Beautiful Victorian Seaside Pleasure Piers Britain’s heritage of piers dates from the boom in seaside resorts during the Victorian era.
The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th century.
Originally constructed as simple wooden landing stages for boat trips, piers later developed into complex entertainment venues, with ornate pavilions, delicate ironwork, and exotic lighting.
Serving the town of Ryde on the Isle of Wight off England’s south coast is the world’s oldest seaside pleasure pier. Ryde Pier opened on 26 July 1814.
It was the introduction of the railways that, for the first time, enabled ordinary folk to travel to seaside resorts.
By 1850, there were a dozen piers at British seaside resorts.
Providing a walkway out to sea, these fashionable and select extensions of the seafront promenade allowed holidaymakers to experience being close to the sea at all times—even at low tide.
As the industrial revolution gained pace, iron piles were introduced that were literally screwed into the ground, providing enough rigidity to support a whole range of entertainments and attractions along the pier’s length, from theaters to penny arcades, from ballrooms to bowling alleys.
Opened in 1855, Margate Pier was the first of this new breed of pleasure pier, catering to the needs of thousands of tourists.
By 1900, there were 80 fully fledged piers, with some seaside towns having two or three piers.
Remarking on the pace of pier development in the 1890s, one commentator said it would be necessary to alter the map of England and represent it as a huge creature of the porcupine type, with gigantic piers instead of quills. (fiveminutehistory)
Most beautiful seaside pleasure piers of the Victorian era.
Margate Pier, Kent, 1855
Great Yarmouth’s Britannia Pier, Norfolk, 1858
Southport Pier, Merseyside, 1860
Worthing Pier, West Sussex, 1862
Blackpool North Pier, Lancashire, 1863
Brighton West Pier, East Sussex, 1866
Birnbeck Pier, Weston-super-mare, Somerset, 1867
Saltburn Pier, North Yorkshire, 1869
Eastbourne Pier, East Sussex, 1870
Clacton Pier, Essex, 1871
Hastings Pier, East Sussex, 1872
Rhyl Pier, Wales, 1872
Llandudno Pier, Wales, 1877
Skegness Pier, Lincolnshire, 1881
Folkestone Pier, Kent, 1888
Southend Pier, Essex, 1889
Morecambe Pier, Lancashire, 1896
Herne Bay Pier, Kent, 1899
Colwyn Bay Pier, North Wales, 1900
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