Roa Island - History

History

Until 1847 Roa Island was a true island, being accessible only by boat, or on foot across the sands at low tide. John Abel Smith, a London banker, bought Roa in 1840. He built a causeway to the mainland, completed in 1846, and an 810 foot (247 m) deep-water pier known as Piel Pier from where steamers sailed to Fleetwood. The pier connected with the Furness Railway line to Kirkby via Furness Abbey, making use of the causeway. Initially the line was open for goods traffic only, but on 24 August 1846 a passenger service was inaugurated. Over the years there was much disagreement between Smith and the Furness Railway. At one point the railway company set up its own steamer service to Piel Pier, but following a dispute with Smith, diverted the sailings to nearby Barrow. Eventually Smith was able to obtain an injunction for its return to the pier. In due course, however, Smith and the Furness Railway settled their differences and in 1852 the railway agreed to buy the lease for the entire Roa Island estate. Before the deal could be completed a freak storm caused extensive damage to the pier. This allowed the railway to buy all the rights and the property for only £15,000. Piel Pier was demolished in 1891 following changes to the course of Piel Channel which resulted in silting up of the area around the end of the pier. The railway continued in use until July 1936. Today there is little obvious trace of it, though many of the stones form the sides of causeway are actually square stone sleepers from the railway. A road linking Roa Island to Rampside has now taken the place of the railway tracks along the causeway.