Southend Pier is a major landmark in Southend. Extending miles into the Thames Estuary, it is the world's longest pleasure pier
Southend Pier is a major landmark in Southend-on-Sea. Extending miles ( km) into the Thames Estuary, it is the longest pleasure pier in the world. Sir John Betjeman once said that "the Pier is Southend, Southend is the Pier". The pier is a Grade II listed building. In the early 19th century, Southend was growing as a seaside holiday resort. At the time, it was thought that spending time by the sea was good for one's health, and since it was close to the capital, many Londoners would come to Southend for this reason. However the coast at Southend consists of large mudflats, so the sea is never very deep even at full tide (between four and six metres), and recedes over a mile from the beach at low tide. Large boats were unable to stop at Southend near to the beach and no boats at all were able to stop at low tide. This meant that many potential visitors would go past Southend and on to Margate, or other resorts where docking facilities were better. To counter this trend local dignitaries pushed for a pier to be built. This would allow boats to reach Southend at all tides. The campaign was led by former Lord Mayor of the City of London Sir William Heygate, 1st Baronet, a resident of Southend. The pier was designed by James Brunlees, who had built the first iron pier at Southport in 1860. Work began in early 1887 and the new pier was opened to the public that summer, though it wasn't completed until 1889 at a cost of almost £70,000. It was an immediate success, so much so that demand outstripped the capabilities of the pier and a further extension was proposed. This extension was completed in November 1897 and formally opened the following January. An upper deck was added to the pierhead in 1907, and the pier was further extended in 1927. It was formally opened on 8 July 1929 by Prince George, Duke of work of doubling the electric railway, completed in 1931, cost £35,000. In partnership with the RNLI, a new lifeboat station was built in 2000
Size: 6159px × 4080px
Location: Southend on Sea, Essex, UK
Photo credit: © Avpics / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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