Seaside Piers Brighton Palace To replace the Chain Pier which had been destroyed by a storm in 1896, building began on this 1760ft pier in 1891 and it opened on 20th May 1899. The designer`s name was R. St. George Moore. However, the 1500-seat theatre at the seaward end wasn`t opened until 3rd April 1901. Construction had cost a record �137,000. A pavilion was added to the centre of the pier in 1910 followed, a year later, by a steamer landing stage. The pier was extended in 1938 but was temporarily sectioned as a war time precaution in 1940. A drifting barge caused �100,000 of damage in October 1973. The theatre was closed and the landing stage was wrecked. It was demolished in 1975. The Noble Organization took over the pier in March 1984. they dismantled the theatre in 1986, on condition that it would go into storage for eventual restoration.

However, it is not now known what happened to the theatre`s remains. This has led to protests from The Theatre`s Trust and other bodies. In 1995 The Noble Organization announced a �20 million expansion plan for keeping Brighton Palace pier as the 'Best in Britain' and 'Brighton at the forefront of British coastal resorts'. The plan included a two storey auditorium and restaurant at the pier head, a covered walkway, a 20ft widening of the pier`s spine and an amusement arcade and cafeteria at the foreshore. Brighton West Work on this 1115ft pier, designed by Eugenius Birch, started in 1863. The cost was �30,000 and it opened on October 5th 1866. The southern end pavilion was constructed in 1893 but was rebuilt and enlarged two years later. In 1896, landing stages were constructed. These were extended in 1901. A bandstand, halfway along, was removed in 1916 and this part of the pier was widened and a Concert Hall added. A new top deck entrance was added in 1932.

The West Pier Trust was created to save the West Pier and return it to use. It is a charity and a limited company and has acquired the ownership of the pier and the rights that attach to it. It is non-profit making. All proceeds, even from commercial-style operations on the pier, are directed towards the restoring, maintaining, improving and indefinite preserving of the pier. West Pier was damaged in the 1970s by a storm and is closed. Clacton Designed by Peter Bruff, Manager and Engineer of the Eastern Union Railway, the pier opened on 18th July 1871. A lifeboat station was added in 1878 and extensions in 1890/3 took the pier`s length to 1180ft. A new polygonal head incorporated a pavilion with concert hall, stalls and refreshment and waiting rooms. The new landing stage catered for increased steamer traffic. In 1898, the original pier company went into liquidation. When the Coast Development Company took over the structure, it was valued at �51,112. Clacton Pier features a wide variety of family entertainments on a six-and-a-half acre site.

Admission to the Pier is free and many of the attractions are undercover, including the traditional rides such as The Waltzer and The Dodgems. Among the Pier's popular attractions is the Seaquarium, which this year will be extra value for money as the entrance is via the Pier's ticket system. Opening later this year is the Pier's new attraction, The Haunted Mansion, which promises to take you on a spooky journey in the tradition of the Ghost Train with latest design features. Cleethorpes Built for �8000 by Head Wrighton, Cleethorpes Pier opened on August Bank Holiday, 1873. Financed by Manchester, Sheffield And Lincolnshire Railway, they took on the lease in 1884 for �450 p.a and bought the pier twenty years later for �11,250. A pier-head concert hall was built in 1888 but was destroyed by fire in 1903. A new pavilion was built near the shore in 1905 and a cafe and shops were built on the site of the original building.

An elevated link to the adjoining 'Pier Gardens' was also added at this time but was removed in the 1930s. In 1936, LNER sold the pier to Cleethorpes Council. It was breached in 1940 for defence purposes and the isolated seaward section was demolished after the war. The pier now measured 335ft compared to its original 1200ft. Cleethorpes Pier is now home to the Pier 39 Nightclub. Colwyn Bay Work began in 1889 to the design of Maynall and Littlewood of Manchester. The pier opened on 1st June 1900 to a length of 220ft, including a 2500 seat pavilion. The Bijou theatre built in 1916, accommodated 600. In 1922, the main pavilion was burnt down. It was replaced the following year, by the pier`s new owners, the local council. In 1933, the pavilion was once again destroyed by fire and, two months later, a seperate blaze wrecked the Bijou theatre.

A replacement pavilion opened in 1934. Repairs were made to the pier in 1954 and from 1964 onwards. Trust House Forte became owners in 1968, and the structure was refurbished. However, in 1976, THF applied to demolish the seaward end. A 4000 signature petition helped persuade Colwyn Borough Council to refuse permission. Parker leisure Holdings bought the pier in 1979 and converted the 'Dixieland Showbar' into a disco with adjoining bars. Colwyn Bay Pier changed ownership in December 2003 with plans to restore to it's original Victorian condition. If you'd like to help out - visit their website . Great Yarmouth The pier was first proposed in 1856 and work began in September 1857. A.W.Morant was the engineer. The 700ft structure opened on 13th July 1858. The length of the pier was reduced by a ship collision in 1859 and storm damage in 1868. It was demolished in 1899.

A replacement was started on 13th December 1900 to the design of James and Arthur Mayoh. The 810ft pier deck and temporary pavilion opened in 1901. This pavilion was replaced with the grand first pavilion which opened on 21st June 1902. This was, however, destroyed by fire on 22nd December 1909. The second pavilion was completed in 1910, but was itself burnt down on 17th April 1914, allegedly by the suffragettes, who had been refused permission to hold a meeting there. Within three months a third pavilion had been built, opening on 27th July. The present pavilion opened on 27th June 1958, but the ballroom ( called the Ocean Ballroom from 1947 ) was never replaced. Mumbles Designed by W. Sutcliffe Marsh, the 835ft pier opened on May 10th 1898. The cost of the pier was �10,000.

It was the terminus for the Swansea and Mumbles Railway, the promoter being John Jones Jenkins of the Rhondda And Swansea Bay Raiilway. Amusement Equipment Company Ltd. ( AMECO ) gained a licence to operate the pier from 1st October 1937, later taking out a lease. They acquired the freehold in 1957. Sectioned in 1940, the pier was extensively reconstructed in the 1950s, and a landing jetty was added. It officially re-opened on 9th June 1956. A new arcade was built on the pier`s frontage in 1966. AMECO spent between �25,000 and �30,000 per annum on the maintenance and replacement of the steelwork between 1975 and 1985. The pier was closed on 1st October 1987 but re-opened on Good Friday 1988, after �40,000 had been spent during the winter on renewing steelwork near to the entrance. AMECO have been running the pier for over sixty years.

