Southend Pier
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Southend Pier has always been the most popular attraction of the town. It was (and still is) the world's longest pier, frequented by pleasure steamers such as The London Belle, Crested Eagle, Royal Daffodil, Medway Queen and Royal Sovereign that could take you from the pierhead to Margate, Clacton, Walton-on-the Naze, Yarmouth, Herne Bay, London, Sheerness and Ramsgate. Three million people used the pier in 1947 and this was exceeded by a record of almost five million people in 1949. The Beginning Back to Top |
The only 'drawback' was the fact that the tide went out nearly another three quarters of a mile, leaving the wooden jetty dry and making the business of landing difficult and often perilous. A stationary vessel named the Clarence was used as the 'pier head' and was known as the 'Mount'. It was nicknamed 'Mount Misery' because to reach it at low tide meant a walk or a trip on a cart from the pier to the shingle bank, and then a ferry to the Mount. A further section of the pier was constructed in March 1834, going forward into deep water, and a harbour was laid out along its eastern side. At this point the Pier was first marked on the Admiralty charts in 1835. Despite the extension of the pier to 1,500 feet, only one or two barges were able to access it to load or unload their cargo. |
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In 1844, due to financial problems for the owners, the pier was sold to the chairman of the Eastern Counties Railway, who, in 1846, extended the pier to about 1¼ miles. The width of the pier at the time was about 20 feet from the shore end to a covered area known as the 'Octagon', then progressively narrowing to 8 feet at the sea end. The Pier Head itself was 102 feet wide and had three berthing places for vessels at all states of the tide. A navigation light at the end of the Pier was maintained by the Pier keeper, who lived in a small dwelling there. The Pier went into the hands of Sir Morton Peto, a noted railway contractor who had developed the Cliff Town Estate in the town. Peto passed it on to his business partner Thomas Brassey for £20,000. With the extension of the Pier it was felt necessary to introduce a wooden railway for hand-hauled, or if windy, sail-driven, luggage trucks. Municipal involvement in the town's transport began in 1875 when the Local Board purchased the Pier for £12,000, and in so doing acquired the horse-drawn tramway which had opened in 1873. The horse-drawn tram operated from the entrance to the end of the Pier, passing through the 'Octagon', a wide entertainment centre built a short way out. This was covered to protect people from the sunrays. To the left of the pier was a small harbour and a landing stage where traders had to pay to unload goods. |
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The electric tramway installed by Cromptons opened in 1890 with one car of the toast rack type. By the following year the track had been extended to the full 1.25 miles and two further cars were added. More cars were added until four trains were operated with seven cars in each. |
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In January 1881, the Pier was cut in two by the barge West Kent during a storm. Two years later a commercial maritime signalling station for Lloyds was placed at the Pier Head. |
In 1887, some members of the Local Board considered that the Pier had become something of a millstone, and was costing the ratepayers more and more in maintenance and repairs. It was decided to build a new Pier, and on 29th March, 1887, a further Act of parliament authorised the reconstruction of the Pier in iron, together with an electric railway thereon. Various schemes were put forward for consideration, and it took two years of planning, deliberation, and finally settling on the cheapest tender for a new Pier to be built alongside its wooden predecessor, and for the first section to be open to pedestrians by 1889. |
Designed by James Brunlees (who earlier built Southport Pier), the main structure was supported on cast-iron crew piles extending 12 feet into the foreshore, which were spaced 30 feet longitudinally and 9 feet laterally. The supports were strengthened with steel tie rods and bracing. To ensure extra stability, a 9 foot square grid pattern of supports was added every tenth bay. The timber walkway and rail track were supported on steel joists attached to the main girders. The landing stage was constructed of greenheart piles coated with tar, which were driven 50 feet into the clay. The Pier was finally opened on 24th August, 1890, with a splendid pavilion at the shore end, erected at a cost of £6,643, where a band performed three times a day during the week. An Electric Tram Service also commenced, the contract having been won by Crompton's of Chelmsford. A timetable of regular running was drawn up almost immediately after the inaugural run of the toast-rack car (supplied by Falcon works of Loughborough), which was attended by members of the Local Board. |
Until its demolition in 1888, people used to pick oysters off the end of the old wooden Pier, the industry having been all but dead since 1850. |
The old pier was not wasted - a Mayoral chair was made from some of the wood in 1892.
