Llandudno Pier is a

Grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

pier in the

seaside resort A seaside resort is a resort town, town, village, or hotel that serves as a Resort, vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requirements, suc ...

Llandudno Llandudno (, ) is a seaside resort, town and community in Conwy County Borough, Wales, located on the Creuddyn peninsula, which protrudes into the Irish Sea. In the 2011 UK census, the community – which includes Gogarth, Penrhyn Bay, Craigsi ...

North Wales , area_land_km2 = 6,172 , postal_code_type = Postcode , postal_code = LL, CH, SY , image_map1 = Wales North Wales locator map.svg , map_caption1 = Six principal areas of Wales common ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. At , the pier is the longest in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

and the fifth longest in England and Wales. In 2005, was voted "Pier of the Year 2005" by the members of the

National Piers Society The National Piers Society (NPS) is a registered charity in the United Kingdom dedicated to promoting and sustaining interest in the preservation and continued enjoyment of seaside piers. It was founded in 1979, with Sir John Betjeman as the fi ...

. At the end of the pier is a deep-water landing stage, completely rebuilt for the third time in 1969, which is used by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company for occasional excursions to

Douglas, Isle of Man Douglas ( gv, Doolish, ) is the capital and largest town of the Isle of Man, with a population of 26,677 (2021). It is located at the mouth of the River Douglas, and on a sweeping bay of . The River Douglas forms part of the town's harbour ...

, and for an annual visit of the '' PS Waverley'' or the MV ''Balmoral'' preserved steamers. The June 2007 sailings of the Balmoral were rescheduled to start at Menai Bridge Pier, after it emerged that Llandudno Pier's Landing Stage was no longer safe to use. The Landing Stage was rebuilt in 2012 and the MV Balmoral called there, the first ship since 2006, on 2 July 2015. In the present day the landing stage is no longer used for steamers but has its use as a platform for anglers to fish off the end of the pier and is not accessible to the general public.

Location

Located on the coast of

North Wales , area_land_km2 = 6,172 , postal_code_type = Postcode , postal_code = LL, CH, SY , image_map1 = Wales North Wales locator map.svg , map_caption1 = Six principal areas of Wales common ...

between Bangor and Colwyn Bay, the pier is very unusual in that it has two entrances, one on the promenade at North Parade and the other, the original entrance, on Happy Valley Road (Which is no longer used and is locked permanently) Between the two entrances is the

Grand Hotel A grand hotel is a large and luxurious hotel, especially one housed in a building with traditional architectural style. It began to flourish in the 1800s in Europe and North America. Grand Hotel may refer to: Hotels Africa * Grande Hotel Beir ...

History

Early wooden pier

The pier had its origins in a much shorter pier of just built on 16 wooden piles, opened in 1858 by the St George's Harbour and Railway Company, which had just completed its branch line from Llandudno to Conwy via a junction with the Chester and Holyhead Railway near the present

Llandudno Junction railway station , symbol_location = gb , symbol = rail , image = Llandudno Junction railway station March 2018 03.jpg , caption = Llandudno Junction railway station (March 2018) , borough = Llandudno Junction, Conwy County Borough , country = Wales , coo ...

to which the branch was soon diverted. That short pier was built to protect the rights of its owners to a much more ambitious scheme to build a major port in Llandudno Bay. Unfortunately, the pier was severely damaged in the

Royal Charter Storm The ''Royal Charter'' Storm (also known as the Great storm of 1859) of 25 and 26 October 1859 was considered to be the most severe storm to hit the Irish Sea in the 19th century, which caused the loss of 223 ships and 800 people in British coastal waters. Although repaired and used for a further 16 years, the pier was too short and could only be used by steam ships at high tide.

Construction

The present pier was designed by civil engineers Sir James William Brunlees (1816-92, knighted 1886) and Alexander McKerrow (1837-1920) and built by the contractor John Dixon for the Llandudno Pier Company. After the original designs were approved on 29 May 1876 by Parliament, the town's Improvement Commissioners and the Mostyn Estate, revised designs for the ornamental ironwork and elaborate kiosks were worked on by the architects

Charles Henry Driver Charles Henry Driver FRIBA (23 March 1832 – 27 October 1900) was a significant British architect of the Victorian era, with a reputation for pioneering use of ornamental iron work for which he was seen as a leading authority. Biography Driver ...

