Pier Buildings and Shops

Newport Pierhead Area c. 1870
Boat Brae c. 1910
Pier Shops c. 1960
Tyme Shop and Leather Shop
Boat Brae 2019
Boat Brae

In the middle of the 19th century the pier area was a higgledy-piggledy mixture of shops, tradesmen and other service providers. Just up the road, the Newport Hotel provided horses, refreshment and a bed for the night for weary travellers. At the ferry terminal itself was a waiting room, a shop and nearby, a police station and a boatshed. As ferry traffic increased through the 1800s, with increasing numbers of carts, carriages and passengers, by the 1870s it was becoming clear that there were huge business opportunities available here.

The New Pier Buildings

What a stroke of genius then to ask Charles and Leslie Ower, a large architectural practice in Dundee, to design a new building, and what a gift they gave us, one that is still hugely appreciated today. Their design was for a row of seven single storey shops of bold, decorative Italianate design. There was a door and shop window to each shop; there were pillared doorways; there were arches over doors and windows; there were moulded star details. The whole would be painted in cream and sandy yellow. The adjacent ferry terminal was also redesigned with improved facilities for travellers, and of course the still very recognisable curving archways. These magnificent buildings opened in 1878.

The Pier Shops

For almost one hundred years a great range of shops operated from these premises. The first unit, nearest the pier, housed the police station. Next came the chemist, for most of its life occupying two units. The first chemist opened in 1897 and the shop was taken over by Andrew Chalmers in the early 1900s. He had it until the late 1930s. It was then occupied briefly by William Taylor before being taken over by David Kerr around 1946. The shop closed in 1964. Next to the chemist, from 1952 until 1960, was Thomson’s for fruit and veg. Previously it was occupied by William Edward. David Thomson also had the top shop as a store. Next one up, third from the top, was Jan Blicharski’s leather shop. Almost everyone seems to remember this shop, and comment on what a lovely man he was! In his late teens Jan had a terrifying escape from Nazi occupied Poland, landed up in Scotland, and married a local lass. Second from the top was latterly the Tyme Shop, but previously it had been for many years the office/shop for Smith, Hood and Company, coal merchants.  Finally the top shop was latterly a store, but over the years had housed a fishmonger, a fruiterer, a butcher and even a milliner. It may also have been the pet shop fondly remembered by many. At other times there was a shop where people remember buying their school clothes, as well as a baker just after the war run by David Greig. And until the 1950s there was always a fishmonger.  This truly was the heart of the village.

Years in Decline

Sadly the shops could not survive the opening of the road bridge  and the ending of the ferry service in 1966. As the focus of the village moved from here to the High Street, the shops emptied one by one. Dundee University took over the buildings and operated their Tay Estuary Research Centre (TERC) from here until the 1990s. After the premises were vacated by TERC they gradually fell into an appalling state of dereliction. Then Davie and Liz Anderson stepped in and totally transformed them, restoring them to their former glory. Alan and Moira Beaton completed the transformation, fitting out the building as the beautiful Boat Brae bar and restaurant, which operated from  2019 until 2024. It is remarkable to see that a building so derelict can indeed be brought back to life.

Watch a film about the restoration of these buildings.

For more images linked to the pier area please search our archive.

No Comments

Start the ball rolling by posting a comment on this page!

Add a comment about this page

Your email address will not be published.