Birnbeck Island and pier, Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, England.
Birnbeck Pier at Weston-super-Mare is the only pier in the country which links the mainland to an island, which is Birnbeck Island, a hectares ( acres) rocky island just to the west of Worlebury Hill.[1] The grade II* listed pier was designed by Eugenius Birch and opened in 1867. The Gothic toll house and pierhead buildings were designed by local architect Hans Price. The pier has been closed to the public since 1994 and is now on the Buildings at Risk Register, and is largely derelict. During the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries the pier was popular both with locals and visitors,and a boarding point for steamers working the Bristol Channel, it underwent various extensions and modifications over the years. During the Second World War the pier was commissioned as HMS Birnbeck by the Admiralty for research into new weapons. The pier reopened after the war, but the number of visitors and steamer passengers declined. The final excursion visited the pier in 1979. Since its closure, ownership has changed hands many times and has been the subject of several redevelopment have proved fruitless. Part of the pier collapsed during storms on 30 December 2015.
Size: 4288px × 2848px
Photo credit: © John Worrall / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: beach, birnbeck, bristol, channel, coast, damage, derelict, distance, england, expanse, holiday, island, pier, resort, solitary, somerset, space, storm, tide, uk, vacation, weston-super-mare, wide
