Birnbeck Pier

In its hey day

Birnbeck Pier is a grade 2 listed Pleasure Pier (with RNLI lifeboat station located on the pier) in Weston-Super-Mare, England. The pier was designed by Eugenius Birch, and the gothic all house and pier head was designed by local architect Hans Price. Birnbeck Pier is on the Bristol Channel and is
the only pier in the country to link mainland to an island (Birnbeck Island). Before the pier, you could get to the island in low tide, which created a walkway. (The original name for the pier was Bearn Back - old English words for burn and baec which means 'the spring book island,' however locals pronounced it be-arn beck, leading to its current name.)


The idea of connecting mainland to the island came around in 1845, and a suspension bridge was designed by James Dredge. Construction on this started two years later and was based on the 'taper principle' using chains instead of cables, but due to a strike by the stonemasons at the time, what construction that had been made was damaged in a storm. James Dredge idea, although it did not work out at the time, is believed to have been a significant phase in suspension bridge development.
 A proposal for a pier didn't come around until 1864 , and was funded by 2000 shares; which raised £20,000.
  The four year old son of the Lord of the Manor laid the foundation stone on 28th October 1864 and
the pier opened on 5th June 1867, and its total length at the time was 351 metres. The day it opened many locals were given a holiday and a banquet at the town hall.
  Architectural features at both ends mean it resembles a bridge more than any other please piers, and the toll to walk the pier was 1d (old penny) - this went up to 2d (the maximum fee permitted by General Pier and Harbour Act) in 1861. 120,000 people paid the fee in the first 3 months, and a tramway system was built for visitors to put their luggage on.

Many of the visitors wouldn't leave the island or pier when they were there, staying there for hours or the whole day, which lead to amusements, cafe pavilion and funfairs being added to keep guest entertained. These were damaged in a fire on 26th December 1897 but were replaced with buildings that have been replaced and changed over the years. The amusement area was also expanded in 1909, an extension on iron supports, but these were not built to the specific requirements and had to be demolished 3 years later.

A new jetty was built on the south west corner in 1898, this jetty reached the deep water even at low tide, meaning steamers could use the pier at all times. This jetty was damaged in a storm in 1903, rebuilt 3 years later but officially closed in 1916, but wasn't fully dismantled until 1923, this left the pier with the length of 1040ft. The Northern jetty was also damaged in the same storm, and replaced by the structure thats still there now in 1905.
  Another pier opened up in Weston-Super-Mare in 1904, this was named 'Grand Pier.' And due to Birnbeck Pier being closed due to its use during the war in 1941 (used for research into new weapons), when it reopened once the war had finished the Grand Pier had added amusements, leading to visitor decline.

Birnbeck Pier is known to have the largest amount rescued at one time. This incident happened in September 1884 and involved 44 passengers, who were removed from the SS Welsh Prince which came into difficulties after leaving the pier. Another incident would happen 100 years later, when £1million of damage was caused by drifting equipment from work happening in Sand Bay, the damage was quickly repaired.
 During the second half of the 19th century and the 20th century, the pier was given a new lease of life, with it becoming popular again with the locals and tourists, leading to various extensions and modifications. In 1962, the pier was sold (from the Birnbeck Pier Company) to P&A Campbell, who were the steamer operators. Once P&A started to withdrawal their ships, the pier was sold to John Critchley.

The fire that took ahold of the pier

Critchley redeveloped the pier as a 'Victorian pleasure centre' and even had permission to issue their own currency for visitors to use.
  Bad storms occurred again in 1990 and once again the pier was damaged. This lead to Birnbeck Pier being officially closed to the public in 1994. Since the pier has been closed, it has passed hands to numerous owners, and redevelopment plans have been thrown around (and fallen through). Some of the plan ideas were a hotel, casino or even residential use.

In 2006 the pier was sold to a Manchester company, Urban Splash. Urban Splash launched a competition in 2007, asking for people to send in any ideas they have for the regeneration of the pier and the island it connects to; repair work was estimated at £4million, with the winner being Levitate Architecture and Design Studio LTD.
  Urban Splash put the pier up for sale, this was due to a downfall in business since the recession hit. In 2011 rumours began circulating that Wahid Samady and Michael Ross brought the pier, which were believed to be untrue. But in 2014 it was announced that CNM estates owned the pier. CNM estates has Wahid & Michael as chairman and director.
  On the 30th December 2015, part of the pier collapsed during storms, and the pier is now left in a derelict state.

Left to rot

In 2011, the RNLI's lifeboat stations two boats were called out 42 times.

CNM Estates are the current owners of the pier, which is on the buildings at risk register.