Hastings Pier

From Historical Hastings
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Construction of Hastings Pier started circa 1869; the first works commencing early in December[1] and the first pile being driven on the 18th December at the 3 am low tide, with the substructure being constructed by Messrs. Laidlaw of Glasgow. [2]. The pier opened to the public on the 5th of August 1872 opposite the General Infirmary (now White Rock Pavilion) in White Rock.

The pier rose to its prime in the 1930s, later becoming a popular music venue in the 1960s. The structure suffered major storm damage in 1990, and was closed to the public for a time before closing completely in 2008, and being destroyed by a fire in 2010. A re​building​ project was then undertaken, with the pier reopening to the public on 27 April 2016.

Opening[edit]

The pier was opened on 5 August 1872; the weather being described as wet and windy, by the then Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, Earl of Granville and the Cinque Ports Volunteers being paraded[3]. It was designed by Eugenius Birch, who also designed the West Pier Brighton and Eastbourne Pier, both west of Hastings, and it is often seen as an innovative design considering the technical constraints of the late Victorian period. The pier was described as being “constructed by a local company” although the contractors for most of the structure were the firm R Laidlaw & Son as mentioned above. 600 guests sat down to lunch on the pier immediately following the opening ceremony, and included the local member of parliament Thomas Brassey and Egyptian princes. Following the opening, there was a court case brought by the iron-workers for additional work that had been completed on the pier in excess of the original design. The work , to a value of around £2,000, had been signed off by Birch, but payment had not been forthcoming; Birch and the managing company citing delays in work. These delays, argued to be via an 'act of God', were caused by a shipment of Memel timber having been held up in the Baltic and iron-work from the Scotland works being held up due to icing of the river Clyde and storms en-route. At a hearing in the Court of Exchequer, the matter was eventually settled in favour of the plaintiffs[2].

Landing Stage[edit]

The pier had a landing stage around the seaward end said to be able to accommodate up to four paddle steamers at the same time.[4]. This was originally accessed via a staircase in the centre of the pier's width, with walkways leading off to either side. At the time of opening, it was claimed that the landing stage could accept vessels at all states of the tide, with a minimum of 3-5 foot depth available[5].

Ballroom[edit]

The ballroom that was situated at the end of the pier had a capacity of 2000 people.

Shooting Gallery & Joy Wheel[edit]

In 1910, a pavilion for shooting and a joy-wheel were installed on the main promenade section of the pier[6]

1917 Fire[edit]

The original 2,000 seat pavilion was destroyed by a fire in 1917, being replaced in 1922.

Art Deco Frontage[edit]

In 1933 the old tea room and entrance front abutting onto the Parade Extension was replaced by a restaurant and Art Deco facade. This was followed in 1934 by the reconstruction of the shore-end pavilion, which resulted in the creation of theatre space. Further re-development followed in 1936 when the pier-end pavilion was rebuilt to incorporate a ballroom, lounge bar and cafe with open-air terraces on either side on the first floor - this floor being accessed via wide staircases on either side of the ballroom entrance, this final development of the 1930s requiring some reinforcement to the sub-structure at the sea end of the pier to support the additional loads[7].

WW2[edit]

The pier was 'sectioned' by means of removal of part of the deck structure (both at the promenade end and half way along) to prevent it to being used as a landing stage for enemy invasion forces. Following the war, along with the reinstating of the deck minor renovations followed.

Notable Artists 1960-circa 1980[edit]

Poster for the 1967 Jimi Hendrix Gig

The Pier played host in the 1960s, 70s and 80s to notable artists such as Tom Jones, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Genesis, Ten Years After, Motorhead, Status Quo, The Specials, Alvin Stardust, T-Rex and Pink Floyd. Pink Floyd founder Syd Barrett played his last ever show with the band here on 20 January 1968. A more complete list is available on this wiki here Hastings Pier/Known Performances.

A particularly memorable performance for some was that of Dexy's Midnight Runners around 1980, who left the stage after performing for around 20 minutes due to heckling from the, mainly skinhead, audience.

Triodome[edit]

The Triodome, a white-domed structure was placed upon the pier in 1966 where the bandstand was originally situated and utilised initially to display the Hastings Embroidery for the 900th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings. It later housed a mini-zoo around the mid-1970s[8], then amusements before being sold for scrap, but turned up on Brighton Pier, re-assembled, some weeks later.

Elements of the pier became listed in 1976 and subsequently changed hands on a regular basis with erratic structural renovation input from its subsequent owners leading to considerable deterioration of the structures.

In February of 1980, rumours circulated that the pier was to be sold leading to the chairman of the pier company, John Lester, putting out a statement saying that this was untrue. The pier, however, was sold in April 1983[9].

