2012

SD3036 : North Pier, Blackpool

taken 13 years ago, near to Blackpool, England

This is 1 of 21 images, with title North Pier, Blackpool in this square
North Pier, Blackpool
North Pier, Blackpool
The oldest and longest of Blackpool's three piers was built in the 1860s to a design by Eugenius Birch. Over the years it has suffered the usual curses of seaside piers - fire and ship collisions - but seems to be thriving. The admission charge was abolished in 2011 by the pier's new owners.
Blackpool North Pier

The oldest and longest of Blackpool's piers, North Pier was designed by Eugenius Birch and opened on May 21st 1863. A landing/fishing jetty was added in 1866 and extended in 1869, bringing the pier's length to 1410 feet.

The pier was damaged in 1867 by wreckage from Nelson's former flagship, the "Foudroyant", which had been moored off the pier for an exhibition. In the 1870s, the pier-head was enlarged and the Indian Pavilion and bandstand were built. There were further ship collisions with the pier in 1892 and 1897

The deck was widened in 1896, and shops and an arcade were added to the shoreward end in 1903. The Indian Pavilion was destroyed by fire in 1921, but a new pavilion was built, unfortunately also being destroyed by fire in 1938. However, a new 1500 seat theatre was completed in 1939. Also in the 1930s, the bandstand became the Carousel bar and Venetian sun lounge.

In the 1960s, amusements and the Merrie England bar were opened. In the 1980s, £350,000 was spent rebuilding the entrance in Victorian style, and in 1991, a 35 foot carousel and a pier tramway were installed. The pier suffered further, severe storm damage in December 1997, severing the jetty from the main structure and leaving the pier theatre perilously close to the edge.

In April 2011, the pier was sold by Six Piers Ltd to Blackpool family firm, Sedgwick's. Mr Sedgwick vowed to restore the pier to its former Victorian look, bring back its tram and remove the entrance tolls. The theatre was renovated and relaunched in November 2011.

A storm in December 2013 severely damaged the sun lounge, but it was repaired the following year.

Wikipedia: LinkExternal link


Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright Stephen McKay and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
Geographical Context: Coastal Sport, Leisure other tags: Pier Seaside Flag Beach Click a tag, to view other nearby images.
This photo is linked from: Automatic Clusters: · Blackpool North Pier [222] Title Clusters: · North Pier, Blackpool [21] ·
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Grid Square
SD3036, 1098 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
Stephen McKay   (more nearby)
Date Taken
Saturday, 21 April, 2012   (more nearby)
Submitted
Wednesday, 25 April, 2012
Subject Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SD 3040 3637 [10m precision]
WGS84: 53:49.1356N 3:3.5207W
Camera Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SD 3049 3635
View Direction
West-northwest (about 292 degrees)
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Image classification(about): Geograph
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