Ryde The first of the great pleasure piers to be built, Ryde pier not only still survives, albeit in a somewhat different form from the original structure, but continues to handle cross-Solent ferry passengers to this day. Designed by John Kent of Southampton, the foundation stone of Ryde Pier was laid on 29th June 1813, the completed pier opening a year later on 26th July 1814. Overnight the perilous embarkation and disembarkation of the seafaring public had become a thing of the past. Originally built of timber, to a length of 1,740ft (527m), the pier was little more than a 12ft (3.6m) wide wooden jetty able to handle only relatively small sailing boats, but as the size of passenger vessels increased so did the pier. Ryde Pier was extended to a length of 2,040ft (618m) in 1824 and the pier-head was enlarged in 1827.

A further extension in 1833 took the overall length to 2,250ft (681m), while the pier-head was again extended in 1842 and the late 1850s. To facilitate the easier movement of both people and goods a second tramway pier was built immediately alongside the existing structure, opening on 29th August 1864. Horses were the method used to pull the trams however various experiments were tried with steam traction, but these met with little success. Work began in 1877 on a third pier adjacent to the tramway pier, opening on 12th July 1880, and providing a direct steam railway link to the pier-head. It was also around this time the horse drawn trams were finally replaced, not by steam, but by electric traction. Ryde Pier, by now a substantial structure, comprised effectively of three separate piers, a promenade pier with intermittent shelters projecting seawards along its length, an electric tramway pier and a steam railway pier.

In 1895 a concert pavilion was constructed at the pier-head and over the next sixteen years the original wooden piles were replaced in cast iron. The tramway pier closed in 1969 and was partially dismantled leaving gaps between the railway and promenade piers, and the poor condition of the substructure at the pier-head resulted in the demolition of the pavilion in 1971. The pier was however made a Grade II listed building in 1976, and a five-year re-planking project was completed that December. In the early 1980s a modern waiting area replaced the original Victorian waiting rooms at the pier-head and additional parking spaces were also provided. Although having lost its Victorian buildings, the promenade section of Ryde Pier still contains much fine wrought-iron work along its length. As mentioned previously the pier continues as a working pier, trains still leave from the pier-head and Wight Link ferries operate a regular Catamaran service between Ryde and Portsmouth.

Shanklin By the early 1870s Shanklin on the Isle of Wight boasted over 40 hotels, and the Shanklin Esplanade and Pier company was formed and applied for permission to build a pier. In 1874 the Shanklin Pier Act was passed, and in 1878 the company issued a prospectus and advertised shares for sale. The plans for the pier were drawn up in 1880, but the funds necessary to build the pier were not raised until 1888, by which time it was necessary for Parliament to approve a second Shanklin Pier Act in 1886. In August 1888 work on building the pier started, and when finished the pier was 1200 feet long. It was raised from the esplanade to allow bathing machines to pass beneath, and had pagoda-style toll booths at the entrance. The pier opened on August 18, 1890, and the first steamer to visit was the Flying Falcon.

In 1891 the pier was even more popular when the Shanklin lift - a hydraulic lift to the esplanade from the cliff top above - was opened, making access to the esplanade easier from the town. By 1893 a bandstand-like pavilion had been built, and water polo was often played at the pier head. In 1899 Shanklin Urban District Council bought the pier, and in 1909 built the Grand Pavilion in the centre of the pier at a cost of �4000 - it was the largest pier pavilion on the island. The original pavilion continued to be used as a bandstand. However, at 2am on October 16, 1987, the largest recorded hurricane to strike England hit Shanklin Pier. The pier was ripped into three parts, with large sections torn away by the winds. South Wight Borough Council authorised the demolition of the remains of the pier, and much of the remains of the pier was recycled to make sea defences. Skegness In 1877, the Earl of Scarborough, who had brought the railway to Skegness, formed the Skegness Pier Company.

Clarke and Pickwell`s design was chosen from the 44 submitted, and work began in 1880. The 1817ft pier had cost �20,840 when it opened on 4th June 1881. It included a 700 seat saloon / concert hall at the pier head. Steamboat trips began in 1882. The pier-head saloon was extended in 1898, and new refreshment rooms were built at the pier-head. In March 1919 the schooner 'Europa' breached the pier. A temporary gangway was completed by August but the pier was not fully restored until 1939. The north and souith entrances were built in 1929/30. The entrance was modernised in 1936/9 by incorporating a cafe and shops on either side of the archway. Sectioned during World War II, the pier re-opened in 1948 after �23,528 had been spent on repairs.

Southend The first pier was planned in 1828 and a 600ft wooden section opened in June 1830. The length had increased to 1.25 miles by 1846, making Southend Pier the longest pier in Europe and probably the World. In August 1885, a replacement iron pier was planned and work began in 1888 to the design of james Brunless. The pier opened on 24th August 1890. �10,000 of the �80,000 cost was spent on the new electric railway. An extension opened in 1898 making it the longest pier in the world at 7080ft. On July 25th 1908, the upper deck of the pier extension opened, followed by the doubling of the rail track and the Prince George steamer extension in 1929. During World War II, the pier was used by the Navy.

Huge popularity followed the war with the electric train carrying 4,713,082 passengers in its first season ( 1949/50 ) and an additional one million people passing through the turnstiles. However, falling trade led to a financial survey in 1970 and the pier`s entertainments were franchised. Southport Victorian engineer Sir James Brunlees masterminded the construction of Southport Pier, which opened to the public in 1860. Believed to be the first leisure Pier to be built in the United Kingdom, it was originally 3,600ft long before being extended to it is maximum of 4,380ft in 1868, then the longest in Britain. The Pier perfectly complimented the elegant resort of Southport which, to this day, retains a unique sense of style epitomised by the famous Lord Street. A pier was first suggested in the 1840s but a company was not created until 1859. Work began the same year. Waiting and refreshment rooms for boat passengers were added in 1862.

A baggage line opened on May 7th 1863 but was re-laid the following year when the pier was widened and extended. It was upgraded to a cable-operated tramway in 1865. A further extension, in 1868, brought the length to 4380ft. Storm damage and fires, in 1933 and 1957, reduced the length to the present 3633ft - the second longest in Britain. Southwold Southwold Pier was constructed in 1900, following the passing of the Southwold Pier Order in 1899. 810ft long, it was built to the design of W. Jeffrey. The Amusement Equipment Company Ltd, took over the pier in July 1906, after the Coast Development Company was wound up. In 1934, the T-shaped head was destroyed by storms. Two years later, a new pavilion was built at the shoreward end, replacing existing buildings. 'Belle' steamers called from London, Clacton and Great Yarmouth but this service ended in the 1930s.

