Southend Pier

Common card · No. 299510

Southend Pier is a major landmark in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, United Kingdom. Extending 1.33 miles (2.14 km) into the Thames Estuary, it is the longest pleasure pier in the world. The bill to build the new pier, to replace a previous timber jetty, received royal assent as the Southend Pier Act 1829 (10 Geo. 4. c. xlix) in May 1829 with construction starting in July 1829. The timber pier was replaced by an iron pier that opened to the public in August 1889. The Southend Pier Railway, opened in the early 1890s, was the first pier railway in the country. The pier played a role through both of the world wars, such as during World War I when ships housing German prisoners of war were moored off the pierhead. In the Second World War, the pier was taken over by the Royal Navy and was renamed HMS Leigh, closing to the public in September 1939. Following the war, around six million people visited the pier in 1949, exceeding pre-war visitor numbers, with new attractions opening during the 1950s. A...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Southend_Pier_Autumn_2007.jpg: Damian Dukarski The original uploader was Dammmmian at English Wikipedia. derivative work: SilkTork, CC BY-SA 3.0