Royal Pier, Aberystwyth
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The Royal Pier, Aberystwyth is a pleasure
pier A pier is a raised structure that rises above a body of water and usually juts out from its shore, typically supported by piling, piles or column, pillars, and provides above-water access to offshore areas. Frequent pier uses include fishing, b ...
located in
Aberystwyth Aberystwyth (; ) is a University town, university and seaside town and a community (Wales), community in Ceredigion, Wales. It is the largest town in Ceredigion and from Aberaeron, the county's other administrative centre. In 2021, the popula ...
,
Ceredigion Ceredigion (), historically Cardiganshire (, ), is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the West Wales, west of Wales. It borders Gwynedd across the River Dyfi, Dyfi estuary to the north, Powys to the east, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire t ...
,
Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
. The first pier to open in Wales (1865), after a series of heavy storms it is now a much shortened version of its originally constructed length of .


Construction

In the health conscious
Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...
, Aberystwyth had developed quickly as a holiday resort. Lying at the centre of the
West Wales West Wales () is a region of Wales. It has various definitions, either covering Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire, which historically comprised the Welsh principality of ''Deheubarth'', and an alternative definition is to include Swa ...
coastline, with
Cardigan Bay Cardigan Bay () is a large inlet of the Irish Sea, indenting the west coast of Wales between Bardsey Island, Gwynedd in the north, and Strumble Head, Pembrokeshire at its southern end. It is the largest bay in Wales. Geography Cardigan Bay ha ...
beyond, it was billed as the "Biarritz of Wales." Commissioned by a consortium of local business people under the name of the Aberystwyth Pier Promenade Company, the pier was designed and constructed by noted pier-engineer
Eugenius Birch Eugenius Birch (20 June 1818 – 8 January 1884) was a 19th-century English seaside architect, civil engineer and noted builder of promenade-piers. Biography Both Eugenius and his elder brother, John Brannis (1813-1862), were born in Glouceste ...
, in conjunction with local contractors J. E. Dowson. The structure had iron rod braces, cast iron piles and supporting columns concreted into the rock. Total construction costs were £13,600.


Operations

Opened on
Good Friday Good Friday, also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday, or Friday of the Passion of the Lord, is a solemn Christian holy day commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary (Golgotha). It is observed during ...
in 1865, the pier attracted 7,000 toll paying visitors on its first day of opening, the same day that the
Cambrian Railways The Cambrian Railways owned of Railway track, track over a large area of mid Wales. The system was an amalgamation of a number of railways that were incorporated in 1864, 1865 and 1904. The Cambrian connected with two larger railways with c ...
line from
Machynlleth Machynlleth () is a market town, community and electoral ward in Powys, Wales and within the historic boundaries of Montgomeryshire. It is in the Dyfi Valley at the intersection of the A487 and the A489 roads. At the 2001 Census it had a po ...
officially opened. However, this was the high point of the pier under its original owners, when seven months later in January 1866, a severe storm washed away a section at the seaward end. The original owners could not afford to replace the lost section, and so sold the pier in 1872. The new owners replaced the lost section with a new thinner section, and built a new head gallery and refreshments stall. At the end of the 19th century, a new glass
pavilion In architecture, ''pavilion'' has several meanings; * It may be a subsidiary building that is either positioned separately or as an attachment to a main building. Often it is associated with pleasure. In palaces and traditional mansions of Asia ...
designed by Gordon Croydon-Marks was added at the landward end. Erected by Bourne Engineering & Electrical Company, it consisted of three aisles surmounted by glass domed roofs, with the iron work decorated in a Gothic-style. Opened by the
Princess of Wales Princess of Wales (; ) is a title used since the 14th century by the wife of the Prince of Wales. The Princess is the apparent future queen consort, as "Prince of Wales" is a title reserved by custom for the heir apparent to the Monarchy of the ...
on 26 July 1896, the pavilion could accommodate 3,000 people. On the night of Friday 14 January 1938, a storm with estimated wind speeds of up to struck the town. Most of the promenade was destroyed, along with of the pier, reducing its length by half. Many properties on the seafront were damaged, with every property from the King's Hall north affected, those on Victoria Terrace having suffered the greatest damage. Work commenced on a protective
coffer dam A cofferdam is an enclosure built within a body of water to allow the enclosed area to be pumped out or drained. This pumping creates a dry working environment so that the work can be carried out safely. Cofferdams are commonly used for constru ...
until 1940, with total costs of construction coming to £70,000 (equivalent to £2.5m today). During
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
it was in such a poor state of repair that the pier remained closed, as repairing it was deemed a security risk. Repaired but not improved, by the 1970s the remaining neck was again in such a bad state of repair that it was closed. In 1979, Aberystwyth Royal Pier was purchased by the Don Leisure Group, and in 1986 they spent £250,000 on improvements to the remainder of the pier.
Planning permission Planning permission or building permit refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. House building permits, for example, are subject to buil ...
was granted for the construction of a new pier alongside the original, but the project never came to fruition. A new
snooker Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sport played on a rectangular Billiard table#Snooker and English billiards tables, billiards table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six Billiard table#Pockets 2, pockets: one at each corner and ...
hall and restaurant were opened in 1987, in a refurbished pavilion. Today, Royal Pier consists of an ice-cream shop, a pub, a snooker hall, a restaurant, an amusement arcade centre and also a nightclub.


References


External links


Aberystwyth Royal Pier
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aberystwyth Royal Pier Buildings and structures in Aberystwyth Piers in Wales Gothic Revival architecture in Wales Works by George Croydon Marks 1865 establishments in Wales