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In 1893 a further car was acquired for the tram service. It was realised, however, almost as soon as the iron Pier was built, that with the continual silting up of the swatch and the old Pier Head being unable to accommodate the increase in the numbers of steamers calling in to Southend, a further extension was needed. |
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Plans were put forward for an extension to the Pier of 150 yards and a new Pier Head, but were rejected for some time, with Council members believing that dredging was the cheapest answer. The steamboat companies agreed that dredging would not solve the problem, and this was backed up by James Brunlees. Subsequently, tenders were invited, and the extension was eventually completed at a cost of £22,000, in 1898, complete with a passing loop laid down for the tram service. The lengthened Pier had an overall length of 7,080ft (2,145m) - a world record for a pier, and it suddenly became a magnet for runaway ships. Later that same year, it was struck by the ketch Dolphin, which tore almost 100 feet of the structure away with it. |
On 12th July, 1907, the Pier was struck by the barge Alzima struck the Pier, damaging some of the piles, and in December the same year, the Pier was cut in two again, this time by the barge Robert, which collided with the Pier near the old Pier Head and crashed through the western promenade side, causing 60 feet of decking to be replaced. A temporary suspension bridge was erected to close the gap while repairs were carried out. |
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1908 |
1917 |
1908 saw the completion of the upper deck that could cater for 2000 people (with seating for 1100) - a unique and elaborate addition to the shelter accommodation for 6,000-8,000 on the lower deck. A staggering half a million people used the Pier in 1908. In November of that year the Thames Conservancy hulk Marlborough broke from her moorings in a gale and was carried through the promenade between the old and new Pier Heads, ripping 60 feet of decking away (Pictured above, left). This damage was repaired in time for the visit of the Home and Atlantic Fleets in 1909. Besides handling shipping, the Pier was an entertainment resort in itself. It had a ballroom that could accomodate 600 people, and the Corporation promoted concerts, stage-shows, films and orchestral performances at the Pier Head, where there were cafés and restaurants and even a Tussaud's wax-work show. The Pier attracted at least a third of the town's visitors and residents each year. |
| The First World War Back to Top |
During the First World War, Southend suffered considerable damage from air raids. The Palace Hotel was used as a military hospital from 1914, and by November, three prison ships, the Cunard liners Ivernia (14,200 tons) and her sister ship Saxonia, together with the Royal Edward (11,150 tons), were moored off the Pier, and held enemy prisoners and internees. It was a common sight to see German Prisoners, brought from internment at Olympia, marched down the High Street from the Railway station to Pier Hill and the Pier entrance. The three ships left Southend during the spring of 1915, the PoWs having been transferred to York and the Isle of Man. (The Royal Edward was torpedoed in the Aegean on 14th August while transferring reserves bound for Gallipoli, with some 1,000 lives being lost. The Ivernia was torpedoed in 1917 and the Saxonia was scrapped in 1926.) |
Louis Tussaud's Waxworks opened in 1921 on the Pier Head (this later became the Pier Head Restaurant). 1921 brought yet another blow for the Pier as the concrete motor schooner Violette crashed though it between the last shelter and the Pier Head, with her engines under full pressure, breaking the piles for around 160 feet, and it was only following this mishap that red lights were installed along the length of the Pier. |