The pier was sectioned as a war precaution in 1940 and was damaged by a mine. It was rebuilt in 1948 at a cost of �30,000. A gale, in October 1955, isolated the seaward end, which washed away. Another storm, in February 1979, reduced the length to 150ft. Southwold Pier is now a privately owned pier. It is a family run business, catering for the large number of visitors Southwold receives each year. St. Annes-On-Sea The 914ft pier was built at a cost of �18,000 for the St. Annes-On-Sea Land And Building Company Ltd. It opened on 15th June 1885 to the design of A. Dawson. Extensions costing a further �30,000 were opened on April 2nd 1904 and included the famous 1000 seat Moorish Pavilion and various kiosks.

The Mock Tudor lodge at the entrance had opened a few years earlier and the Floral Hall ( in use by 1910 ) housed concerts, operas and vaudeville acts. George Formby, Gracie Fields, Russ Conway and Bob Monkhouse have all performed at the pier. An amusement arcade was added to the entrance in 1954. The children`s theatre was damaged by fire in 1959. In 1960, the pier was re-decked and a restaurant was added. In 1962, the Amalgamated Investment and Property Company bought the pier for �240,000. The entrance pavilion, Floral Hall, landing jetty and children`s section were all renovated. Swanage The first, wooden, pier was built in 1859 by Mowlem`s. It was 750ft long and was used for shipping Purbeck stone and by passenger steamers. Until the 1950s, it was a diving platform for Swanage Swimming Club.

the first pile for the new 642ft pier was driven on 30th November 1895 and the first steamer, PS Lord Elgin, called on 1st May 1896. It was opened to all traffic on 29th March 1897. The greenheart timber piles were beginning to decay by the 1920s and, in 1927, they were lined with concrete. In 1939, the pier was breached as a war precaution and was not repaired until 1948. The missing section was restored in concrete. Steamer traffic restarted, but ended on September 24th 1966: the last boat to call was the PS Embassy. After this, the pier fell into disrepair. In 1986, Durrant Developments Ltd, bought it and planned to restore the pier. However, when the company went bankrupt, the pier fell into the hands of the receiver. Weston Super Mare (Birnbeck) Birnbeck Pier was designed by Eugenius Birch and opened in 1867.

It is the only pier which links the mainland to an island just off shore. The pier is listed at Grade II and is on the English Heritage list of buildings at risk. In 1845 James Dredge designed a suspension bridge to connect the island to the mainand but, due to difficulty raising sufficient funds, this was never completed. In 1864 a prospectus was issued to raise �20,000 in 2000 shares of �10 each and construction of the present pier began. It was designed by Eugenius Birch who was responsible for fourteen piers around the British coast including those at Brighton, Aberystwyth, Blackpool and Eastbourne. It was built of prefabricated parts made at Messrs Toogood's ISCA iron foundry in Newport, Gwent. The ornate gothic-style toll-house and piermaster's house were designed by noted local architect Hans Price who practised in Weston from 1862. On 6th June 1867, Birnbeck Pier opened and in the first three months, 120,000 visitors passed through the turnstiles.

From April 1885 Birnbeck Pier had its own by-laws sanctioned and in use. The first life-boat was installed on the pier in 1882. It was slung from davits until 1889 when a lifeboat house was built on the island on the north side of the bridge. In 1901 a new lifeboat house was built on the south side of the bridge, at a cost of �2575. This has the longest lifeboat slipway in the country and is still in use today. In 1932 a new platform was constructed out of reinforced concrete. This was more successful than the previous one and still survives. On June 23rd 1938 The Weston-super-Mare Pier Company entered into an agreement with the Board of Trade to purchase the bed of the sea immediately beneath the Pier, as well as several pieces of land formerly part of the foreshore, all for the sum of �300. In 1974 the pier, including the toll-house, was listed Grade II by the Department of the Environment, as a building of historical and architectural interest.

In 1990, Weston suffered from severe storms and gale force winds and damage was in evidence everywhere, not least on the pier and lifeboat slipway. This was so badly damaged it was impossible to launch the lifeboat. The lifeboat house windows, though made of toughened glass, were smashed. Sadly in 1994 the pier had become so unsafe that the Local Authority closed it, prohibiting all public access except for the lifeboat crews and fishermen. Weston Super Mare (Grand) Grand pier, 1� miles long, was intended to serve two purposes: for shipping at all tides at the far end and for entertainment near the shore. In practice, due to the strong tides and currents, it was both difficult and dangerous for ships to tie up at the jetty and very few steamers ever berthed there. Work started on 7th Nov 1903, driving of the commemorative pile. On 11th Jun 1904, the first part was opened. The main pier is of openwork girders with traceried braces.

The Pavilion held a fine Edwardian theatre for 2,000 people and productions included opera, musical comedy, music hall, Shakespeare, ballet and boxing. By 1906 a further span of 500 yards of pier with a timber landing stage was constructed and opened, making total length of pier 2580 feet. Light amusements were added in 1926, but the Pavilion shows still proved the main source of income until 13th Jan 1930 when the Pavilion was destroyed by fire. Between 1932-1933 the Pavilion was rebuilt, the largest on any pier. Instead of a theatre it now housed a large funfair. In 1974 the Pier was listed by the Department of the Environment as a monument of historic importance. More information on Piers can be found at the National Piers Society Website Blackpool Beach | VisitBlackpool Blackpool Beach Promenade, Blackpool, Lancashire, FY1 5AA From £0.00 Per Ticket Blackpool Beaches There’s nothing quite like a day at the seaside, and Blackpool is one of the best beach resorts you will find in the UK.

It was even recently awarded its first ever Blue Flag, putting it on par with other world renowned sites including the Mediterranean Sea and the Pacific coastline. The whole family will love relaxing in the sun, taking a dip in the sea and enjoying an ice cream along the promenade here in Blackpool. There is plenty of space for sandcastles, sunbathing and family games, so you really can make a day of it. Of course, Blackpool is also the only British beach resort to boast three fabulous piers, so don’t forget to pay these a visit as part of your day at the beach. Let’s take a look at what you’ll find along Blackpool’s famous Golden Mile. North Pier The only Blackpool Pier to hold Grade II listed status, the North Pier is a wonderful starting point for exploring Blackpool’s beaches. It is home to the North Pier Theatre, which hosts regular comedy and musical acts, while families will love the Victorian tea room, two-tier Venetian Carousel and ice cream parlour. You will also find an arcade where you can play the famous penny slots, and if you look carefully you will also notice the first ever Sooty puppet, purchased by original TV show presenter Harry Corbett in 1948.

