Mumbles Lifeboat Station (geograph 5475191)

The Grade II listed structure of Mumbles Pier is an long Victorian pleasure pier built in 1898. It is located at the south-western corner of

Swansea Bay Swansea Bay ( cy, Bae Abertawe) is a bay on the southern coast of Wales. The River Neath, River Tawe, River Afan, River Kenfig and Clyne River flow into the bay. Swansea Bay and the upper reaches of the Bristol Channel experience a large tid ...

near the village of

Mumbles Mumbles ( cy, Mwmbwls) is a headland sited on the western edge of Swansea Bay on the southern coast of Wales. Toponym Mumbles has been noted for its unusual place name. The headland is thought by some to have been named by French sailors, ...

, within the city and county of

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the C ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

History

Construction

Rhondda and Swansea Bay Railway The Rhondda and Swansea Bay Railway was a Welsh railway company formed to connect the upper end of the Rhondda Fawr with Swansea, with the chief objective of transporting coal and other minerals to Swansea docks. It was incorporated in 1882, but ...

, the pier opened on 10 May 1898 at a cost of £10,000. It was the western terminus for the world's first passenger carrying

horsecar A horsecar, horse-drawn tram, horse-drawn streetcar (U.S.), or horse-drawn railway (historical), is an animal-powered (usually horse) tram or streetcar. Summary The horse-drawn tram (horsecar) was an early form of public rail transport, w ...

railway, the

Swansea and Mumbles Railway The Swansea and Mumbles Railway was the venue for the world's first passenger horsecar railway service, located in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. Originally built under an Act of Parliament of 1804 to move limestone from the quarries of Mum ...

; and a major terminal for the White Funnel

paddle steamer A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses wer ...

s of P & A Campbell, unloading tourists from routes along the

River Severn , name_etymology = , image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG , image_size = 288 , image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle , map = RiverSevernMap.jpg , map_size = 288 , map_c ...

and

Bristol Channel The Bristol Channel ( cy, Môr Hafren, literal translation: "Severn Sea") is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River Se ...

Heyday

In the summer of 1899, Will C. Pepper, father of the musicians

Harry S. Pepper Harry Stephen Pepper (27 August 1891 – 26 June 1970) was a British pianist, songwriter, composer, actor, and BBC producer, whose career stretched from Edwardian era seaside entertainments to BBC television in the 1950s. Life Born at Putney,'' ...

and

Dick Pepper Dick Leaver Pepper (24 June 1889 – 15 October 1962) was a musician, actor, and writer for the BBC. Life Born in Putney, Pepper was the son of Will C. Pepper, founder of a long-running concert party called the White Coons, and the older brother o ...

, founded a long-running concert party on the pier called the White Coons. The Amusement Equipment Company (AMECO) gained a licence to operate the pier from 1 October 1937. The pier was requisitioned in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, but AMECO acquired the freehold in 1957, extensively reconstructing the facility and adding a landing jetty. 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.

Renovation

The pier closed on 1 October 1987 for a £40,000 refit, which included renewal of the steel around the entrance. The pier reopened on

Good Friday Good Friday is a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary. It is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum. It is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday (also Holy ...

1988. By the early 21st century the pier had fallen into a state of disrepair with a large section fenced off to visitors and other areas patched up to maintain safety. The owners planned to repair the pier and to regenerate the nearby area. The plans included the building of a new hotel and spa, a conference and exhibition centre and a new boardwalk linking the Knab rock with the pier. During a major renovation in 2012, a new lifeboat station and

RNLI The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on some inland waterways. It i ...

gift shop was built at the end of the pier and fishing platforms added.

Today

The pier is used for fishing and tourism, offering panoramic views of Swansea Bay with the

Mumbles Lighthouse Mumbles Lighthouse, completed in 1794, is a lighthouse located in Mumbles, near Swansea. The structure, which sits on the outer of two islands off Mumbles Head, is clearly visible from any point along the five mile sweep of Swansea Bay. Along wi ...

on one side and

Port Talbot Port Talbot (, ) is a town and community in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, situated on the east side of Swansea Bay, approximately from Swansea. The Port Talbot Steelworks covers a large area of land which dominates the south ...

on the other. The pier complex is owned and operated by the Bollom family. An entertainment complex on the land at the base of the pier includes bars, restaurant, an ice-skating rink (opened in 2006 and featured in an

ITV Wales ITV Cymru Wales, previously known as Harlech Television and HTV Wales, is the ITV (TV network), ITV franchise for Wales. The new separate licence began on 1 January 2014, replacing the long-serving dual franchise region serving Wales and the Wes ...

documentary series) and an

amusement arcade An amusement arcade (often referred to as a video arcade, amusements or simply arcade) is a venue where people play arcade games, including arcade video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, merchandisers (such as ...

