Prefabricated raised concrete lifeboat slipway. The slipway was built in 1911 at a cost of £3,050 and originally terminated in a wooden shed which housed the lifeboat, the John Ryburn, for three years until 1915, when the lifeboat station was closed. A house, Ryburn Cottage, was built nearby for the lifeboat engineer at a cost of £300. Stronsay was once again home to a lifeboat from 1950-1972, however it was stationed in front of Whitehall Village, between the two piers. As far as is known, the concrete slipway was last used in 1915.
Precast and reinforced concrete developed in the late 19th century and widened the use of concrete as a building material. The RNLI was at the forefront of the use of early concrete in their structures during the early 20th century through the work of W. T. Douglass, architect and engineer for the RNLI from 1888 to 1913. The early concrete slipways used a framed construction much like the earlier timber-framed construction style. The first ferro-concrete slipway in Britain was Ackergill in Caithness, constructed in 1909-10 (Leach 2015). Other early concrete slipways are known at Machrihanish (1911) and Peterhead (1911). Early concrete structures are now aging and, in many cases, deteriorating. There is a growing recognition of the importance of early concrete structures as well as an awareness of the challenges with maintenance and preservation of what were innovative experimental techniques in the early days of concrete use and regulation in the industry (Historic Scotland 2014; Borden 2015).
Location
366765.08
1028652.82
27700
59.1433593
-2.5826271
Submitted photographs
Image
Date
Caption
User
31/08/2023
Detail of pre-fabricated concrete pier structure
joannahambly
31/08/2023
View of concrete slipway looking north to Papa Stronsay
slboyd
Submitted updates
Update id
Date
User
4622
31/08/2023
slboyd
Tidal state
High
Proximity to coast edge
Intertidal
Coastally eroding?
active sea erosion
Access
easily accessible - no restrictions
Local knowledge
is well known; has local associations/history
Comments
The slipway has strong historic associations supported by documentary evidence. Good example of an early concrete pier.