You won’t have to walk far to find yourself in the shadow of The Blackpool Tower . While you’re here, it’s worth wandering up the steps from the beach to the entertaining Comedy Carpet, featuring a collection of hilarious quotes from some of the most iconic comedians to have made the country laugh over the years, many of whom started out performing in Blackpool. If you want to be at the heart of the action, this is the place to put up your sun-loungers. Central Pier Walk a little further down the beach, past SEA LIFE Blackpool and Madame Tussauds , and you’ll reach the Central Pier. Its most striking feature is its 108ft-high ferris wheel, which gives you a unique perspective of Blackpool and affords superb views across the Irish Sea. The Central Pier is extremely family-friendly, with arcade games, a funfair and the popular Funhouse Family Bar. South Pier The South Pier is a brilliant attraction for families, particularly for the Blue Flag beach opposite Blackpool Pleasure Beach. This latest accolade marks the excellent sea quality, and makes this the perfect location for paddling in the waves or having a seaside picnic.

By the time you’ve explored all the beaches between the Central and South Piers, you’ll find yourself near Sandcastle Waterpark and Blackpool Pleasure Beach . The South Pier certainly does its best to fit in with the thrills and adventure on offer at these two attractions, with plenty to keep all ages entertained. The whole pier is a mini theme park, featuring go-karting, dodgems, waltzers, the Crazy Mouse rollercoaster, Skycoaster, Skyscreamer bungee ride, Spider Mountain climbing frame and Maxibounce trampolines. There is also a Kiddies Ride Arena for younger children, and when everyone’s tired out you can enjoy a drink in the Laughing Donkey Family Bar, which also hosts live entertainment. As you can see, there are plenty of exciting ways to keep your whole family occupied along Blackpool’s brilliant beaches. The only question is, how will you fit everything in? Not the end of the pier show | The Independent Architecture Not the end of the pier show From fires to neglect, British pleasure piers have had a tough few years. But will a boom in UK tourism help restore their past glory?

Jack Watkins finds out Sunday 24 July 2011 23:00 BST Click to follow Not the end of the pier show 1/5 5/5 AFP If you wish to check the pulse of a British seaside resort, look at the state of its pier. The golden age of pleasure piers – those gaudy, lacily iron-worked, splendidly pavilioned walkways over the water – ran from the 1890s to the Second World War. It reflected a time when millions of Britons looked no further than the seaside, from Blackpool to Brighton and Clacton to Colwyn Bay, for their holidays. The rise of holidaying abroad from the 1960s sent many such towns into a spiral of decay, dragging piers with them. Into the early 1990s, piers were being lost at the rate of one every other year. Of the hundred or so that existed at the turn of the 20th century, only 55 still survive, and not all are in pristine condition. Now, though, as cash-strapped families rediscover the joys of holidaying at home, several piers are enjoying a renaissance.

Weston-super-Mare's Grand Pier is rejoicing in a £39m transformation, including a new pavilion, built in heroically quick time after the old one burnt down in 2008. Southend Council is about to invest £3m in new structures on the longest pier in the world and Penarth has received £1.75m to transform its long-neglected art deco concert pavilion into a community complex. Meanwhile, Merlin Entertainments, owner of Blackpool Tower and the London Eye, has submitted plans for a 53m (174ft) tower at Weymouth Pier, to give spectators of sailing events at the 2012 Olympics a bird's-eye view. Such schemes are testimony to the commercial pulling power of piers, but there is also growing appreciation of the heritage value of Victorian "architecture of amusement". Some 26 piers are listed, including six at Grade II*, although Clevedon is the only pier listed at Grade I – unless you count the rusting skeleton of Brighton's once-magical West Pier. It wasn't always the case, says Anthony Wills of the National Piers Society, which lobbies for their preservation and enjoyment.

"In the 1960s, there was this feeling of 'Let's get rid of all this Victorian rubbish.' A lot of piers had their decoration hidden behind plastic cladding. It was in the 1980s that people began uncovering them and realising the treasures which lay beneath." Most of us have an image of what a classic pleasure pier should look like – Llandudno perhaps, with its unmatched bay setting, or Eastbourne, still basking in the glory of featuring as a location in the remake of Brighton Rock. It's one of seven surviving piers designed by the master of pier engineers, Eugenius Birch, and its quirky mix of domed and spired pavilions, and kiosks that look like glorified fisherman's huts, somehow embodies the nation's trademark seaside eccentricity. Still, the vulnerability of piers to damage from fire, storms or shipping means that few remain as originally built. Most are an eclectic jumble of features from different decades. This leaves architects working on additions today with room for expression, Wills believes. "You can't be purist about this. In the 21st century, you shouldn't always expect to replace like with like.

You have to remember that even with the Birch piers, the only one where all his buildings survived was the West Pier. We are currently fighting a campaign to save the theatre – one of six operating pier theatres left – on Birch's Bournemouth Pier, but the building itself only dates from 1960." The surest sign of a sustained pier revival will surely be when more of them begin to bear the stamp of 21st-century design. For more information on Britain's surviving piers, visit piers.org.uk Weston-Super-Mare Grand The much-loved Weston Grand Pier, though not completed until 1904, was one of the very last in the great Victorian tradition. Smack in the centre of the resort, with a full set of family attractions – Anthony Wills calls it a "candyfloss pier" – the fire thatdestroyed the pavilion in 2008 stirred a massive outpouring of local grief, and the new owner immediately vowed to build a new one.

It reopened, together with £39m of refurbishments, at the end of last year – the sleekly curved, sloping-roofed modern design enough to win it the National Piers Society's "Pier of the Year" award for 2011. Crowds of more than 100,000 this Easter broke previous visitor records. Blackpool South Blackpool was so popular with tourists in the 1890s that a third pier was added to the already existing two. Originally called the Victoria Pier, its name was later changed to the South Pier (the others being the North and Central piers). All three survive and thrive with the full panoply of fairground-style attractions, but plans have been submitted for the South Pier to undergo an extensive £8m refit, with its architect promising to use "crisp, modern materials in a form which will bring it into the 21st century". Hastings The banner "You Can Save Me!" draped over the side of this burnt-out pier cries out as plaintively as the seagulls at passing promenaders.

Another Birch pier, it was closed as unsafe in 2007, seemingly set to become another West Pier, left to rot. An energetic Hastings Pier & White Rock Trust launched a campaign to restore it, though a raging fire, destroying most of the super-structure last autumn, was a huge setback. But the Trust has just received development funding of £350,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund, pending a grant of £8.7m. In truth, the ensemble of buildings was never much to look at, leaving wide scope for creative design, and the exciting hope that this could be a real pleasure pier for the 21st century. Clevedon The only Grade I listed pier (with excuses to the West Pier, see main body), Clevedon is one for the purists. The earliest piers were actually little more than wooden promenades, the gaps in the decking providing strollers with the dizzying sensation of walking over the sea. Clevedon has never been cluttered with features, its charms lying in the delicate grace of its arched spans and trestles.