. The amusement arcade contains over 100 arcade machines and a miniature bowling alley on the upper floor.

Lifeboat station

The

Mumbles Lifeboat Station The Mumbles Lifeboat Station (based in Mumbles, Swansea, Wales) opened in 1835 with a lifeboat that was funded and managed by Swansea Harbour Trustees and was known as Swansea Lifeboat Station. The station was taken over by the RNLI in 1863 and ...

at the end of the pier houses a

Tamar-class lifeboat Tamar-class lifeboats are all-weather lifeboats (ALBs) operated by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) around the coasts of Great Britain and Ireland. They have replaced the majority of the older Tyne ALBs. The prototype was built in ...

. The old lifeboat station building is on the north side of the pier, to which it is connected by a walkway. In 2019 plans were announced to convert the old lifeboat station into a visitor centre and restaurant.

Arcade

Cafe (then: Buffet) arcade

*''

Neo Geo MVS The , stylised as NEO•GEO and also written as NEOGEO, is a cartridge-based arcade system board and the fourth generation home video game console released on April 26, 1990 by Japanese game company SNK Corporation. It was the first system in ...

'' (1992–1996) (Neo Geo MVS – 6 Slot:

Blue's Journey ''Blue's Journey'' is a side-scrolling platform game released by Alpha Denshi in 1990 on SNK's Neo Geo MVS arcade system and their AES home system. It was ported to the Neo Geo CD in 1994. It was rereleased on the Wii's Virtual Console in Europe ...

(1990),

Cyber-Lip is a side-scrolling run-and-gun shooter (platform shoot 'em up) arcade game released by SNK in 1990 for the Neo Geo MVS. It was then released for the Neo Geo AES home console in 1991. Gameplay Gameplay consists of battling through large nu ...

(1990), Ninja Combat (1990) and Many More) *''

Wonder Boy The series, also known as the series, is a franchise of video games published by Sega and developed by Westone Bit Entertainment (formerly Escape). Beginning with the original '' Wonder Boy'' arcade game released in April 21, 1986, the game has ...

'' (1996) (Standard Cabinet)

Amusement arcade facilities

Arcade games

*'' Monkey Mole Panic'' (1992) (Standard Cabinet) *''

'' (1992–1996) (Neo Geo MVS – 6 Slot:

(1990),

(1990), Ninja Combat (1990) and Many More) (Standard Cabinet) *''

Super Street Fighter II Turbo ''Super Street Fighter II Turbo'' is a fighting game released for the arcades by Capcom in Japan on February 23, 1994, in North America on February 23 and March 26, 1994 (beta) and in Europe in March 1994 (beta). It is the fifth installment in ...

'' (1994) (Deluxe Cabinet) *''

Tekken 2 is a fighting game, the second entry in the '' Tekken'' series. It was released in arcades in 1995, and for the PlayStation in 1996. The original arcade version of the game was released in '' Tekken 5''s Arcade History mode for the PlayStation ...

'' (1995) (Standard Cabinet) *''

'' (1986) (Standard Cabinet)

Pinball

*'' Street Fighter II Pinball'' (1993) (Pinball Cabinet)

Children's rides

*'' Noddy''

kiddie ride A kiddie ride - or kids' ride - is a coin-operated amusement ride for young children. Kiddie rides are commonly available in amusement parks, arcades, malls, hotel game rooms, outside supermarkets and discount department stores. Less commonly ...

(1990s)

References

External links

GowerUK.com - Mumbles PierMumbles Pierwww.geograph.co.uk : photos of Mumbles Pier and surrounding area
{{Piers in the United Kingdom Piers in Wales Swansea Bay Grade II listed buildings in Swansea Transport infrastructure completed in 1898 Tourist attractions in Swansea

pier Seaside pleasure pier in Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th century.">England.html" ;"title="Brighton, England">Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th ...