1999 Closure[edit]

In 1990 it suffered considerable storm damage, requiring a £1 million refurbishment. At this time, the pier offered an indoor market two days per week and various fairground rides from around 1991 once essential repairs were completed[10][11].In 1996 it was put up for sale, but the future of the pier was put in grave doubt as interested buyers were reluctant to invest due to the serious amount of capital needed to improve the unstable structural supports. Financial losses led to the appointment of liquidators Leonard Curtis who closed the pier in 1999. A trust then took over the running of the pier from the absentee owners, Ravenclaw. Further extensive repairs to the decking took place and plans were put in place to update the facilities offered for live performances in the ballroom area, adding a restaurant to the pier[12]. A video showing the Pier in 2001, together with a snippet of plans for extended usage of the structure is below:-

.

Subsequently, the council planned to commence compulsory purchase order proceedings in July of 2010.

Sept. 2010 Inspection[edit]

On the 24th of September 2010, the members of Hastings Pier Trust hosted a visit by English Heritage to inspect the listed structure. This was the last sanctioned visit to the pier before almost all of the pier was destroyed by fire later that year.

A video of the inspection is below

Some stills from the video:

  • Arc of shops on west side of pier

  • The Art Deco frontage

  • Deluxe Amusements sign at entrance

  • Cafe Ceiling Detail

  • View through Cafe Door

  • Ballroom entrance staircases

  • Windows adjacent to staircases

  • Ballroom interior

  • The Pub on the Pier's bar

2010 Fire[edit]

A fire, set deliberately in the Ballroom area, driven by strong winds, swept through the superstructure of the pier at 1 am on the 5th of October 2010[13]. Two teenagers were arrested near the pier to face charges of arson, but the prosecution did not proceed, the youths being released[14].

  • Photograph: Leah Mitchell

  • Photograph: Leah Mitchell

  • Photograph: Leah Mitchell

  • Photograph: Leah Mitchell

  • Photograph: Leah Mitchell

  • Photograph: Leah Mitchell

East Sussex Fire and Rescue released the below video of the fire.

The Hastings Pier Charity oversaw a re​building​ project. In August 2013, a compulsory purchase order was enacted, returning the pier to local ownership allowing a £14m renovation project to commence.

This work was completed by early 2016 with the pier reopening on April 27, 2016, winning the 2017 Stirling Prize for architecture.

On May 21, 2016, the attraction was officially reopened and a ceremony was held with celebrations and a concert by Madness.

This company entered administration in November 2017, with the future of the pier uncertain.

Gulzar Ownership[edit]

Sheikh Abid Gulzar, who also owns Eastbourne Pier, purchased the pier in June 2018, with the pier reopening on July 25, 2018. A short closure occurred in December 2018 for repairs and reopened on April 1, 2019.

2018 Fire[edit]

On the 24th of November 2018, a small fire broke out in the kitchen of the Pavilion Restaurant. Fortunately this was extinguished fairly quickly by a turnout of two pumps from Hastings Fire Brigade.

2020 - 2022[edit]

During July of 2020, the pier re-opened post Covid 19 with an announcement that a new company was taking over management of events; Music First Events. There was a delayed re-opening ceremony where the Mayor cut the ribbon to formally open the venue on the 6th of July 2020. As a rise of increased rental, the management company relinquished its tenancy on the pier, selling off the furnishings and other fixtures that it had installed. Gulzar hoped to re-open the pier under new management in 2023.

Reinstatement of 'mirrored' pavilions[edit]

In October of 2024, the pier's owner, Mr. Gulzar, submitted a planning application to reinstate the pavilion on the pier's foredeck that was lost during the fire; this going some way to restore the appearance of the structure[15]

Images[edit]

References & Notes

  1. ↑ British Newspaper Archive Hastings & St. Leonards Observer 11 December 1869 Pg. 0003
  2. ↑ a b British Newspaper Archive Kent & Sussex Courier 6 February 1874 Pg. 0003
  3. ↑ Drill Halls Hastings Volunteers
  4. ↑ Ion Castro - Looking Back Column
  5. ↑ British Newspaper Archive Illustrated London News 10 August 1872 Pg. 0006
  6. ↑ British Newspaper Archive Hastings & St. Leonards Observer 31 December 1910 Pg. 0007
  7. ↑ British Newspaper Archive Hastings & St. Leonards Observer 25 June 1938 Pg. 0013
  8. ↑ Hastings Borough Council Planning application ref HS/69/00613
  9. ↑ The Hastings Chronicle: 1980 onwards – The Hastings Chronicle, accessdate: 25 January 2022
  10. ↑ Hastings Borough Council Planning application ref HS/FA/91/00244
  11. ↑ Hastings Borough Council Planning application ref HS/LB/91/00135
  12. ↑ Hastings Borough Council Planning application ref HS/FA/01/00253
  13. ↑ Hastings Pier largely destroyed in a huge fire - BBC News, accessdate: 7 October 2020
  14. ↑ Two held after fire destroys Hastings pier | Reuters, accessdate: 7 October 2020
  15. ↑ Hastings Borough Council Planning application ref HS/LB/24/00703
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