However, the exposed nature of the pier has meant a lack of under-cover visitor facilities, and plans are afoot for a £1m futuristic, glass-fronted visitor and educational centre with views onto the Bristol Channel to be built on the ramp leading onto the pier. Weston-Super-Mare Birnbeck Birnbeck is Weston-super-Mare's "other pier". It closed in 1994, and functions now only as a lifeboat station. "It's the pier nobody talks about, but it predates the Grand by 40 years," Anthony Wills says. "It's unique in that it connects the mainland to an island, and it's beautiful." Hopes were raised when Urban Splash, the company that revived Morecambe's art deco Midland hotel, bought the pier, but the recession has hit hopes of restoration and the situation "looks bleak". Birnbeck is another Eugenius Birch pier, listed Grade II*, and after the West Pier fiasco, should we really be allowing another of his gems to sink into oblivion?

Eugenius Birch: The man who made the piers Eugenius Birch (1818-1884) was to piers what Isambard Kingdom Brunel was to bridges and railways. He pioneered the use of modern engineering techniques in pier construction, and his cast-iron-columned, screw-piled understructures proved remarkably durable. Birch had worked for the East Indian Railway Company and used this to introduce the oriental design features which became signatures of "frivolous" Victorian seaside architecture. Birch designed 14 piers in all, but few of his above-deck features survive, making the wreck of Brighton's West Pier – where Birch's Indian cupolas, balustrades and handrails decorated with ornamental Chinese dragons had remained – all the sadder. More about: The British Seaside: Holidays and Resorts in the Twentieth Century | Reviews in History The British Seaside: Holidays and Resorts in the Twentieth Century Book: The British Seaside: Holidays and Resorts in the Twentieth Century John K. Walton Manchester, Manchester University Press, 2000, ISBN: 9780719051703; 224pp.

Reviewer: University of Teesside Citation: Dr Barry Doyle, review of The British Seaside: Holidays and Resorts in the Twentieth Century, (review no. 233) See Author's Response Published as part of Manchester University Press's new Studies in Popular Culture series, John Walton's latest addition to his incomparable canon of seaside studies forms part of a concerted effort by new social historians to question what makes appropriate and important history. Reflecting on why the cotton industry rather than the seaside industry, both products of mid-nineteenth century Lancashire, has attracted the attention of historians, Walton suggests that: "The seaside's significance and capacity for survival have yet to generate a historiography to challenge that of cotton; but that is not for want of importance or scope for posing big questions. Rather, it reflects the enduring preoccupation of economic historians with production rather than consumption, the predominance of class conflict in manufacturing industry among the chosen themes of social history, and the condescension of the political history establishment towards popular culture.

Only in the last two decades have the orthodox agenda been seriously challenged, and this book is the product of those times." [195-6] In the process of challenging this orthodoxy, Walton ploughs his familiar line on the social and economic significance of the seaside displayed in his many publications on Blackpool, but also branches out into cultural history. Thus, the Introduction opens up the idea of the seaside as a liminal space, both an unstable boundary between the sea and land and a space beyond the rules of respectable urban society where one can explore other identities. However, this element is not central to the book, which still concentrates overwhelmingly on the very historiographical orthodoxy and themes which Walton claims his book challenges, the seven substantive chapters dealing with the seaside resort system, the holidaymakers themselves, travelling to the coast, and seaside pleasures, environments, economies and politics. The book begins by mapping the resorts, travelling around the coast outlining the scale and importance of seaside towns in the various parts of the country, assessing the demographic trends for the period up to 1951 and then looking at changes in visitor numbers, asserting all along that these are imperfect even for recent times.

He notes the relatively small and insignificant nature of seaside resorts in Scotland, apart from the links villages of the 'Golf stream', as well as exploring the development of the original 'bungalow' towns of inter-war Essex, Kent and Sussex and the democratic element in their occupation of the coast with ramshackle homes made from railway carriages, timber and iron buildings. In looking at the period of stagnation and dispersal in the fifties and sixties, he asserts that decline was slow and to some extent compensated for by the rise of the retirement resorts, especially along the south coast, emphasising that rapid and complete decline was a feature of the seventies and eighties, especially in northern resorts like New Brighton. 'Holidaymakers' highlights the fact that as holidays were constrained by cost, even for the lower middle class, most classes and ages went to British seaside resorts in the first half of the century, either as long-stay visitors or day-trippers. Such social diversity resulted in ongoing battles over the issue of 'social tone' - with many coastal towns struggling to maintain middle class vacationers looking for peace and quiet yet attempting to attract the free spending trippers and working class holiday makers after entertainment (a theme returned to often in subsequent chapters).

Given the importance of cost, decline is seen largely as a product of affluence, with first the middle classes, but soon the lower middle class and workers abandoning the resorts for independent travel in the undeveloped coast and hinterland of areas like Devon and Cornwall, in a variety of inland holiday locations from historic cities to the wilds of Scotland, or even ultimately to resorts abroad. 'Travelling to the Coast' makes clear Walton's belief that the decline of rail was central to the collapse of the resorts and the shift in their physical and cultural character - a theme he returns to in subsequent chapters. It shows how railhead resorts maintained their dominance to the 1950s when motor bikes and cars joined buses and coaches in changing resorts and their environs, whilst planes allowed escape to Europe and beyond. In particular, motor vehicles demanded car parking space and caused jams on the inadequate roads, prompting the promotion of major urban change, as well as changing resorts by decanting the beds from guest houses to caravans, chalets, cottages and tents in the surrounding countryside.

Furthermore, they facilitated a shift in the way people used coastal resorts, freeing them from the constraints of the town and beach so that the resort became just one part of the holiday. With these changes the coastal resorts once again became a location for day-trippers, or increasingly for resident retirees and suburbans. As might be expected, Walton is at his best surveying 'Seaside Pleasures', describing with passion and affection the opulence and splendour of Victorian and Edwardian piers, winter gardens and pleasure palaces. It is here that he returns to the theme of the seaside as a liminal place where people could and did do things they wouldn't do at home - even when most of the folks from home were also there. [96-7] Most liminal of all was the pier, as he explains (possibly a little tongue in cheek): In principle it is the essence of liminality, with more convincing credentials as phallic symbol than the tallest tower, as it points a stiff masculine technological probe into the mysterious feminine world of the sea, linking the elements to generate the special frisson of pleasure and the privileged gaze that go with occupying the bridging-point of two worlds.

