Eastbourne Pier is a seaside pleasure
pier
A pier is a raised structure that rises above a body of water and usually juts out from its shore, typically supported by piling, piles or column, pillars, and provides above-water access to offshore areas. Frequent pier uses include fishing, b ...
in
Eastbourne
Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. It is also a non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, bor ...
,
East Sussex
East Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement ...
, on the south coast of
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
.
History
The proposal for a pier was first mooted at the end of 1863, and highly favoured by the town's major landowner,
William Cavendish, 7th Duke of Devonshire
William Cavendish, 7th Duke of Devonshire (27 April 1808 – 21 December 1891), styled Lord Cavendish of Keighley between 1831 and 1834 and Earl of Burlington between 1834 and 1858, was an English Aristocracy, aristocrat, Land tenure, landowner ...
. 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. The pier interrupts what would otherwise have been a ribbon development of buildings – to the west, high-class hotels, with modest family hotels and boarding houses to the east.
The Eastbourne Pier Company was registered in April 1865 with a capital of £15,000
and on 18 April 1866 work began. It was opened by
Lord Edward Cavendish
Lieutenant colonel, Lieutenant-Colonel Lord Edward Cavendish Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), MP (28 January 1838 – 18 May 1891) was a 19th-century British politician, soldier, and nobleman.
Born in Marylebone, Cavendish was the th ...
on 13 June 1870, although it was not actually completed until two years later.
[Fire rips through Eastbourne Pier](_blank)
''BBC News'', 30 July 2014 On New Year's Day 1877 the landward half was swept away in a storm. It was rebuilt at a higher level, creating a drop towards the end of the pier. The pier is effectively built on stilts that rest in cups on the sea-bed allowing the whole structure to move during rough weather. It is roughly 300 metres (1000 ft) long. A domed 400-seater pavilion was constructed at a cost of £250 at the seaward end in 1888. A 1000-seater theatre, bar,
camera obscura
A camera obscura (; ) is the natural phenomenon in which the rays of light passing through a aperture, small hole into a dark space form an image where they strike a surface, resulting in an inverted (upside down) and reversed (left to right) ...
and office suite replaced this in 1899/1901. At the same time, two saloons were built midway along the pier. The camera obscura fell into disuse in the 1960s but was restored in 2003 with a new stairway built to provide access.
Paddle steamers
A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine driving paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, whereby the first uses were wh ...
(such as the ''PS Brighton Queen'' and the ''PS Devonia'') operated by
P and A Campbell ran trips from the pier along the south coast, to the
Isle of Wight and across the
Channel to
Boulogne
Boulogne-sur-Mer (; ; ; or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Pas-de-Calais. Boul ...
from 1906 until the outbreak of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. These were resumed after the war, but the paddle steamers were gradually withdrawn from service. In 1957, the final season was operated by a motor vessel.
During the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, part of the decking was removed and
machine guns were installed in the theatre providing a useful point from which 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
The Canadian Military Engineers (CME; ) is the military engineering personnel branch of the Canadian Armed Forces. The members of the branch that wear army uniform comprise the Corps of Royal Canadian Engineers (RCE; ).
The mission of the Canadia ...
fixed camouflage netting over the stanchions to conceal flotillas of small vessels, such as wooden assault landing craft. A
George Medal
The George Medal (GM), instituted on 24 September 1940 by King George VI,''British Gallantry Medals'' (Abbott and Tamplin), p. 138 is a decoration of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for gallantry, typically ...
and a
British Empire Medal
The British Empire Medal (BEM; formerly British Empire Medal for Meritorious Service) is a British and Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth award for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the Monarchy of the United Ki ...
were awarded to two of the engineers who dived into the sea on 3 February 1943 to rescue a comrade who had fallen from a cableway which crossed a 30-foot gap in the structure.
Various traditional pier
theatres
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communica ...