Extension Back to Top The work of doubling the electric railway was completed in 1931 at a cost of £35,000, and the old entrance and toll house (built 1885) were removed and a new entrance, built at a higher level to facilitate a new seafront road, was constructed and finished just before Easter 1932. Despite the red warning lights that ran the length of the Pier, the barge Matilda Upton was driven through the Pier on 17th March, 1933, leaving a 60 foot gap. 1939: The Pier was the longest in the "British Empire". It boasted an unrivalled dance floor which was 'scientifically' heated and illuminated and could accommodate 900 people. It had Sun lounges, Grand Promenade Decks (Deck area 30,000 sq.ft.) and Pavilion, Solarium and waxworks Exhibition, and was open throughout the year. At the Pier Head Bandstand, during the season of Easter, and from May to October, the 25 performers that made up the Pier Orchestral Band played daily at 11am and 3pm, Sundays 11am, 3pm and 8pm. and concert party every evening on the Pier Head during the season at 7.30pm except Fridays when it started at 8.15pm. During the winter months the deck games were unavailable. |
| Paddle Steamers Back to Top |
| With the growth of Southend as a holiday resort, local fisherman would offer trips from the beach on both sailing and rowing boats. The boats used were sailing yawls, invariably clinker-built, which had originally been used by East Anglian beach men for salvage and assistance to sailing vessels in difficulty on the treacherous sandbanks running along the coast. They were put out of work as ships became steam-powered, or steam tugs were available, and some of the yawls were moved to Clacton and Southend for use as excursion boats. They were re-rigged as gaff ketches, arriving at Southend from around 1890, where they were known locally as 'lifeboats'. New boats were later built for local owners, but these were usually carvel hulled. Subsequently, small motor boats would be used. Larger boats later sailed from the end of the pier. |
During the summer months, daily steamboat services went from the Pier Head to Chatham, Rochester, Margate, Ramsgate, Herne Bay and Clacton. London, Calais, Boulogne, and Ostend on certain days. General Steam Navigation Co. Ltd; Eagle Line; New Medway Steam Packet Co. Ltd; Queen Line. During the summer months, approximately Whitsun to September, weather and other circumstances permitting, steamboats left the Pier Head each morning. |
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STEAMBOAT SERVICES Return Fares
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SCHEDULE OF SEASON TICKET RATES ON THE PIER Season Tickets were available at the Pier Offices. Tickets included admission to the Pier, use of Pier Trams and Extensions, except Upper Deck when dancing and special entertainments were in progress. |
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Before the Second World War, there were four trains on the Pier, each comprising six open "toastrack" carriages, plus two covered carriages, that travelled just a bit faster than walking pace. |
The Southend Lifeboat Back to Top |
A lifeboat house and slipway were erected by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution on the east side of the old Pier Head and established a station in 1879 to assist ships going ashore on the many sandbanks of the Thames Estuary. The lifeboat was launched from davits on the Pierhead, 1.25 miles from the shore, much as it is today. Between 1885 and 1891 a second station existed, the lifeboat being housed in Hartington Road and launched by horse-drawn carriage. The lifeboats at this time were of the pulling (rowing) and sailing type, but in 1928 the first motor lifeboat arrived, the "Greater London", and this was at first moored off the Pier Head. |
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In 1935 a lifeboat house and slipway were completed adjacent to the Pier Head railway station. The "Greater London" was one of the nineteen lifeboats which went to Dunkirk in 1940. Inflatable inshore lifeboats were sent to Southend in 1965 and 1969 to assist in the increasing number of pleasure craft.
