This website is not connected with the Clacton Pier events and tickets website at
www.clacton-pier.co.uk.

 

The English Pier

England is very proud of its “piers”. Quite literally they are a raised structure over water typically supported by pillars allowing tides and currents to flow unhindered beneath it. Some of the older piers stretch up to a quarter of a mile out to sea. Seaside resorts then made the most of this and built an entertainment wonderland on the pier itself. Among the most well known are Brighton Pier, Southend Pier, Weston Super Mare and Clacton Pier. The English pier dates back to the Victorian era and is a cultural part of our British Heritage. Saucy English postcards depicted the English seaside pier as a haven for fish and chips, candy floss, deck chairs and penny arcades but they are in fact so much more. Weston Super Mare (Grand) is one half miles long and originally held an Edwardian theatre seating 2000 people, light amusements were then added to the Pier but the theatre was still its main source of income. When the theatre was destroyed by fire it was rebuilt but instead of a theatre it now housed a funfair. In 1974 the Pier was listed by the DoE as a monument of historic importance. But the “end of pier” shows continued in other venues, Blackpool pier has a traditional theatre at the end of it, built in 1939 it can seat 1500. The love of our enligh piers has promoted the creation of the National Piers Society that was founded in 1979 when the English Piers were threatened with demolition. They organise visits and talks to ensure the continuity and interest of and in piers.