subject: British Seaside Piers - History from 1391 [print this page] As an Island race and surrounded by water I thought as English Seaside Piers are popular with us Brits I thought I would tell the history of Piers and list all the English Piers with dates of construction. There have been very few piers built since the First World War. However, due to the precarious nature of piers - they are often prey to fires, collisions, and storm damage. Today several piers have been completely changed in the period from the thirties to the present day.
The oldest Pier in England is in Cramer where there has been a pier or jetty in Cromer, Norfolk, England since 1391. Letters granting the right to levy duties for repairs suggest that attempts at maintenance seem to have gone on until 1580. In 1582, Queen Elizabeth I granted the right to the inhabitants of Cromer to export wheat, barley and malt for the maintenance of their town and towards the rebuilding of the pier.
The oldest cast iron pier in the world is Gravesend Town Pier in Kent which opened in 1834. However, it is not recognised by the National Piers Society as being a seaside pier.
There are still a significant number of piers of architectural merit still standing, although some have been lost.
The most well known piers are perhaps the two at Brighton in East Sussex and the three at Blackpool in Lancashire.
Two piers, Brighton's now derelict West Pier and Clevedon Pier were Grade 1 listed: Brighton West lost its status after a series of fires and storms. The Birnbeck Pier in Weston-Super-Mare is the only pier in the world that is linked to an island.
The National Piers Society gives a figure of 55 surviving seaside piers in England and Wales.
England
Herne Bay Pier
Blackpool Pier
Bognor Regis Pier
Boscombe Pier
Bournemouth Pier
Brighton Pier
Burnham-on-Sea Pier
Clacton Pier
Clarence Pier
Cleethorpes Pier
Clevedon Pier
Cromer Pier
Deal Pier
Eastbourne Pier
Felixstowe Pier
Fleetwood Pier
Great Yarmouth Pier
Harwich Pier
Hastings Pier
Herne Bay Pier
Hythe Pier
Lowestoft Pier
Lytham St Annes Pier
New Brighton Pier
Paignton Pier
Portsmouth Pier
Ryde Pier
Saltburn-by-the-Sea Pier
Sandown Pier
Southend-on-Sea Pier
Southport Pier
South Parade Pier
Southsea Pier
Southwold Pier
Swanage Pier
Teignmouth
Totland, Isle of Wight Pier
Walton on the Naze Pier
Weston-super-Mare Pier
Weymouth Pier
Whitby Pier
Wigan Pier
Worthing Pier
Yarmouth Pier
Wales
Aberystwyth Pier
Bangor Pier
Beaumaris Pier
Colwyn Bay Pier
Llandudno Pier
Mumbles Pier
Penarth Pier
Isle Of Man
Ramsey Pier
In their heyday, there were many pleasure piers across England. These were found in most fashionable seaside resorts during the Victorian era.
The Chinese call Britain 'The Island of Hero's' which I think sums up what we British are all about. We British are inquisitive and competitive and are always looking over the horizon to the next adventure and discovery.
