History of Southend Pier

Southend Pier is well known for being long, and at nearly one and a half miles it is the longest pleasure pier in the World, but it's history has often been turbulent one. In all honesty it's surprising that it's still here after all of the accidents and tribulations this structure has undergone over the nearly two-hundred years of it's life span. It would be inconceivable for Southend not to have it's pier though, and like the poet Sir John Betjeman said "The pier is Southend, Southend is the pier." 

The pier was built to attract potential tourism to the town as seaside locations were becoming ever more popular in the early 1800's. Places such as Margate and Brighton were already becoming popular with Londoners, and it was hoped that Southend being relatively close to the capital could entice potential holidaymakers. The first incarnation of Southend pier was completed by 1830, although at that point it was more or less ineffective as it only reached into estuary's water at high tide. At only six-hundred feet, it was a far-cry from it's modern day dimensions. By 1833 however the pier had already been extended multiple times, and was for some time the longest pier in Europe.

In the 1850's the London-Southend railway line had become operational (which is today known more commonly as the C2C line) and Southend's popularity soared among'st the working-class Eastenders of London who came for short weekend breaks or days away. After some financial difficulties, the pier was sold to the Southend council in 1873, who have been responsible for it ever since.

By 1889 the attraction had become so popular that the large amount of footfall was creating maintenance issues. A decision was therefore reached to replace the old oak beams with iron, initiating a series of improvements for the next thirty or so years including further extensions and the inclusion of an electric train that ran the full length of the pier. The full works at that point were completed by 1931. When WWII broke out however, the pier was commandeered by the Royal Navy and shut off to the public. Named HMS Leigh, the pier was then used as a kind of control tower to facilitate the huge numbers of shipping traffic heading into and out of London.

The Burning Torch

The ship "Kingsabbey" that ran into the pier in 1986.

Predictably, the pier was reopened to the public following the end of the war in 1945, and it experienced a brief golden age as it's visitor numbers boomed. More attractions were added at the end of the structure too increasing it's popularity, but this was not to last. In 1959 a large fire spread on the shore end of the pier,  putting it out of commission until 1962. The burnt Victorian pavillion was replaced with a modern (for the time) bowling alley. The golden age by that point was over however, Southend's popularity as a tourist hot-spot was well in decline as foreign package holidays became more available, and the pier itself despite the recent work done to it, was still in major need of renovation.

In 1976 fire struck once again, this time destroying much of the pier head, and the following year yet another fire damaged the then relatively new bowling alley. With the railway also in need of repairs, the council in 1980 toyed with the idea of shutting the pier indefinitely, but strong protests from residents pressured the council into keeping and once again restoring the structure. In 1983, the Historic Buildings Committee offered a grant to see that the necessary repairs were undertaken, which were completed by 1986. 

Going with the theme of unending catastrophe, the pier was once again in peril when a waste disposal ship named Kingsabbey struck the pier head, destroying a life boat station and once again ruining the pier's structural integrity. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the ships captain was found to be intoxicated at the time of the collision. The damage sustained in this mishap was not totally repaired until 1989.

The bowling abbey burnt down in 1995.

And the catastrophe's kept on coming. On June 7th, 1995 the bowling alley at the shore end totally burnt down, but fortunately no real lasting damage was done to the supporting beams or the train station below it, and the attraction was back up and running again by 1996. 

Into the 21st Century

Throughout the early 2000's, Southend in general had received grants to regenerate the town including the seafront area. This marked an end to the Victorianesque architecture down the seafront, with the town instead going for a more contemporary design. An old overhead bridge was replaced to allow for double-decker buses through on the road underneath, and the pier's train station on the shore was replaced with some (in my personal opinion) hideous glass buildings. Ironically one of the trains that runs on the pier railway to this day is named after the poet Betjeman, but I'm sure if he were alive today would be disgusted in the way in which the council has totally removed all reference to the old Victorian architecture, to be replaced with modern garbage. (Betjeman was after all a founding member of the Victorian Society which was devoted to preserving Victorian architecture, ironically.)

Whilst you're probably thinking that this must be the end of the pier's story, this blog post has yet one more disaster to cover! Back in 2005 yet another fire struck the pier, this time at the pier head. Several buildings were burnt to cinders and collapsed into the estuary, effectively destroying every reason why you would want to go to the end of the pier in the first place. Firefighters struggled to get a grip on the fire, supposedly because the pumps that were in place for use as hydrants didn't work at full capacity at low-tide. A somewhat ridiculous design flaw.

From 2009 onwards, we're left with the pier we have today. A hideously modern looking pavillion and council run cafe stands at the end, as does a RNLI gift shop and station, but aside from seafishing there appears very little reason to visit the end at all today which is an awful shame. The owner of Adventure Island, a theme park which exists on either side of the pier (and underneath it) had expressed an interest in being a private investor to try and revamp the pier as a tourist attraction. Unfortunately it seems the bureaucracy of the council on other projects on the seafront led to the company Stockvale Group pulling out of all negotiations. I guess we can only hope that a wealthy investor decides to take a risky chance on the old pier, to get it up to standard as a tourist attraction once more.