The Grade II listed pier in 1936
|
This is the second time the Grand Pier in Weston-super-Mare has burnt down.
In 1930 fire ravaged the building and it did not reopen until 1933.
The idea for a pier was first mooted in the late 1800s but a number of schemes fell through.
In 1893 an Act of Parliament was passed and the scheme was approved.
Work eventually started in November 1903, with £200,000 given by local and south Wales shareholders to help build the structure.
When it opened in 1904, it measured more than 1,000ft long and boasted a 2,000-seat Theatre Pavilion, which hosted concerts, ballet performances, opera and boxing matches.
 |
TEN LONGEST PIERS
1. Southend-on-Sea, Essex 7,080ft/2,158m
2. Southport, Lancs 3,633 ft/1,107m
3. Walton-on-the-Naze, Essex 2,600ft/792m
4. Ryde, IoW 2,305ft/703m
5. Llandudno, Gwynedd 2,295ft/700m
6. Ramsey, IoM 2,241ft/683m
7. Hythe, Hants 2,100ft/640m
8. Brighton Palace, E Sussex 1,760ft/536m
9. Bangor Garth, Gwynedd 1,550ft/472m
10. Weston-super-Mare (Birnbeck pier), N Somerset 1,350ft/412m
|
After the 1930 blaze, the remains were bought by Leonard Guy.
Three years later, the buildings had been replaced by a large funfair.
The pier changed hands in 1946 when it was bought by a Mr A Brenner.
Shops and amusements were added to the entrance area in 1970 and it was Grade II listed in 1974.
In 1993 a new bowling alley was built, with a two-storey fun-house and Ferris wheel added.
It underwent a massive revamp in April this year after being sold in a multi-million pound deal to brother and sister Michelle and Kerry Michael.
A new £500,000 indoor go-kart track had just opened, with the addition of a climbing wall.
The pier, which has only changed hands three times in its 104-year history, costs £500,000 a year to maintain and attracts thousands of visitors each year.
The Red Arrows had been due to fly over it in an airshow next month.
Weston-super-Mare also has the derelict Birnbeck Pier, which a Manchester-based company had promised to restore.
|
Bookmark with:
What are these?