[104-5] Walton is highly critical of the resorts failure to make the most of their Victorian pleasure heritage, especially Brighton's shift to an emphasis on its Regency past and the antiques trade, or even Blackpool's resort to kitsch capital of the north which, whilst owing something to the traditional liminality of the seaside resort, is predominantly focused on the bars and clubs of the town centre. As he shows, by the end of the century the British population were much more inclined to go to in land theme parks with only Blackpool Pleasure Beach rivalling the pulling power of the likes of Alton Towers. This, Walton feels, need not have been if resort politicians and entrepreneurs had acted to capture such ideas in the beginning and fit them into the overall seaside experience. This failure is seen as part of a broader failure to look after the seaside environment, which deterred visitors and changed the character of the resorts. Thus, 'Seaside Environments' covers interesting ground, discussing attempts to regulate resorts, battles with the sea through expensive sea defences, endeavours to manage traditional seaside economies and lifestyles, especially those of fisherfolk and their homes, and the long running war with sewerage.

Walton places particular emphasis on the 'degradation of the built environment' with architecture losing its distinctiveness, emblems of seaside pleasures demolished or allowed to decay, whilst shopping precincts and sea-front flats typical of 'up-market south-eastern retirement resorts...reduced the visual sense of seaside place identity'. Yet this is an essentially northern, populist conception of what the seaside town was or should be. For one of the very distinctive features of the seaside in the twentieth century, and especially along the south coast, was the way it encouraged a rare willingness in the English to live on one level, whether in bungalows or low-rise blocks of private flats along the seafront. Whilst Blackpool and similar northern resorts may not have adopted such architectural styles so readily, the wide esplanade with white blocks of flats is as emblematic of the seaside to most southerners as the pier or the amusements. But this is a relatively minor point, which should not detract from an interesting chapter, which raises some important general issues about urban environments in the twentieth century.

Linking a number of the chapters together, 'Seaside Economies' highlights their highly volatile nature, the centrality of casual labour, much of it seasonal, high levels of small proprietorship, low wages, long hours and rampant winter unemployment. These generic problems were aggravated first by the changes in the resorts between the 1950s and the 1970s, with the commensurate decline of the guest houses, then made much worse by the collapse of the domestic seaside holiday in the seventies and eighties which saw populations increasingly dominated by retirees on fixed incomes with low expenditure patterns, and the unemployed who gravitated to the seaside drawn by the prospect of casual work and the lure of extensive bedsit accommodation. The nature of resort economies greatly influenced the structure of 'Seaside Politics', giving Walton one of his most original chapters. Here he explores how politics operated in what were essentially one party towns. He finds that, like Liberal dominated nineteenth century towns, the battles were between spenders and economisers, between those who wished to maintain 'social tone' and those who looked to increase the entertainment side.

In general these political divisions mapped onto the two or three main resort constituencies - holiday trade, retirees and suburbans - with the former group often backing the spenders, whilst the latter groups tended to favour low rates and high social tone and thus supported the economisers. In fact what Walton shows is that 'ideology' had little to do with urban politics in much of Britain certainly until the sixties, with Tory administrations in places like Blackpool and Scarborough embarking on extensive public investment and municipal trading, especially on leisure provision, which would have been criticised as extravagant in towns not dependent on the holiday trade. Furthermore, Walton brings the history of seaside politics into the late twentieth century, attempting to unpack the collapse of seaside Toryism in the eighties and nineties as first Brighton then Blackpool succumbed to New Labour, and providing a humorous discussion of the final triumph of Brighton over Hove at the end of the twentieth century, a marriage which appeared to unite all aspects of the twentieth century seaside town. There are few significant criticisms of this book. It does seem to privilege Blackpool and the northern seaside experience over that of the rather more complex southern coastal towns.

In particular, Brighton receives few generous comments, except in relation to its annexation of Hove, whilst Southend and Margate are a little under-represented. In a related criticism, this distrust of the southern seaside leads him to draw too much of a distinction between seaside towns as holiday resorts and retiree 'Costa Geriatricas'. He downplays the links between the two - that many retirees may have holidayed in the town for years, or that retiring to the coast is just an exaggerated form of holiday. Overall neither the reasons why people have chosen the seaside as a main place to retire to nor the positive aspects of the development of older populations in coastal towns are fully explored, whilst the growth of coastal suburbs receives little attention. As suggested earlier, this northern image of the seaside also colours how a resort should look, with the red or white brick Victorian town, with central station, beach, pier, and amusements regarded as archetypal and the southern tendency towards modern blocks of flats on wide esplanades rejected as insufficiently seaside. Yet these are minor criticisms and do not detract from the merits of what is a highly innovative exercise in urban history.

For this stands as the first survey of the impact of a single industry on the urban environment during the twentieth century and is unique in its coverage of the secular social, economic, political, transport and environmental history of a large number of towns of differing sizes from the substantial boroughs like Brighton and Blackpool, to the small but significant towns of Devon and Cornwall. These towns which were often the fastest growing places in the late nineteenth century and even well into the twentieth century, have, as Walton re-emphasises in his conclusion, been ignored by most historians for their failure to make things, their absence of class conflict, their Tory politics and their dominance by the middle class and by consumption. Yet as this book makes clear, these were paradigmatic urban environments of the mid-twentieth century, and Walton both fills in their largely missing history and provides a template for urban history in the coming years, combining traditional methods and concerns with the new methodology of cultural history in a broad comparative sweep. November 2001 Top 13 Piers in Britain - The Coolest Amusement Pleasure Piers in the United Kingdom - Anglotopia.net Issue #4 Now Shipping! We received Issue #4 from the printer last week and have begun the process of shipping out.

There’s almost 900 to send, so it will take a about 7-10 days to ship them all out. It will be with you soon! Related Issue #4 is Almost Done! We’re almost done with Issue #4 which is taking a bit longer than we planned to get ready. It’s with our copy editor now and we’ll be sending it to the printer this week. We expect to begin shipping out in 2-3 weeks. Related The London Annual Has Gone to Press! We have approved the final proofs for the London Annual and it’s going to press. We expect them in the office in a couple weeks at which point we’ll mail them out to all that pre-ordered. It has sold very well for us and we ordered extras but as with all our other magazine, quantities […] Now Taking Pre-Orders for the London Annual and Issue #4 We’re now taking pre-orders for a special one off magazine called the London Annual which will be a great guide to London in 2017 (this is not included in the subscription). We’re also now open to pre-orders for the fourth issue of the Anglotopia Magazine. Place your orders here now.

Related Third Issue Update: All Subscriptions Have Been Mailed We have finished mailing out all subscriptions and single issue orders of the third issue of the Anglotopia Magazine. Took a bit longer than we thought but they’re all on the way. We have a limited number left in stock of the third issue – so if you haven’t already – pick it up soon! […] Digital Subscribers – Your Issue is Ready to Download! We have sent out the emails to digital subscribers letting them know they can now download the Issue #3 of the Anglotopia Magazine. You will received an email from us, be sure to check your SPAM folder if you haven’t received it today. Email us right away and we’ll send you a different link to […] Issue #3 Has Been Printed and We’ll Begin Shipping Them We have just picked up Issue #3 of the Anglotopia Magazine from the printer. It looks beautiful! We’ll begin shipping them out tomorrow. It’s going to take us about a week to get them all out. We have about 600 subscribers and pre-orders to get through.