The conventional lifeboat, the "Greater London II", a Watson class boat which had served the station since 1955, was withdrawn from the station in March 1976, being replaced by an Atlantic 21 semi-rigid inflatable, named the "Percy Garon". One of the D Class ILBs was also withdrawn. Today's boathouse houses the Atlantic 75, a second D Class ILB which was sent to the station in 1987, and a souvenir shop. |
All the crew members and supporting committees are volunteers and Southend is generally one of the busiest lifeboat station in the UK. |
Angling Back to Top Sea-water angling was permitted daily on the Pier Extensions except when special events were in progress. It was been a hugely popular sport; the anglers paying out lines at barely sporting intervals from each other. In years gone by, every third enthusiast was a woman, probably a spinster of uncertain age and station. There was always good boat fishing too, with the Open Angling Competition taking place three days a week (Saturday to Monday inclusive) generally commencing on the last Saturday in September or the first Saturday in October. The competition was open to all anglers from around the country. The admission fee was 1/- per day. Nowadays, not so many women appear to enthuse about the sport, and the prices have indeed increased. Use the telephone number below to get current prices for permits and further details. Fishing Permits Day Passes and combined day and night passes can be purchased on 01702 215620. Where and When to Fish Anglers have a choice of location from where to fish; the Stem or the Pier Head. Both offer varied fishing throughout the year. Autumn can be a very good time to fish at the Pier Head. Many summer species are still present until quite late in the season and the Winter species start to arrive from late September. Larger Bass can be caught on small live baits and Mullet on sandrag fished at the Pier Head; Whiting, Dabs and Pouting can be caught from the Prince George Extension. In Winter, Dabs, Whiting, Pouting and Codling can be caught fishing from the Prince George Extension. Note that January is invariably the quietest month for fish, with usually only a few flounders for the cathching. Tackle to use The varied fishing found on the Pier requires the use of a variety of rigs, dependent on what species you want to catch. It is always worth chatting to local anglers about which rigs are proving successful. Most rigs which present a bait on or close to the bottom work reasonably well for flounders, palice, eels, bass (from the Stem), whiting, pouting, dabs and codling. For Mackerel and garfish from the southern end of the Stem use a rig that present the bait high in the water, or sliding float gear. Size 6 short shank hooks are recommended. Bass from the Pier Head are usually caught on a single hook or a pennel rig on a 24 inch trace fixed above the lead. Strong tackle is required to avoid losing fish under the Pier Head. Mullet are taken on a small paternoster rig using a size 8 short shank hook. Bait Whiting can be taken on lugworm, lug & mackerel and lug & squid cocktails. Codling are taken on lugworm or lug & squid cocktails. |
The Second World War Back to Top |
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Nos 7, 8 and 9 Royal Terrace were taken over by the Thames Naval Control with the Pier as an essential part of the establishment - while it was still open to the paying public! The area behind the Palace Hotel was cleared to house the ratings from the Pier, now named 'HMS Leigh'. It became the centre for control of all shipping in the Thames for the duration of the war, and its defence was essential. Local Home Guard units and Air Raid Precautions committee were formed. The Observer Corps had a post at the end of the Pier, and an ack-ack gun was also set up in a concrete casement. The Nore Lightship was removed and replaced by the present Nore Fort, on 9th June, 1943. Orders were issued that the Pier be blown up in the event of the enemy coming close to landing, and the army rigged demolition charges between the two Pier Heads. |
The Pier itself was fortified with guns and pill boxes, and throughout the war, the Pier Electric railway was operated by Pier Staff day and night, despite frequent enemy action. They ferried the service men and women, the sick, wounded and survivors. A number of the train coaches were adapted for the conveyance of stretcher cases. Ammunition, food, stores and "special equipment" was also transported by the trains. Over the six year period some 300,000 train miles were covered. There was also a pipeline along the Pier which pumped fifty thousand tons of water to ships. The Pier - and the Royal Terrace, where the Commodore had his headquarters - controlled the shipping that went to and from the Port of London. |
The Observer Corps conducted exercises at the Pier Head, and as far back as 1936 the War Department were in negotiation with the Southend Corporation to have searchlight emplacements there. Others besides the navy were busy on the Pier. The Army considered the Pier to be tempting for an invader - two hundred pioneers lived on it for months at a time. Pill-boxes were built beyond the Pavilion, Depth-charges and chutes and "UP" (Unrotating Projectile) rockets were installed at the Pier Head. The soldiers had demolition charges ready. The Maritime Regiment manned the machine-gun post. The RAF repaired the kite balloons in the great glass-walled sun-trap at the Pier Head and filled them with gas. There were pilots, there were civilian tug-masters and crews. There was Lloyd's Signal Station, and, for D-Day, an American Signal Station. There was a Naval Sick Bay where cases were attended to on and off the Pier. |
