THE YEAR OF THE PIER
Andrew Liddle speaks to the National Piers Society about this celebration of a great seaside institution
THE sky above Clacton was a dazzling display of kaleidoscopic colour, bright lights cascading through the air, burning on the water around the country’s largest pier. Fireworks were getting a special year-long national celebration off to an explosive start on the Essex coast. This is the Year of the Pier, according to the National Piers Society, who promise a summer of exciting events and displays at most of Britain’s 63 recognised pleasure piers.
Over the years the National Piers Society, run by volunteers, has grown in stature until recognised as the leading authority on this great English seaside institution; its unofficial guardian. It was founded in 1979 under the moving spirit of Sir John Betjeman – Poet Laureate, broadcaster and great lover of all things traditionally English – at a time when the very existence of some of our finest piers was under threat.
Through its efforts, several endangered piers have managed to survive and a number that had fallen on hard times have reopened during the last decade. These include Southsea’s South Parade Pier, Hastings Pier, Totland Bay Pier and the Isle of Wight’s Sandown Pier.
The world’s first seaside pier opened at Ryde on the Isle of Wight in 1814, primarily as a landing stage for visitors. Others began to appear in the following years, often in spa towns where “gentlefolk”, encouraged by royal patronage, arrived by ship to take in the air and mineral waters.
The tiddly-om-pom-pom on the prom, basking on the beach, paddling in the sea – all the pleasures now taken for granted as part of our heritage – had their origins in Victorian skill and enterprise. The advent of railways in the 1840s also made possible the birth of an entirely new concept: the popular seaside resort and mass tourism.
In 1855, Margate Pier was the first to use iron screw poles, as opposed to wood. By 1900 there were 80 like it, some towns boasting two or three.
In the following century, they developed into the ornate pavilions and palaces of rosy-cheeked fun and frolics that we remember. Jutting out into the sea, they were the natural focus of attention and somehow beyond ordinary limitations. Now the Year of the Pier is reminding us of their importance.
“Our celebration is timely for a number of reasons,” says the National Piers Society’s publicity officer, Kathryn Ferry. “It happens to also be the Year of the Coast, promoted by the National Coastal Tourism Academy, so there is a natural tie-in.” Whilst delighted by the resurgence of public interest in the coastline following the constraints of COVID, she feels that “there is still a need to raise public awareness of what piers have to offer – and the unique difficulties of maintaining them.”
Many piers are privately owned, entirely or partly, Kathryn explains, and therefore not eligible for the usual grants available to stately homes and castles. Yet they are totally exposed to
the elements and unusually vulnerable. The most recent to be lost to the ravages of fire and storm were Fleetwood Pier in Lancashire, and the world-famous Brighton West. The decaying Shanklin Pier on the Isle of Wight was demolished as recently as 1993, after becoming an eyesore.
“These are tragic losses to our heritage,” Kathryn explains. Because we expect to stroll on piers free of charge, money for their upkeep has to be generated from commercial activities, even though the summer season in this country is relatively short. In the late 1950s and 1960s many piers came to resemble minifairgrounds, with former concert halls turning into arcades bustling with slot machines, in a bid to attract a wider audience.
“They are often in places which in the post-industrial age were generally deprived,” Kathryn adds.
This year is being seen as an opportunity not just to celebrate the past, but to reset for the future.
“Piers are increasingly forwardlooking and re-inventing themselves,” Kathryn continues. “The need to diversify and sell much more than a trip down memory lane is now being recognised. We are in the process of creating the nostalgia of the future for the young people of today.”
Though technically a former railway terminal rather than a pier, the Folkestone Harbour Arm, reopened in 2016, provides an example of how restaurants, bars, shops and events venues can be successfully integrated to rejuvenate an area. Sunderland’s Roker Pier also came back to life in 2018 as part of the wider redevelopment of the seafront, featuring a restaurant and guided tours of the tunnel that leads to the lighthouse. It was consequently named one of the top ten piers in the world by The Guardian readers. Much effort has also been made in recent times in adding active pastimes to piers across the country. Perhaps the most amazing is Bournemouth’s Pier Zip, the world’s first pier-to-shore zip wire, launching thrill-seekers from a platform 25 metres above the sea, to zip surf 250 metres to the beach!
To commemorate the Year of the Pier, a travelling exhibition, “Piers on Posters” is bringing the glamour of 1930s railway posters to Lowestoft’s Claremont Pier, the Grand Pier at Weston-Super-Mare, Swanage Pier and Clacton Pier throughout the year. There will be some 50 posters on display, supplied by Richard Furness and Barry Thompson, authors of the forthcoming Piers on Posters book. Additionally, the NPS’s AGM, over the weekend of 16-18 June at Weston, promises to be a special event with talks, tours and a Gala Dinner.
The centrepiece will be specially commissioned artwork by awardwinning Chester-based artist Nicky Thompson, whose vibrant art is certain to capture the public imagination by evoking all the glitz,
glamour and innocent charm of the seaside. His 12 strikingly bold images form a visually stunning calendar, bringing out quite magically the atmosphere and distinct individuality of some much-loved piers, each a former winner of the Pier of the Year award.
“Creating this set has been a real joy,” Nicky enthuses. “I’ve tried to capture both the majesty of the great British pier and the magic, beauty and simplicity of a childhood day out at the seaside.”
And our country’s piers are certainly something to be cherished. Now much shorter than its original form, Saltburn-by-the-Sea’s pier was saved in the 1970s when the local authority wanted to demolish it on safety grounds, even though it was listed – and the only one on Yorkshire’s coast. It is seen at its most impressive from the Victorian cliff tramway that descends directly to it, just as the two quaint red and white cars are about to cross. Built in 1884, it is the oldest water-balanced funicular still in operation in the country, and it has a charm entirely of its own.
Further down the east coast is sunny Cromer, proud of its unique distinction of being “home to the only full-season end-of-the pier show in the world”. They are looking to the Swinging Sixties for their themed event in June this year.
Out west, snugly situated in the Bristol Channel, we find Clevedon’s pier, opened in 1869 and the only pier with Grade I listing. Betjeman once described it as “the loveliest pier in England”. Planned events here this year include a celebration of its Victorian heritage.
At Weston-super-Mare, the pier’s sparkling white pavilion will be the centre of its Year of the Pier celebrations, where the “Piers on Posters” exhibition is being held. There are high hopes for the
restoration of the town’s other pier, Birnbeck, the only such structure which has a destination – a small island. It partially collapsed in 2015 after years of neglect, but the NPS campaigned relentlessly on its behalf, and now with funding from the local council, the RNLI, Historic England and others, work on it is underway.
Perhaps the most iconic of all British seaside piers is Blackpool’s North Pier. The oldest, longest and architecturally finest of Blackpool’s three piers, it was long considered to be without rival. Opened in 1863, its 160th anniversary this year promises to be something special. With a variety of singing, dancing, acrobatics and much more, this is set to be a busy summer of events. They know how to party in this town!
The big question is, how many piers will you be visiting this summer? Well spaced around the country’s coastline, the NPS’s Pier Passport (available from the National Piers Society online shop) will help you find the location of all 63 – and tick off the full set!
From family events to music festivals, around-the-pier swims, fancy-dress competitions and fireworks galore, the Year of the Pier truly has something for everyone. You can be certain of a lively experience on whichever pier you choose, and the best of traditional seaside pleasures, whether the tide’s in or out.
Search the hashtag #YearOfThePier on social media, or go to piers.org.uk for more information