Last time we used a third party shipping company […] Pre-order Issue #3 Now To make sure that you can get a copy of the next issue of the Anglotopia magazine, we recommend pre-ordering. We’re only getting 900 copies and 600 or so have already been reserved. We will likely sell out again. Click here to preorder. Related By Jonathan Being an island nation, Britain has a loving relationship with it’s coastlines and for centuries people have flocked to them for a little rest and relaxation. All throughout Britain, many seaside piers were built – some are still popular, some have seen better days, some are ruined wrecks. Here is out list of all the coolest piers left in Britain we thought would make a fun list. Llandudno Pier – Wales Llandudno Pier is in the seaside resort of Llandudno on the coast of North Wales between Bangor and Colwyn Bay. At 2,295 feet, the pier is the longest in Wales and the fifth longest in England and Wales. A British Tourist Authority report in 1975 said of it: ‘…. It zooms out of the sea….

in a spectacular Indian Gothic style rather like a Maharajah’s palace floating on a lake. Cast iron, brackets of iron lacework, an outstandingly pretty balustrade like an enlarged fish net, ogee roofs curling away to the sky, all add up to a totally pleasurable experience.’ The pier is very unusual in that it has two entrances, one on the promenade at North Parade and the other, the original entrance, on Happy Valley Road. Between the two entrances is the Grand Hotel. At the end of the pier is a deep-water landing stage, completely rebuilt for the third time in 1969, which is used by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company for occasional excursions to Douglas, Isle of Man, and for an annual visit of the PS Waverley or the MV Balmoral preserved steamers. The June 2007 sailings of the Balmoral were rescheduled to start at Menai Bridge Pier, after it emerged that Llandudno Pier’s Landing Stage was no longer safe to use. Llandudno Pier is often chosen for Victorian and Edwardian seaside filming locations and notably for the 2002 TV production of The Forsyte Saga.

In 2005, the pier was voted “Pier of the Year 2005” by the members of the National Piers Society. Worthing Pier – West Sussex Worthing Pier is a pier in Worthing, West Sussex, England. Designed by Sir Robert Rawlinson, it was opened in 1862 and remains open to this day. The pier originally was a simple promenade deck 960ft (291m) long and 15ft (4.6m) wide. In 1888 the pier was upgraded with the width increased to 30ft (9.2m) and the pier head increased to 105ft (32m) for a 650-seat pavilion to be built. The first moving picture show in Worthing was seen on the pier on 31 August 1896 and is commemorated today by a blue plaque. In 1897 a steam ship began operation between Worthing Pier and the Chain Pier in Brighton, twelve miles to the east. Worthing Pier was sectioned in 1940 for fear of German invasion after the retreat at Dunkirk.

A large hole was also blown in the pier to prevent it being used as a possible landing stage in the event of invasion. The pier is owned by Worthing Borough Council (formerly the Worthing Corporation). The Pavilion Theatre and Denton Cafe is situated at the northern, land end of the pier; at the middle is the 1935 amusement arcade, which from 1956 – 2006 carried a distinctive ‘New Amusements’ sign that was featured on the cover of the album To See the Lights (1996) by Britpop band Gene. The Southern Pavilion (the sea end) is currently home to a nightclub named The Pier, which opened on 20 December 2007. It has previously been used as a cafe, dance hall and to house a model railway layout. Since 2008, Worthing Pier has been the home of the annual International Birdman competition, which moved to Worthing after it could no longer safely be held on the pier at Bognor Regis, some 15 miles (24 km) to the west. Grand Pier – Weston-super-mare The Grand Pier is a pier in Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset, England.

It is situated on the Bristol Channel approximately 18 miles (29 km) south west of Bristol. Weston-super-Mare’s Grand Pier has been transformed into a 21st Century indoor theme park. The Grand Pier is now open all year round and has 16 brand new rides and attractions to satisfy visitors of all ages. The owners travelled the world to find the best rides and some of them are unique to the Grand Pier. The Pier has the only Laser Maze in the UK and the only double one in the world. It also has two Formula 1 simulators, the only ones open to the public in the UK. The F1 simulators are exactly the same ones used by the F1 racing teams to train on, in the closed season and they always draw a huge crowd. A 300 metre Go Kart track, which runs over two floors, is proving to be a very popular ride, as is the Crystal Maze. Other thrilling rides include the Robocoaster, a huge robotic arm which throws riders upside down, right out into the Pavilion roof void. The Grand Pier also has a Side Winder ride which swings and spins up to eight passengers high above the arcade below.

The Pier has some world-class rides and attractions, but it has also retained some of the old favourites, including the Ghost Train and the Dodgems. A 4D Cinema is proving a hit with young and old alike. All the seats move, when it rains you get wet and when you go under water you are surrounded by bubbles. There are twelve effects in all. There are now a total of 27 bars, shops and restaurants on the Grand Pier, including an Edwardian tea room with stunning sea views of three sides, plus an American-themed Sundaes ice cream parlour. There are a range of things to eat and drink – including classics like Fish and Chips and Donuts – and we even have our very own Grand Pier Beer. For further information on all the rides and attractions at the Grand Pier please go to or call 01934 620238. Admission to the Grand Pier is free. Come along and see what we have on offer. South Parade Pier – Portsmouth The South Parade Pier is a pier in Portsmouth, England. It is one of two piers in the city, the other being Clarence Pier. The pier has a long hall down its centre which houses a seating area and a small restaurant.

The outside of the hall is a promenade which runs the whole length of the pier and connects the entrance building with the small funfair at the southern end. The South Parade Pier is a pleasure pier offering typical seaside attractions including souvenir shops, ice creams, indoor amusements and a small children’s funfair. It also contains a fishing deck and two function rooms which are often used for live music. The history of the pier has been eventful; like many UK piers, part of it was removed during the Second World War in an attempt to hinder any invasion and it has also caught fire several times, most famously in 1974 during shooting of the film Tommy. The pier also featured in an episode of Mr. Bean entitled “Mind the Baby Mr. Bean.” Southend Pier – Thames Estuary Southend Pier is a major landmark in Southend-on-Sea. Extending 1.34 miles (2.16 km) into the Thames Estuary, it is the longest pleasure pier in the world. Sir John Betjeman once said that “the Pier is Southend, Southend is the Pier”. The pier is a Grade II listed building. It also has a railway that runs the length of the pier.

