Ryde Esplanade

There are three stations in Ryde: Pier Head, located at the end of St. Georges Terrace; Esplanade, formerly known as Pier Gate; and St. John’s Road, formerly known as Ryde. In 1864, a horse-drawn tramway along the pier began service from Esplanade; it was later extended through the streets to St. John’s.

The St. John’s Tunnel, which connected St. John’s to Esplanade and opened to traffic on December 20, 1875, necessitated the building of a new station in 1880. Also in 1880, the St. John’s Road refreshment room of the IWR was awarded £1,033 in compensation for loss of business due to the opening of the combined LBSCR/LSWR railway along the pier, which made it feasible to travel from Ventnor to the Solent ferry in a single trip.

See also Strand Arch  for interesting observations on the horse drawn service to Ryde St Johns.