Worthing Pier is a public 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 ...

Worthing Worthing ( ) is a seaside town and borough in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 113,094 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Br ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...

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 ...

. Designed by Sir Robert Rawlinson, it was opened on 12 April 1862 and remains open to the public. The pier originally was a simple promenade deck long and wide. In 1888 the pier was upgraded with the width increased to and the pier head increased to for a 650-seat pavilion to be built. It is a Grade II

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 ...

structure. The pier has been named Pier of the Year by the

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 ...

on two occasions, first in 2006 and again in 2019.

History

By 1894 a

steam ship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. The fir ...

began operation between Worthing Pier and the Chain Pier 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 ...

, ten miles to the east. Over the Easter weekend that year, four-year-old Archie Miles became separated from his promenading family and managed to unwittingly stow away on . This set off a police hunt and he was only reunited with his parents after a night in the workhouse at Brighton and a telegram to his grandparents in Mayfield. 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 March 1913, on Easter Monday, the pier was damaged in a storm, with only the southern end remaining, completely cut off from land. Later, it was affectionately named 'Easter Island'. A rebuilt pier was opened on 29 May 1914. In September 1933 the pier and all but the northern pavilion were destroyed by fire. In 1935 the remodelled

Streamline Moderne Streamline Moderne is an international style of Art Deco architecture and design that emerged in the 1930s. Inspired by Aerodynamics, aerodynamic design, it emphasized curving forms, long horizontal lines, and sometimes nautical elements. In indu ...

pier was opened, and it is this that remains today. Worthing_Pier_1

Worthing Pier was in 1940 for fear of German invasion after the British retreat at

Dunkirk Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...

. Army engineers used explosive to blow a 120ft. hole by in the pier to prevent it from being used as a possible landing stage in the event of an invasion. The pier is owned by

Worthing Borough Council Worthing Borough Council is the local authority for Worthing in West Sussex, England. Worthing is a non-metropolitan district with borough status. It forms the lower tier of local government in Worthing, responsible for local services such as h ...

(formerly 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 Britpop was a mid-1990s United Kingdom, British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. Musically, Britpop produced bright, catchy alternative rock, with significant influences from British guitar pop of the 1960s and 1970s. B ...

band

Gene In biology, the word gene has two meanings. The Mendelian gene is a basic unit of heredity. The molecular gene is a sequence of nucleotides in DNA that is transcribed to produce a functional RNA. There are two types of molecular genes: protei ...

. Since 2006 the sign has changed from 'New Amusements' to 'Pier Amusements'. The Southern Pavilion (the sea end) is currently home to restaurant, having undergone extensive renovation in 2021. From April 2014 it was a tearoom, and before that it was used as a nightclub named The Pier, which opened on 20 December 2007. Prior to that it contained a cafe, dance hall and 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 Bognor Regis Pier at

Bognor Regis Bognor Regis (), also known as Bognor, is a town and seaside resort in West Sussex on the south coast of England, south-west of London, west of Brighton, south-east of Chichester and east of Portsmouth. Other nearby towns include Littleham ...

, some to the west. However, Birdman competitions were held in both towns from 2010. On 24 February 2016, it was announced that the Birdman will be cancelled for that year and that the Worthing Town Centre Initiative (WTCI) were unsure whether it would return in 2017. In November 2009 during strong winds, two Worthing kite surfers became the first people to

kitesurf Kiteboarding or kitesurfing is a sport that involves using wind power with a large power kite to pull a rider across a water, land, snow, sand, or other surface. It combines the aspects of paragliding, surfing, windsurfing, skateboarding, sn ...

over the pier. Since 2012 the glass windows in the central windbreak have displayed over two hundred coloured-glass images. The "Windows on the Pier" project, initiated by the Worthing Journal, displays images of local societies, scenes and history of Worthing.

Awards received

*2006 -

- Pier of the Year *2019 -

- Pier of the Year

References

External links

History of Worthing Pier
{{Piers in the United Kingdom Piers in Sussex Pier fires Buildings and structures in Worthing Grade II listed buildings in West Sussex Streamline Moderne architecture in the United Kingdom Tourist attractions in West Sussex Art Deco architecture in England Burned buildings and structures in the United Kingdom