Burnham Pier is a pleasure pier in

Burnham-on-Sea Burnham-on-Sea is a seaside town in Somerset, England, at the mouth of the River Parrett, upon Bridgwater Bay. Burnham was a small fishing village until the late 18th century when it began to grow because of its popularity as a seaside resort. ...

in Somerset, England. Built in 1914, it measures in length and has been described as the shortest pier in the United Kingdom. At low tide the pier is up to from the sea.

Description

The pier was built in 1914, being finished shortly before the outbreak of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in July. It is said to have been inspired by the works of Victorian engineer

Isambard Kingdom Brunel Isambard Kingdom Brunel ( ; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was an English civil engineer and mechanical engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history", "one of the 19th-century engi ...

and has been described as the first pier to be built of reinforced concrete rather than the steel and cast iron used previously. The pier measures in length and has been described as the shortest pier in the United Kingdom, though some authorities do not classify it as a pier. The Bristol Channel has the second-highest

tidal range Tidal range is the difference in height between high tide and low tide. Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by gravitational forces exerted by the Moon and Sun, by Earth's rotation and by centrifugal force caused by Earth's prog ...

in the world which means that at low tide the sea can be as far as from the pier. The pier is occupied by a building, known as the pavilion, which houses a 100-seat café, a bingo hall and an amusements arcade. The Parkin family purchased the pier in 1968. In 2013

Sedgemoor District Council Sedgemoor District Council was a local government district in Somerset, England covering the Sedgemoor district. It was Local Government Act 1972, established in 1974 by the merger of Bridgwater and Burnham-On-Sea Urban District Councils. It was ...

asked

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...

to consider classifying the pier as a

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

but this was refused. In 2014 the Parkin family proposed a £100,000 refurbishment to mark the centenary of the pier. This consisted of a new seating area covered by a retractable roof. The local planning officer recommended that permission not be granted for the new structure but district councillors decided to grant permission. The roof was completed in 2015. In 2017 the pier was sold to J. Holland and Sons. In 2019 the building, formerly branded as "The Pavilion", was rebranded to "Burnham Pier" . A significant programme of repairs was completed in summer 2020. The pier should not be confused with the long Burnham-on-Sea railway pier, located a short distance to the south (). This was built in 1858 by the

Somerset Central Railway The Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway (S&DJR, also known as the S&D, S&DR or SDJR), was an English railway line Joint railway, jointly owned by the Midland Railway (MR) and the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) that grew to connect Bat ...

. It allowed railway carriages from the nearby Burnham-on-Sea railway station to access steamer services to Cardiff and Paris. It remains in use to launch the Burnham-on-Sea lifeboat.

2021 fire

On 5 August 2021, the pier suffered from a severe fire that began in a wood and refuse storage area at the seaward end of the pavilion. The fire was first reported at 12.30pm and eight fire crews from

Avon Fire and Rescue Service Avon Fire & Rescue Service (AF&RS) is the fire and rescue service covering the unitary authorities of Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset, and South Gloucestershire in South West England. The headquarters of the service is c ...

and

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service (DSFRS) is the statutory fire and rescue service covering the counties Devon and Somerset in South West England an area of . It serves a population of 1.75million, and is the fifth largest fire and r ...

attended the blaze. It was extinguished by 2.30pm but left severe fire, smoke and water damage to around half of the building. The cause of the fire was not determined but it was not thought to be arson. The pier reopened to business on 8 August, though part of the structure was initially cordoned off for safety reasons.

References

{{reflist Tourist attractions in Somerset 1914 establishments in England Piers in Somerset Amusement parks in England 2020s fires in the United Kingdom 2021 disasters in the United Kingdom 2021 fires in Europe