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There was a Mail Office and a Transport Office. Much salvage work was done from the Pier, especially by the "Sun" tugs. At the commencement of German air raids on Britain, the Army built a special upper deck on the Prince George Extension of the Pier, and mounted anti-aircraft guns in concrete emplacements from which they worked well against the Luftwaffe and flying bombs. On 22nd November 1939, the Pier was attacked from the air and was strafed by machine-gun fire. Despite the anti-aircraft protection and constant mine-sweeping, several ships were bombed, mined or wrecked off the town. |
The Solarium became the Convoy School - the place of some 3,000 conferences. In the early days, on the hard benches of the Pier Pavilion marked "Daily Dancing, Music and Entertainment," the weary staff would lay their blankets and snatch their well-earned sleep. The Battle of the Thames began long before the Battle of Britain and continued long after it. Bombs and mines were falling about Thameshaven and Shellhaven. An anti-submarine boom was laid off Canvey Island; thousands of piles were driven into the wide Blyth Sands. Controlled mines were laid over the Channel from Holehaven Point. Four torpedoes were fixed at Shellhaven, and the old Dutch Wall of Canvey was fringed with barbed wire and forts and batteries. |
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A fleet of minesweepers covered the river from Kew to the Nore. The first of the floating monsters known as the "Maunsell Forts", built at Gravesend, and finished and Tilbury, were towed down river and seven were sunk to become a fortified island. They were equipped like a ship and carried a crew of some ninety officers and men. These platforms, connected to one another by light steel gangways, were heavily armed and bristling with devices. These were the unpleasant welcome awaiting any E-boats, U-boats or mining aircraft. |
In June 1940, allied troops were evacuated from Dunkirk; many of local fishing and pleasure boats were used in this evacuation, including the Royal Sovereign, Crested Eagle (lost during the evacuation), Golden Eagle and Medway Queen, Princess Maud, Skylark II, Southend Britannia, and the lifeboat Greater London. Among the smaller craft were many cockle boats, dredgers and sailing barges. One cockle boat, the Renown, of Leigh, was lost with all of its four hands at Dunkirk on 1st June. The civilian population had fallen by three-fifths (by evacuation) by the time the Battle of Britain began in August 1940 over the lower reaches. Distant dog-fights speckled the blue sky. Bombs whistled down upon Southend and Tilbury, some falling harmlessly in the flats. Thameshaven and Shellhaven was hit and some big blazes followed. Invasion was expected every morning, and Southend was in the front line. From 1942, added protection against air attack was given by the "kite" balloons which were inflated on the Pier and then issued to all passing ships. Among the later casualties of the war was the concrete casement for the harbour at Arromarches, in Normandy, which went aground below the Pier in 1944 and broke its back. |
Had the Pier not been such an important strategic defence point during this time of crisis, and had the Navy not taken it and used it against the enemy, it would, with no doubt, have had bites out of it, like the piers of other seaside resorts. Some incredible figures: Over 3,000 convoys (84,000 ships) sailed from the Pier between September 1939 and June 1945. 203 ships gathered for D-Day, with more ships up the river as far as the eye could see. |
| After the War Back to Top |
After the war ended, the Pier was demobilised and re-opened to the public on 17th May, 1945 - and soon became as popular as ever. Within two years the number of visitors exceeded 3 million, with 1949 beating that with a record 5 million. The area was buzzing with excitement. |
In 1949 the rolling stock was replaced with four new trains, manufactured by A. C. Cars Ltd of Middlesex at a cost of £99,100, and were similar in design to the London Underground stock. They were a magnificent design in streamlining, and were fully enclosed and fitted with full-height air-operated sliding doors. They sported a lime green and cream livery and with the bodies mounted on leaf spring and rubber suspension units, had a very distinctive rumble as they rode the track, although this was not to everyone's liking. However, with a speed of 18 mph, the journey time to the Pier Head was just four minutes. Throughout summer seasons the trains ran every 5 minutes, and ran until 11pm. |
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Each of the four trains, made up of seven carriages, carried a total of 260 passengers. An incredible 55,000 people were carried in one day, such was the popularity of the Pier.
