1846 - Stone Pier built

After 1812, a new and profitable industry grew up in Harwich namely the manufacture of Roman cement from stone taken from Beacon Cliff or dredged from Cobbolds Point, Felixstowe. By 1835, there were five factories in the town which employed four to five hundred men.

The removal of the stone from the Felixstowe side however caused shingle to build up rapidly off Landguard Point. At Harwich, a ridge of stone was removed which had formed a natural barrier to the cliff, and later stone was dug from the cliff itself. This action resulted in the headland being eroded and many acres of land being lost, as well as the mouth of the estuary widening and the harbour deteriorating as the shingle banks built up.

Capt Washington of HMS Shearwater, who had made a survey of the harbour, was asked to report. This he did on 19th January 1843 stating that immediate action was required to save the harbour. The removal of stone was forbidden and the deep water channels were dredged. In 1846, work was begun on a stone breakwater, 800 yards long, which, extending from Beacon Hill, would narrow the entrance to the harbour and direct the ebb stream against Landguard Point.

After four years, the work was stopped when 520 yards of the breakwater had been constructed at a cost of £68,000. A further £72,000 had been spent on dredging.