![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e0/Brighton_Pier_at_dusk.jpg/300px-Brighton_Pier_at_dusk.jpg)
This is a list of extant and former coastal piers in the United Kingdom and Isle of Man and piers on the river Thames.[1]
Coastal piers
England
Name | Place | Ceremonial county | Opened | Length | Pier of the Year |
Listed grade |
Description | Image |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Central Pier | Blackpool | Lancashire | 30 May 1868 | 1,118 feet (341 m) | Originally 1,518 feet (463 m) long. | ![]() | ||
South Pier | Blackpool | Lancashire | 31 March 1893 | 492 feet (150 m) | Contains a theme park. | |||
North Pier | Blackpool | Lancashire | 21 May 1863 | 1,318 feet (402 m) | 2004 | II | Eugenius Birch's earliest surviving pier. Originally 1,410 feet (430 m) long. | ![]() |
Bognor Regis Pier | Bognor Regis | West Sussex | 5 May 1865 | 350 feet (110 m) | 1985 | ![]() | ||
Bournemouth Pier | Bournemouth | Dorset | 17 September 1861 | 1,000 feet (300 m) | Zip wire installed in 2014, spanning between the pierhead and the beach. Original pier consisted of a wooden jetty opened in 1856. | |||
Boscombe Pier | Bournemouth | Dorset | 29 July 1889 | 720 feet (220 m) | 2010 | |||
Palace Pier | Brighton | East Sussex | 20 May 1899 | 1,722 feet (525 m) | 1998 | II* | ![]() | |
Burnham-on-Sea Pier | Burnham-on-Sea | Somerset | 1858 | 90 feet (27 m) | Claims to be Britain's shortest pier. It is not recognised by most authorities as it is simply a beach pavilion. | ![]() | ||
Clacton Pier | Clacton-on-Sea | Essex | 27 July 1871 | 1,180 feet (360 m) | 2020 | II | ![]() | |
Cleethorpes Pier | Cleethorpes | Lincolnshire | 4 August 1873 | 335 feet (102 m) | 2016 | ![]() | ||
Clevedon Pier | Clevedon | Somerset | 29 March 1869 | 1,020 feet (310 m) | 1999, 2013, 2021 | I | ![]() | |
Cromer Pier | Cromer | Norfolk | 8 June 1901 | 495 feet (151 m) | 2000, 2015 | II | ![]() | |
Deal Pier | Deal | Kent | 19 November 1957 | 1,026 feet (313 m) | 2008 | One of the last pleasure piers to be built in the UK. Pre-dated by two original piers, built in 1838 and 1864. | ||
Eastbourne Pier | Eastbourne | East Sussex | 13 June 1870 | 1,000 feet (300 m) | 1997 | II* | ![]() | |
Prince of Wales Pier | Falmouth | Cornwall | 5 May 1905 | ![]() | ||||
Felixstowe Pier | Felixstowe | Suffolk | August 1905 | 450 feet (140 m) | Major redevelopments in 2017, involving construction of a new amusement building. There are currently no plans to re-open the seaward end. | ![]() | ||
Folkestone Harbour Arm | Folkestone | Kent | 1904 | 1,600 feet (490 m)[2] | II (lighthouse)[3] | First used from 1904 as a port pier for ferries to Boulogne, France. Re-opened in 2016. Used as a pleasure pier, and for fishing. | ||
Gravesend Town | Gravesend | Kent | 1834 | 172 feet (52 m) | On the Thames, and not a seaside pier recognised by most authorities. | |||
Royal Terrace | Gravesend | Kent | 1844 | On the Thames. | ||||
Britannia Pier | Great Yarmouth | Norfolk | 13 July 1858 | 810 feet (250 m) | ![]() | |||
Wellington Pier | Great Yarmouth | Norfolk | 31 October 1853 | 700 feet (210 m) | ![]() | |||
Ha'penny Pier | Harwich | Essex | July 1853 | Not a seaside pier recognised by most authorities. | ||||
Hastings Pier | Hastings | East Sussex | 5 August 1872 | 912 feet (278 m) | 2017 | Pier of the Year following extensive restoration. | ![]() | |
Herne Bay Pier | Herne Bay | Kent | 1899 | Majority of pier destroyed in a storm in 1978. The shoreward 'stub' is still open, and the pier head remains isolated 1 km (0.6 mi) into the sea. | ![]() | |||
