 In October 1862 severe storms suggested that the planned height of the pier was insufficient, and it was increased by .North Pier was the second of fourteen piers designed by Eugenius Birch, and since Margate Pier was destroyed by a storm in 1978, it is the oldest of the remaining examples of his work still in use.It was the first of Birch's piers to be built by Glasgow engineering firm Richard Laidlaw and Son.