Southend Pier Thames Estuary pleasure Sir John Betjeman Grade II listed building Iron bank Promenade esplanade
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. 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. In 1892 Southend became a Municipal Borough and received an unofficial coat of arms. This depicted a three-masted ship on top of a shield showing an image of the pier, the church of St Mary the Virgin, a well in Prittlewell and the emblem of Essex county. The motto was 'forti nihil difficile', 'to the brave nothing is too difficult'. This coat of arms was replaced in 1915 after Southend was given County Borough status and an image of the pier is no longer included. An upper deck was added to the pierhead in 1907, and the pier was further extended in 1927. The construction work was undertaken by Peter Lind & Company who are still trading today. The work was carried out to accommodate larger steamboats. It was formally opened on 8 July 1929 by Prince George, Duke of Kent. This part of the pier was named the Prince George Extension. On 27 June 1931 the Pier was the scene of a tragic accident. Ernest Turner fell from, and was run over by, one of the electric trams on the railway and was killed instantly. Turner, who was 38, was one of a party of over 500 workers and family members on the annual works outing from Ansell's brewery in Birmingham, where he worked as a brewer's drayman.
Size: 3898px × 2764px
Photo credit: © SOTK2011 / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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