According to Official Website shows that the the building of Britain's seaside piers was a direct legacy of the industrial revolution. The fruits of that revolution, often harshly exacted and only slowly shared, were wealth and leisure and new demands for entertainment and travel.
Almost every pier of note around the coast of Britain, seventy-eight all told, were built between 1854 and 1904. During this time there was also a rise and expansion of the regional pleasure steamer fleets. However, the most important catalyst for the pier builders, was the arrival of the railways. Until the Severn Tunnel was opened in 1886, Brunel's Great Western line from London to South Wales took the "Great Way Round" (via Swindon and Gloucester) - Clevedon's closeness to the main line from London to Bristol and the South-West, and the opening of the branch line to Clevedon from Yatton in 1847 offered the exciting possibility of a faster route to South Wales by steamer from a pier at Clevedon.
A pier for Clevedon had been under consideration for some time and on a Wednesday in November 1866, a meeting took place at the Public Hall, Clevedon. A proposed scheme for a pier was accepted and The Clevedon Pier Company was formed, the board of directors made up of Sir Arthur Elton, Richard Godwin, Samuel Ransford and John Maynard. By July 1867 work had begun.
Elegance was important for the new pier but it also had to be strongly constructed for commercial use in a fairly exposed position. The actual construction work was entrusted to Hamilton's Windsor Iron Works of Liverpool.
The contractors had been lucky to find some large quantities of Barlow rail, discarded from Brunel's broad-gauge South Wales Railway. It may not have been successful as railway line, but it could be used to make superbly slender and strong supports for the pier. For almost two years, slowly diminishing stacks of the ironwork were stored along The Beach, Esplanade and Wellington Terrace. The construction of the pier was a very laborious task as every section of ironwork had to be manhandled before the crane could raise it into position. Approximately 370 tons of wrought ironwork were required. Gales regularly halted the work, but the structure held firm.
The construction of the abutments to the pier was not as hazardous as the pier itself. However, the design had changed from its original form and now included a Toll House, with accommodation for the Piermaster. The Toll House was built by Clevedon builder, W. Green, who was also responsible for building the bandstand further along the beach. It was designed by architect Hans Price of Weston-super-Mare, in a Scottish baronial style, much favoured at that time for bridge abutments. The romanticism of its design, contrasted strongly with the functional engineering of the pier. The entrance gates and railings were made in Clevedon in the foundry of Turner and Sons.
In all, the total cost of building the pier was £10,000 and employed an average workforce of sixty men. On the 6th February 1869, the contractors were able to hand the completed structure over to the Directors of the Pier Company."
the old pier
sunset pier
References:
Betjeman, J (2008) History - Part 2: Collapse and Restoration. Clevedon Pier and Heritage Trust. [Online]Available from:http://www.clevedonpier.com/history2.htm. [accessed 25 October 2008]
Clevedon Pier Official Website (2008) History - Part 1: The building of Clevedon Pier [Online]Available from:http://www.clevedonpier.com/history.htm [accessed 2008]
the old pier [image], viewed 2 April 2010
<http://www.tonyhowell.co.uk/new/8/BWZ155.htm>
sunset pier [image], viewed 2 April 2010
<http://www.tonyhowell.co.uk/new/8/BWZ155.htm>
Link:Clevedon Pier
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