 2000. It is served by various river transport ...

Westminster Millennium Pier Westminster Pier is a pier on the River Thames, in the City of Westminster in London, England. It is operated by Uber Boat by Thames Clippers and served by various river transport and cruise operators. It is located next to Westminster Bridge ...

and Millbank Millennium Pier). The pier has at its upstream end a small cruise terminal facility which is used for processing passengers and baggage transferred by boat from cruise ships berthed alongside HMS ''Belfast''. The Tower Pier project was part of an integrated transport and regeneration strategy for the Thames led by London's Cross River Partnership.

Services

The pier is used by the river bus route RB1 from

Battersea Power Station Battersea Power Station is a decommissioned coal-fired power station located on the south bank of the River Thames in Nine Elms, Battersea in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It was built by the London Power Company (LPC) to the design of ...

Barking Riverside Barking Riverside is a mixed-use development in the area of Barking, east London, England, within the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. It is being built on land formerly occupied by Barking Power Station, adjacent to the River Thames, a ...

(operated by Uber Boat by Thames Clippers) and

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

Greenwich Greenwich ( , , ) is an List of areas of London, area in south-east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime hi ...

tourist boats (operated by City Cruises). Private-charter entertainment boats also use Tower Pier.

Connections

Tower Hill tube station Tower Hill is a London Underground station in Tower Hill in the East End of London. It is served by the Circle and District lines, and is located in Travelcard Zone 1. It is within and is a short distance from Tower Gateway station for the ...

and

Tower Gateway DLR station Tower Gateway is a Docklands Light Railway (DLR) station in the City of London and is located near the Tower of London and Tower Bridge. It adjoins the tracks to Fenchurch Street railway station, Fenchurch Street station and is located on the si ...

Fenchurch Street railway station Fenchurch Street railway station, also known as London Fenchurch Street, is a London station group, central London railway terminus in the southeastern corner of the City of London. It takes its name from its proximity to Fenchurch Street, a ke ...

Tower Bridge Quay Tower Bridge Quay (previously St. Katharine's Pier) is a river transport pier on the River Thames, in London, England. It is owned & operated by Woods River Cruises trading as Woods' Silver Fleet and served by various river transport and cruise ...

on the other side of

for Crown River Cruises *

London Buses London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL) that manages most bus services in London, England. It was formed following the Greater London Authority Act 1999 that transferred control of London Regional Transport (LRT) bus s ...

routes 15 and N15

Lifeboat pier move

In 2002 the

Royal National Lifeboat Institution The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest of the lifeboat (rescue), lifeboat services operating around the coasts of the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on s ...

's Thames lifeboat service was introduced to the River Thames following the

Marchioness disaster The ''Marchioness'' disaster was a collision between two vessels on the River Thames in London in the early hours of 20 August 1989, which resulted in the deaths of 51 people. The pleasure boat ''Marchioness'' sank after being hit twice by the ...

, and Tower Pier was initially used as a base for the lifeboat service. In 2006 the RNLI station moved up-river to a new base, the former Waterloo Police Pier on

Victoria Embankment Victoria Embankment is part of the Thames Embankment (the other section is the Chelsea Embankment), a road and river-walk along the north bank of the River Thames in London, England. Built in the 1860s, it runs from the Palace of Westminster to ...

next to

Waterloo Bridge Waterloo Bridge () is a road and foot traffic bridge crossing the River Thames in London, between Blackfriars Bridge and Hungerford Bridge and Golden Jubilee Bridges. Its name commemorates the victory of the British, Dutch and Prussians at the ...

, which took the name

Tower Lifeboat Station Tower Lifeboat Station is located on a custom made Floating dock (jetty), at Victoria Embankment on the North Bank of the River Thames, next to Waterloo Bridge. It is one of the newest lifeboat stations operated by the Royal National Lifeboat ...

Images

Image:Tower Millennium Pier 1.jpg, Tower Pier with Tower Bridge Image:Tower Millennium Pier 3.jpg, A catamaran arriving at Tower Pier Image:Tower Millennium Pier 4.jpg, The pier entrance Image:Tower Millennium Pier 5.jpg, The pier with the Tower of London on the right Image:Tower Bridge, London 2005-04-29.jpg, The pier and Tower Bridge seen from the air Image:Tower Millennium Pier 2.jpg, A catamaran berthed at the pier

Lines

References

External links

{{London River Services navbox Buildings and structures celebrating the third millennium London River Services Piers in London Tower of London Transport in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Transport infrastructure completed in 2000 2000 establishments in England