The pier is mentioned in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy; after Ford and Arthur were thrown off a Vogon Construction ship and were picked up by the Improbability drive, on the starship Heart of Gold, Arthur remarks that it looks like they’re standing “on the seafront at Southend”. In the 1981 BBC TV adaptation however, neither the set used for the pier nor the view of the buildings on the shore look anything like Southend. Hastings Pier – East Sussex Hastings Pier was a pleasure pier in Hastings, East Sussex, England. Built in 1872 and enjoying its prime in the 1930s, though becoming a popular music venue in the 1960s, it received major storm damage in 1990, closed to the public between 1999 and 2002, then closed again from 2006. Efforts continued to save the pier, which was in need of much investment. In the early hours of October 5, 2010, the pier suffered from a devastating fire (the second in its history) that destroyed 95% of its superstructure.

The Hastings Pier and White Rock Trust say that, pending a structural survey, the substructure (the cast iron supports under the pier) may be salvageable. However, developers for Hastings Borough Council confirmed in an interview on 20 October 2010 that no plans had arisen as of yet. The pier has featured in many films and TV series, such as the ITV wartime drama Foyle’s War, which is set in Hastings. Eastbourne Pier – East Sussex Eastbourne Pier is a seaside pleasure pier in Eastbourne, East Sussex, on the south coast of England. The proposal for a pier was first mooted at the end of 1863, and highly favoured by the town’s major landowner, the 7th Duke of Devonshire. It was to have been 1000 feet in length and, at a cost of £12,000, would have been situated at the end of the town’s grandest avenue, Devonshire Place. However, the project was delayed and finally abandoned in favour of the present site at the junction of Grand and Marine Parades, thus creating the easterly end of what amounts to a shingle bay.

During the Second World War, part of the decking was removed and machine guns were installed in the theatre providing a useful point from where to repel any attempted enemy landings and a Bofors anti-aircraft gun was sited midway along the length of the pier. In December 1942, an exploding mine caused considerable damage to the pier and nearby hotels; it had been tied to the stanchions by the local police, who were under the mistaken impression that it was fitted with a safety device. In 1943, a detachment of Royal Canadian Engineers fixed camouflage netting over the stanchions to conceal flotillas of small vessels, such as wooden assault landing craft. Various traditional pier theatres were built over the years but after the last one was destroyed by fire in 1970, it was replaced by a nightclub and bar which remain to this day. On the landward half of the pier stands a fish and chip kiosk, an amusement arcade and a fast food outlet. Further out, as well as the club there is a cafe, a restaurant, a glassblower, a clothes shop and a tattoo parlour.

The tower at the end of the pier is often used as a viewing point during the annual air show. Cromer Pier Cromer Pier is a seaside pier in the civil parish of Cromer on the north coast of the English county of Norfolk, 40 km due north of the city of Norwich in the United Kingdom. The pier is the home of the Cromer Lifeboat Station and the Pavilion Theatre. Clevedon Pier Clevedon Pier is a seaside pier in the town of Clevedon, on the English side of the Severn Estuary. It is situated next to the Royal Pier Hotel. The landing stage at the end of the pier is used throughout the summer season (June to September) by the Waverley and her sister ship, the Balmoral, and is a popular spot for angling. There is a cafe at the pierhead, and a souvenir shop at the toll house. The upper floor of the toll house is an art gallery with a different exhibition every month. The pier is open every day of the year except Christmas Day. Clacton Pier Clacton Pier is a pier located in the seaside resort of Clacton-on-Sea.

Officially the first building of the new resort of Clacton-on-Sea, the pier was officially opened on 27 July 1871, as a wooden structure 160 yards (150 m) in length and 4 yards (3.7 m) wide. The pier was originally built as a landing point for goods and passengers, and from when it opened Steamships operated by the Woolwich Steam Packet Company which docked at the pier; it soon also became popular for promenading. By the 1890s Clacton was becoming an increasingly popular destination for day trippers and in 1893 the pier was lengthened to 1180 ft (360m), and entertainment facilities including a pavilion and a waiting room were added. In 1994, a local businessman and his family, the Harrisons, bought the pier. They embarked on an ambitious and successful modernisation project to attract 21st century day trippers. The pier emerged as a modern amusement park, virtually unique in the sense that there are rides as you first enter, with the rest dotted throughout the length of the pier.

In March 2009 the pier was purchased by the Clacton Pier Company, who installed a new focal point, a 50 ft helter skelter. Originally built in 1949 and used in a travelling show, it was featured in a 2008/2009 Marks & Spencer television advert. Burnam-on-Sea This pier was built in 1858 by the Somerset Central Railway. Soon afterwards, in 1860, a steamer service to Wales was inaugurated, but it was never a commercial success, and ended in 1888. Burnham-on-Sea railway station was the terminus of the Burnham branch of the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway. It opened in 1858, closed to scheduled passenger traffic in 1951, and stopped being used for excursions in 1962. The former Great Western Railway station is now known as Highbridge and Burnham. A second pier, built of concrete between 1911 and 1914, is claimed to be the shortest pier in Britain. Brighton Pier The Brighton Marine Palace and Pier is a pleasure pier in Brighton, England.

It is generally known as the Palace Pier for short, but has been informally renamed Brighton Pier since 2000 by its owners, the Noble Organisation, in an attempt to suggest that it is Brighton’s only pier. The West Pier was its rival but was closed in 1975 and was subsequently severely damaged by fires and storms, with the remaining iron structure being partially demolished in 2010. North Pier – Blackpool North Pier is the oldest and largest of the three coastal piers in Blackpool, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building. The pier’s name derives from the fact that it is the northernmost of Blackpool’s three piers. It is actually located only about 400 metres to the north of Blackpool Tower which acts as a rough representative of Blackpool’s midpoint. The sea front is particularly straight and flat and so the pier’s 500-metre length simply extends at a right angle to the coastline, more or less level with the promenade. There previously was an admission charge of 50 pence to access the board-walk section of the pier before 5:30pm, but it is now free admission.

North Pier was heavily adapted during the last quarter of the nineteenth century; both the “head” of the pier (the extreme seaward end) and the connection with the shore were widened to include music performance facilities and shops. The facilities, although repaired or reconstructed as necessary, remained much the same until the 1960s when the “Merrie England Bar” and an amusement arcade were constructed at the shore end of the pier. By this point, the pier had long since ceased to have any nautical use, but the jetty section was adapted for use as a helicopter pad in the late 1980s. A small tramway was also added to ease access to the views and facilities of the pierhead. Some content and picture repurposed from Wikipedia. What’s your favorite pier in Britain? Have you been there? Let us know in the comments!

Question: Which British Resort is unique in having three piers?
Answer: BLACKPOOL