page_title: Southend Pier
section_title: 21st century
hierarchical_section_title: Southend Pier / History / 21st century
caption_attribution_description: English: The new shore end of Southend Pier.
context_page_description: Southend Pier is a major landmark in Southend-on-Sea. Extending 1.33 miles into the Thames Estuary, it is the longest pleasure pier in the world. The bill to build the new pier, to replace a previous timber jetty, received Royal Assent in May 1829 with construction starting in July 1829. The timber pier was replaced by an iron pier that opened to the public in August 1889. The Southend Pier Railway, opened during the early 1890s, was the first pier railway in the country.
  The pier played a role during both of the world wars, such as during World War I when ships containing captured German soldiers were moored off the pier head. During the Second World War, the pier was taken over by the Royal Navy and was renamed HMS Leigh, closing to the public in September 1939. The pier has experienced several fires during its existence, notably in 1959, 1976, 1995 and 2005, with the latter causing significant damage to the old pier head and surrounding structures.
  Sir John Betjeman once said that "the Pier is Southend, Southend is the Pier". The pier is a Grade II listed building.
context_section_description: In recent years Southend Council has invested in the pier to restore it as a visitor attraction. Funding for this has been coordinated by the "S-SHAPE" (Southend Seafront, High Street and Pier Enhancements) project with funding coming from European Objective 2 funding and national Government regeneration schemes.
  The pier head was extensively redeveloped in 2000 creating a new sun deck and, in partnership with the RNLI, a new lifeboat station was built. The new station is constructed in glass to give a strikingly modern style. It also houses the Southend Pier Museum and a gift shop relating to the history of the RNLI and lifeboats.  The museum features exhibits about the pier's history, including a restored working pier signal box, a tram and train carriages, photos, period costumes, and a small collection of working old penny slot machines.
  In 2003 the shoreward end of the pier was redeveloped in a similar style to the pier head. The pier bridge was raised to enable taller vehicles to pass under it (a recurring problem had been double-decker buses getting stuck under the bridge) and a visitor centre/tourist information centre was built. This connected with the new Cliff Lift and redevelopment of Pier Hill that was constructed the following year.
caption: The new shoreward end of Southend Pier
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