Some 4,713,082 passengers were carried during the 1949/50 season, and an additional 1,000,000 visitors coming through the turnstiles.
Shipping bustled once more, with three large twin-screw passenger steamers (the Royal Daffodil, Queen of the Channel and Royal Sovereign) to take people to Margate, Clacton and across the Channel, and three smaller ships (Medway Queen, Crested Eagle (II), and Rochester Queen) making regular trips to Sheerness, the Medway ports, Clacton and Ramsgate. |
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The Pier's popularity reached its peak in the 1950s and 60s. It wore fame as the "Longest Pier in the World", and attracted visitors from all over the world. High class refreshments were available in both the upper and lower decks on the Pier Head; the Pier Orchestra and entertainments; grand promenades and the lounge decks. |
An interesting feature was added at the Pier entrance was the mast of the old pleasure steamer "Golden Eagle", familiar with huge numbers of 'Southenders' and holidaymakers also. By 1958, the Pier Pavilion was in decline. It was in the grip of unbridled youth, and although complaints were made, it was pointed out that the council had no control over the users of the premises. Things got worse when on 6th October, 1959, the Pier Pavilion was totally destroyed by fire. Several people were injured in the blaze and some 300 people were trapped on the pier. Most had to walk the one-and-a-half miles back to the shore end as the electricity to the Pier railway had been cut. However, they were not able to pass the burning pavilion and had to complete the journey by climbing down the pier structure and boarding boats to shore. Firefighters from surrounding districts joined those in Southend to help put out the flames, which took some two hours to bring under control. The Pier trains were saved through prompt action by Pier Master Mr. Goble, who drove them out away from the fire. Plans were drawn up afterwards to prevent such a disaster happening again. The remains were finally demolished in 1960, and a bowling alley built in its place. |
However, the number of Pleasure ships calling in at Southend dropped, the reason being the cheaper holiday abroad boom. In 1962 a Ten Pin Bowling Alley replaced the Pavilion, and when the Cliffs Pavilion was built later, it became the new centre for the town's entertainments. The kiosks on the Pier Head began to close down as the number of visitors dwindled, and the council was in the throes of offering private enterprise the opportunity to invest in the future of the Pier. The Medway Queen made her final visit to Southend in September 1963, drawing record crowds queuing to make the farewell trip on the popular Paddle Steamer. |
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In 1970 the local council leased franchises for entertainments along the pier and the subsequent £250,000 investment regenerated it with restaurants, a cocktail bar, a nightclub and amusement arcade. |
On 29th July, 1976, fire destroyed the famous Pier Head. A hundred people used boats and the train to escape. Strong south-westerly winds fanned the flames, watched by thousands of holiday-makers on beaches on both sides of the Thames Estuary. Firemen tackled the fire from tugs in the sea as well as from the pier itself. Their efforts were hampered by the limited water supply at low tide and additional water was distributed from crop-spraying aircraft flying overhead. The Pier trains were used to ferry around 500 trippers back to the shore end, and six tugs came in to assist in the situation. Two firefighters were slightly injured as they struggled to control the blaze. Initial reports suggested that the fire started near a restaurant on the lower deck. The damage was estimated to cost more than £1m to repair. |