Hythe Pier | Hythe | Hampshire | 1 January 1881 | 2,100 feet (640 m) | II | Oldest continually running pier train in the world.[4] | ||
Claremont Pier | Lowestoft | Suffolk | 1903 | 600 feet (180 m) | Pier decking not open for public use. | ![]() | ||
South Pier | Lowestoft | Suffolk | 1846 | 1,320 feet (400 m) | ||||
St Annes Pier | Lytham St Annes | Lancashire | 15 June 1885 | 600 feet (180 m) | II | ![]() | ||
Paignton Pier | Paignton | Devon | June 1879 | 780 feet (240 m) | ![]() | |||
Ryde Pier | Ryde | Isle of Wight | 26 July 1814 | 2,234 feet (681 m) | II | The UK's oldest pleasure pier. Island Line runs along entire length. | ||
Saltburn Pier | Saltburn-by-the-Sea | North Yorkshire | May 1869 | 681 feet (208 m) | 2009 | II* | ![]() | |
Culver Pier | Sandown | Isle of Wight | 29 May 1878 | 870 feet (270 m) | ![]() | |||
Skegness Pier | Skegness | Lincolnshire | 4 June 1881 | 387 feet (118 m) | Seaward section destroyed in a 1978 storm. | ![]() | ||
Royal Pier | Southampton | Hampshire | 8 July 1833 | 900 feet (270 m) | II | Closed 1980. Currently in very poor condition. Now classified as a Lost Pier. | ![]() | |
Southend Pier | Southend-on-Sea | Essex | 1830 | 6,900 feet (2,100 m) | 2007 | II | The longest pleasure pier in the world, extending 2.1 kilometres (1.3 mi) into the Thames Estuary. | ![]() |
Southport Pier | Southport | Merseyside | 2 August 1860 | 3,536 feet (1,078 m) | 2003 | II | ||
South Parade Pier | Southsea | Hampshire | 26 July 1879 | 600 feet (180 m) | Re-opened 2017. | |||
Clarence Pier | Southsea | Hampshire | 1861 | 203 feet (62 m) | Three times wider than it is long, going along the beach rather than out to sea. The full pier is an amusement park. | ![]() | ||
Southwold Pier | Southwold | Suffolk | 1900 | 623 feet (190 m) | 2002 | Includes a collection of modern coin-operated novelty machines. | ![]() | |
Swanage Pier | Swanage | Dorset | 29 March 1897 | 643 feet (196 m) | 2012 | ![]() | ||
Grand Pier | Teignmouth | Devon | 1867 | 696 feet (212 m) | ![]() | |||
Princess Pier | Torquay | Devon | 1890 | ![]() | ||||
Totland Pier | Totland Bay | Isle of Wight | 1880 | ![]() | ||||
Walton Pier | Walton-on-the-Naze | Essex | 1871 | 2,610 feet (800 m) | Originally built to a length of 530 feet (160 m) in 1871. The pier was extended and re-opened in August 1898. | ![]() | ||
Grand Pier | Weston-super-Mare | Somerset | 11 June 1904 | 1,201 feet (366 m) | 2011 | |||
Birnbeck Pier | Weston-super-Mare | Somerset | 5 June 1867 | 1,150 feet (350 m) | II* | Closed since 1994. One of the few surviving Eugenius Birch piers. Restoration underway. | ![]() | |
Weymouth Pier | Weymouth | Dorset | 1860 | 787 feet (240 m) | Weymouth Stone Pier is a breakwater. Weymouth Pleasure pier is described as a "man-made peninsula". | ![]() | ||
Worthing Pier | Worthing | West Sussex | 12 April 1862 | 960 feet (290 m) | 2006, 2019 | II | ||
Yarmouth Pier | Yarmouth | Isle of Wight | 1876 | 610 feet (190 m) |
Scotland
Name | Place | Opened | Length | Pier of the Year | Listed grade |
Description | Image |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dunoon Pier | Dunoon | 1889 | 370 feet (110 m) | Not recognised a seaside pier by most authorities. Built as a working pier rather than a pleasure pier. | ![]() | ||
Helensburgh Pier | Helensburgh | 1860 | 804 feet (245 m) | Not recognised a seaside pier by most authorities. Category C listed structure.[5] Closed to marine traffic since October 2018.[6] | ![]() | ||