(1832-1900 ) and Charles H. Rew for Brunlees and McKerrow, in close collaboration with the Glasgow Elmbank foundry. The new pier was reported to have cost around £30,000 () to construct. The first pile was driven by Lord Authur Hill-Trevor on 16 September 1876, initiating the start of a 10 month long construction period. By this time, of pier had already been completed.

Opening

The pier was opened to the public on 1 August 1877 by director Dr Nicol. Although not completely finished by this time, the pier directors considered it was sufficiently complete to allow public access. According to The North Wales Chronicle, upon opening, "a throng of visitors flocked upon it and it presented quite a lively appearance". The first steamboat to land passengers on the new pier was the Prince Authur, which arrived in Llandudno at the start of May 1878.

Operation

The pier sustained its first damage during a heavy storm in November 1878, when the landing stage under the pier sustained light damage. The landwards extension to the same design, still in deep water and also supported on iron columns, was opened in 1884 and a new landing stage was added in 1891. Towards the end of 1907, the owners announced intentions through an application to the

Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for International Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...

to widen the pier, extend it by sea

dredging Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing da ...

and to construct pavilions and a tramway. By 1908, the pier would often be overcrowded during the summer season, causing inconvenience to passengers boarding and alighting from

steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...

s. By the start of 1910, the pier was very profitable, allowing the directors to carry out extensive improvements to the pier at a cost of £10,000 (), which included widening most of the pier. Reports suggested that neighbouring towns were envious of the success of the pier and the revenue it was bringing to Llandudno. Concerts in the pier's pavilion were very popular and profitable, with an average surplus of approximately £25 () reported in November 1910, despite expenses of around £620 () which included financing a music festival.

20th century

In 1969, the landing stage was totally rebuilt in concrete and steel, which enabled its use by the largest Isle of Man Steamers then in use. By 1972, the pier was well known for day trips by ferry to the Isle of Man, although at this time could itself boast pavilion concerts, vintage car rides and various amusements. The wooden decking has been extensively renewed in recent years, and the superstructure is maintained systematically. In March 2015, the pier was put up for sale by then owners Cuerden Leisure, who reported that there was "strong interest" from investors in the £4.5m pier. It was one of three piers being sold by the company, the others being

Central Pier, Blackpool Central Pier is one of three piers in the town of Blackpool, England, and was built in 1868. Location The pier is central in that it is located between the other two, but it was close to the site of the now-defunct Blackpool Central railway sta ...

and

South Pier, Blackpool South Pier (originally known as Victoria Pier) is one of three piers in Blackpool, England. Located on South Promenade on the South Shore, the pier contains a number of amusement and adrenaline rides. It opens each year from March to November an ...

, although Llandudno Pier was attracting the strongest interest. The pier was purchased in May 2015 by leisure entrepreneur Adam Williams for the £4.5m asking price and his company Tir Prince Leisure Group, after having attracted a large amount of interest.

The Pier Pavilion

Until the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the public were charged admission to access the pier. Admission allowed the promenaders access to musical entertainment from a bandstand at the pierhead. A small orchestra was established in 1877. The notable French musician, Jules Rivière was appointed to take charge of the orchestra in 1887. The orchestral performances moved to the Pier Pavilion, built on land adjacent to the main entrance from the promenade, which opened in September 1886. Rivière's Orchestra at the Llandudno Pier Pavilion trebled in size to symphony proportions. The young Henry Wood came to Llandudno to observe the then elderly Rivière at work. The pavilion was destroyed by fire in 1994 and not rebuilt.

Cultural references

Llandudno Pier is known to be chosen for Victorian and Edwardian seaside filming locations, such as the 2002 TV production of '' The Forsyte Saga''. It also featured on a 2013 advert for Volkswagen. It is the setting of an episode in

Arnold Bennett Enoch Arnold Bennett (27 May 1867 – 27 March 1931) was an English author, best known as a novelist. He wrote prolifically: between the 1890s and the 1930s he completed 34 novels, seven volumes of short stories, 13 plays (some in collaboratio ...

's 1911 comic novel ''The Card''.

Awards

*2005 —

— Pier of the Year

References

Citations Sources * *

External links

The history of Llandudno PierLlandudno Pier Photo GalleryLlandudno Pier Website
Piers in Wales Buildings and structures in Llandudno Grade II* listed buildings in Conwy County Borough Charles Henry Driver buildings Grade II* listed piers {{coord, 53, 19, 54, N, 3, 49, 30, W, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title