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
An amusement arcade, also known as a video arcade, amusements, arcade, or penny arcade (an older term), is a venue where people play arcade games, including arcade video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, mercha ...
and a
fast food
Fast food is a type of Mass production, mass-produced food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. ''Fast food'' is a commercial term, limited to food sold in a restaurant or store with frozen, preheat ...
outlet. Further out, as well as the club there is a
cafe
A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café (), is an establishment that serves various types of coffee, espresso, latte, americano and cappuccino, among other hot beverages. Many coffeehouses in West Asia offer ''shisha'' (actually called ''nargil ...
, a
restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and Delivery (commerce), food delivery services. Restaurants ...
, a
glassblower
Glassblowing is a glassforming technique that involves inflating molten glass into a bubble (or parison) with the aid of a Blowpipe (tool), blowpipe (or blow tube). A person who blows glass is called a ''glassblower'', ''glassmith'', or ''gaffer'' ...
, a clothes shop and an
ice cream
Ice cream is a frozen dessert typically made from milk or cream that has been flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as Chocolate, cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit, such as strawberries or peaches. Food ...
shop. The tower at the end of the pier is often used as a viewing point during the
annual air show. For more than a decade, the pier played host to the town's annual Birdman competition, which saw competitors jump into the sea in home-made costumes to see who could 'fly' the furthest.
In May 2009, the
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 ...
status of the pier was upgraded from Grade II to Grade II*.
Six Piers Limited placed Eastbourne Pier up for sale in 2009, with an asking price of £5.5 million. The sale price included a tea room, two bars, an amusement arcade and a nightclub.
On 21 October 2015, Abid Gulzar, a local hotelier, bought the pier for an undisclosed price, although it is believed to be less than £5.5 million. The pier was then fully repaired and reopened.
Fire
The pier suffered a fire on 30 July 2014 that ripped through a large amount of the central domed building. Sussex Police initially said that the fire was not to be treated suspiciously, though later the police said
arson
Arson is the act of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, watercr ...
was suspected.
East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service deployed up to 80 officers to tackle the blaze, which allegedly started in wood panelling in the walls of the games arcade. After fighting the fire through the night, fire officers eliminated the main hotspots and saved two-thirds of the pier with the main arcade being the only large building affected. The outer pavilion was not reached by the fire, which came just two weeks before Eastbourne's largest tourist event on the seafront, the
airshow ''Airbourne''.
A few days after the airshow, a 44-year-old workman on the pier fell through the destroyed part and died hours later.
In popular culture
The pier appears in the ''
Agatha Christie's Poirot
''Agatha Christie's Poirot'', or simply ''Poirot'' (), is a British mystery drama television programme that aired on ITV from 8 January 1989 to 13 November 2020. The ITV show is based on many of Agatha Christie's famous crime fiction series, wh ...
'' episodes "
Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan" (although the story is set in
Brighton
Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...
) and "
Curtain: Poirot's Last Case". It was also featured in the 2001 film ''
Last Orders'' and the 2008 film ''
Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging''.
The 2010 film ''
Brighton Rock'' used Eastbourne Pier to stand in for
Brighton's Palace Pier.
Eastbourne Town FC supporters club "Pier Pressure" are named in homage to the pier.
Awards
*1997 –
National Piers Society
The National Piers Society (NPS) is a registered charity in the United Kingdom dedicated to promoting and sustaining interest in the preservation and continued enjoyment of seaside piers.
It was founded in 1979, with Sir John Betjeman as the fi ...
– Pier of the Year
Gallery
Image:Eastbournepier.jpg, Eastbourne Pier
Image:Eastbourne pier 1870.jpg, Etching from 1870
Image:EastbournePier96.jpg, Summer 1996
Image:Eastbourne.30.4.05.jpg, View from the Downs
Image:eastbournepierobscurer.jpg, The pier's tower with its camera obscura
See also
*
Listed buildings in Eastbourne
Notes
External links
History of the pier
{{Piers in the United Kingdom
Buildings and structures in Eastbourne
Building and structure fires in England
2010s fires in the United Kingdom
2014 fires in Europe
Pier fires
Piers in Sussex
Tourist attractions in East Sussex
Grade II* listed buildings in East Sussex
Camera obscuras
1870 establishments in England
Grade II* listed piers
Burned buildings and structures in the United Kingdom