Kilcreggan Pier | Kilcreggan | 279 feet (85 m) | Not recognised a seaside pier by most authorities. Passenger-only ferry to Gourock.[7] | ![]() | |||
Rothesay Pier | Rothesay | 433 feet (132 m) | Not recognised as a seaside pier by most authorities. Serves as a ferry terminal and small marina rather than a pleasure pier. | ![]() | |||
Fort William Pier | Fort William | 1,538 feet (469 m) | Not recognised as a seaside pier by most authorities. | ![]() |
Wales
Name | Place | Opened | Length | Pier of the Year | Listed grade |
Description | Image |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Royal Pier | Aberystwyth | 1865 | 794 feet (242 m) | ![]() | |||
Garth Pier | Bangor | 14 May 1896 | 1,510 feet (460 m) | 2022 | II* | Reopened in 1988. | ![]() |
Beaumaris Pier | Beaumaris | 1846 | 570 feet (170 m) | Refurbished 2011–2012. | ![]() | ||
Llandudno Pier | Llandudno | 1 August 1877 | 2,295 feet (700 m) | 2005 | II* | ![]() | |
Mumbles Pier | Mumbles, Swansea | 10 May 1898 | 835 feet (255 m) | II | ![]() | ||
Penarth Pier | Penarth | February 1895 | 650 feet (200 m) | 2014 | II | ![]() |
Isle of Man
Name | Place | Opened | Length | Pier of the Year | Listed grade |
Description | Image |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Queen's Pier | Ramsey, Isle of Man | 22 July 1886 | 2,241 feet (683 m) | Closed June 1990; restoration started 2016; first three bays reopened July 2021.[8] | ![]() |
Piers in London on the River Thames
- Bankside Pier
- Barrier Gardens Pier
- Blackfriars Millennium Pier
- Canary Wharf Pier
- Festival Pier
- Greenland Pier
- Greenwich Pier
- Hilton Docklands Nelson Dock Pier
- Kew Pier
- London Bridge City Pier
- London Eye Pier
- Masthouse Terrace Pier
- Millbank Millennium Pier
- North Greenwich Pier
- Putney Pier
- Savoy Pier
- Tower Bridge Quay
- Tower Lifeboat Station
- Tower Millennium Pier
- Westminster Millennium Pier
- Woolwich Arsenal Pier
Former piers
Name | Place | Opened | Length | Pier of the Year | Listed grade | Description | Image |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
West Pier | Brighton | 6 October 1866 | 1,115 feet (340 m) | I | Closed in 1975 and subsequently fell into disrepair. Now classified as a lost pier. | ![]() | |
Victoria Pier | Colwyn Bay | 1 June 1900 | 750 feet (230 m) | II | Closed since 2008. Partial collapse in 2017, leading to the demolition of the seaward end. | ![]() | |
Leith Trinity Chain | Edinburgh | 14 August 1821 | 627 feet (191 m) | Effectively closed in the 1850s and described as "deserted and ruinous" then destroyed by a storm on 18 October 1898.[9] | |||
Portobello Pier | Edinburgh | 1871 | 1,250 feet (380 m) | Designed by Sir Thomas Bouch, engineer who also designed the infamous Tay Bridge. Demolished in 1917 after repairs to storm damage bankrupted the owner.[10] | ![]() | ||
Fleetwood Pier | Fleetwood | 16 May 1910 | 492 feet (150 m) | Destroyed by fire in 2008, hence a lost pier. | ![]() | ||
Lytham Pier | Lytham | 17 April 1865 | 914 feet (279 m) | Closed to the public before World War II following a period of decline. Demolished in 1960 despite protests from thousands of local residents. | ![]() | ||
Central Pier[11] | Morecambe | 25 March 1869 | 912 feet (278 m) | Demolished 1992. | ![]() | ||
West End Pier[12] | Morecambe | 1896 | 1,800 feet (550 m) | Demolished 1978. | ![]() | ||
New Brighton Pier | New Brighton | 1867 | 600 feet (180 m) | Demolished 1978. | ![]() | ||