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This was a devastating blow to the town. The two-hundred-strong work force of the Pier and Foreshore Department did everything they could to maintain the Pier and trains, but owing to the drop in the number of visitors, two trains were removed from service. The cross-over rails and signalling was also removed. In 1977, the bowling alley was damaged by fire, and during the year successive reports warned of the poor condition of the Pier railway, and as a result, it was forced to close on October 2nd, 1978 for reasons of safety. The death knell was heard in 1980 when the council voted to cut the town's expenditure by £1 million, and amongst other things, the Pier got the chop despite a public outcry. The efforts of the residents, tradesmen and the media were rewarded with a 2-year reprieve, allowing the Pier to remain open under the temporary management of two Pier traders until a permanent solution could be found. During this idle time, the Pier railway had become derelict, and in 1982, the council invited tenders for its removal and scrapping. Stonegold, a local dealer, won the contract, but a local trader donated £1,000 for the purchase of two of the carriages to be restored for exhibition as part of the town's heritage. 'Flat Car' No. 29 from the original 1890 stock was granted a last minute reprieve by the council, and one of the 1949 carriages was purchased by Friends of Southend Pier Museum in 1987. In 1981 the government made available £1 million for the "benefit of Piers and Viaducts etc", and in 1983, Southend Council were successful in an application on behalf of the Pier and was granted £200,000 for repairs to the Pier. This was excellent news as this sum, together with the money paid out on the insurance after the fire, was sufficient to afford the repairs and the purchase of a new railway and rolling stock. The new trains were built by Messrs Severn-lamb Ltd of Stratford-upon-Avon and were each comprised of five aluminium bodies on steel frames. They had a diesel-hydraulic locomotive at the southern end, the five trailer coaches, and at the northern end, a driver control unit with passenger space all governed by a new automatic signalling system. They were officially named after two staunch supporters of the Pier Sir William Heygate and Sir John Betjeman, and the railway was officially opened by Princess Anne on 2nd May, 1986, who took the twelve-minute journey to the Pier Head. |
On 7th June, 1995, another fire destroyed the shoreward bowling alley, forcing the railway to close again. |
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All train services to the Pier Head were cut; access to the walkway was severed and railway tracks were damaged, but the pier re-opened to the public after only three weeks. Ten years later, on Sunday, 9th October, 2005, a fire broke out at McGinty's pub, destroying the railway station, toilets, and shops as well as approximately 130ft (39.4m) of the pier deck. The fire, believed to have been started late in the evening, was attended to by about 75 firefighters who worked right through the night to bring the fire under control. Eyewitnesses said flames leapt 30 to 40 feet in the air as the "absolutely huge" blaze could be seen for miles. |
McGinty's pub, Mariotts Restaurant, shops and toilet facilities collapsed into the Thames Estuary, taking part of the pier's wooden floor with them. A Sea King helicopter was scrambled from Wattisham in Suffolk to see if anyone was in the water. The newly refurbished lifeboat station survived the blaze, and the skipper of a local cockle boat was involved in a search and rescue operation launched by the Thames Coastguard. The fire left only the metal structure along one 65ft section. |
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Things took a turn for the better in the year 2000, and substantial funding was made available for Southend Pier. A modern Lifeboat Station was constructed at the pier-head, along with the installation of water and waste pumping facilities, down the piers length, to service shipping. The remaining fire damaged section at the pier head was also been repaired, along with the refurbishment of toilets and shelters. The road bridge and arched entrance were taken down and replaced with modern metal and glass structures, in keeping with the lifeboat station. In 2007, the Pier deservedly won the National Pier Society's 'Pier of the Year' award. |
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The Pier history at a glance:
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THE LYNN TAIT GALLERY |
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The Gallery is packed with a huge selection of original gifts, souvenirs and collectables, often with a particularly appealing local flavour, including paintings and early photographs from the turn of the century. Enjoy the atmosphere of yesteryear amongst artefacts from times gone by, including a magnificent, restored Southend Pier train. Open 10am – 6pm every day and 10am till dusk in wintertime. |