Aberavon Pier | Port Talbot | 1898 | 900 feet (270 m) | Owned by British Transport Commission after being lost in 1962. Now a breakwater. | |||
Redcar Pier | Redcar | 2 June 1873 | 1,300 feet (400 m) | Closed and demolished in 1980. | ![]() | ||
Rhos-on-Sea Pier[13] | Rhos-on-Sea, North Wales | 1895 | 1,300 feet (400 m) | Lost in 1954. | |||
Rhyl Pier | Rhyl | 19 August 1867 | 2,355 feet (718 m) | Demolished in 1973. | ![]() | ||
Scarborough North Pier | Scarborough | 1868 | 1,000 feet (300 m) | Lost in 1905. | |||
Shanklin Pier | Shanklin | 1890 | 1,200 feet (370 m) | Demolished in February 1993. | ![]() | ||
St Leonards Pier[14] | St Leonards-on-Sea | 1891 | 950 feet (290 m) | Damaged by bombing, gales and fire during WW2. Demolished 1951–55. | ![]() | ||
Royal Victoria Pier[15] | Tenby | 1899 | 330 feet (100 m) | Constructed as 230 feet (70 m) structure and later extended. Lost in 1953. | |||
Weymouth Pier Bandstand | Weymouth | 25 May 1939 | 200 feet (61 m) | Majority of pier demolished in 1986; only the entrance building remains on 48 feet (15 m) of the pier.[16] Thus not a seaside pier any longer. | |||
Withernsea Pier[17] | Withernsea | August 1877 | 1,196 feet (365 m) | Partial destruction by storm in 1882 and ship collisions in 1890 and 1893. Last remaining section removed in 1903. |
See also
References
- ^ "(Surviving Piers)". National Piers Society. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
- ^ "PROPOSED FOLKESTONE HARBOUR REVISION ORDER 2016 - Section 4.3" (PDF). Government Publishing Assets Service. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
- ^ "Folkestone Harbour Seafront Development Co. - Folkestone's New Social Hub". Folkestone Harbour Seafront Development Co. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
- ^ "Historic England: Seaside heritage sites given listed status". BBC News. 27 August 2021. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
- ^ "Helensburgh pier given listed status by Historic Environment Scotland". Helensburgh Advertiser. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
- ^ "New plans for Helensburgh pier repairs get the green light". Helensburgh Advertiser. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
- ^ "Rosneath: Gourock - Kilcreggan". CalMac Ferries. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
- ^ "Isle of Man's Queen's Pier opens as restoration moves forward". BBC News. 22 July 2021. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
- ^ "Leith Trinity Chain - National Piers Society". 19 March 2016. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
- ^ "Portobello - National Piers Society". 19 March 2016. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
- ^ "Morecambe Central Pier – National Piers Society". Piers.org.uk. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
- ^ "Morecambe West Pier - National Piers Society". Archived from the original on 5 August 2014. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
- ^ "Rhos-on-Sea Pier". National Piers Society. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
- ^ "St Leonards Pier". The Hastings Chronicle. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
- ^ "Royal Victoria Pier". National Piers Society. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
- ^ "Weymouth Pier Bandstand - National Piers Society". 28 March 2016. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
- ^ "Withernsea". National Piers Society. Retrieved 19 April 2021.