St Leonards Pier, also known as the Palace Pier, was a public pleasure
pier
image:Brighton Pier, Brighton, East Sussex, England-2Oct2011 (1).jpg, Seaside pleasure pier in Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th century.
A pier is a raised structure that rises above a body of ...
in
St Leonards-on-Sea
St Leonards-on-Sea (commonly known as St Leonards) is a town and seaside resort in the Borough of Hastings in East Sussex, England. It has been part of the borough since the late 19th century and lies to the west of central Hastings. The origina ...
, part of the town and
borough
A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely.
History
In the Middle Ag ...
of
Hastings
Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England,
east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...
in
East Sussex
East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Su ...
, England. Opened in 1891 the pier was a direct rival to nearby
Hastings Pier
Hastings Pier is a public pleasure pier in Hastings, East Sussex, England. Built in 1872 and enjoying its prime in the 1930s, it became a popular music venue in the 1960s. The structure suffered major storm damage in 1990, and was closed to the ...
, and during its heyday the pier was a leading tourist attraction, and was described in the 1894
Baedeker
Verlag Karl Baedeker, founded by Karl Baedeker on July 1, 1827, is a German publisher and pioneer in the business of worldwide travel guides. The guides, often referred to simply as " Baedekers" (a term sometimes used to refer to similar works fro ...
travel guide as ''handsome''. The pier was damaged during
WW2
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 opposing ...
and left derelict after the war until purchased by
Hastings Corporation in 1951 who demolished the structure over the next two years.
History
The first plans to build a pier at St Leonards were started in mid-1872, just before the nearby
Hastings Pier
Hastings Pier is a public pleasure pier in Hastings, East Sussex, England. Built in 1872 and enjoying its prime in the 1930s, it became a popular music venue in the 1960s. The structure suffered major storm damage in 1990, and was closed to the ...
was opened.
(Hastings and St Leonards were separate towns at the time)
The ''St Leonards-on-Sea Pier Company'' was set up and the necessary permissions obtained to build a long pier east of the Royal Victoria Hotel. The pier was to have been built by a
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area.
Until the early 1800s, the a ...
company at a cost of £15,000. Consent was required from the St Leonards Commissionaires, who owned the promenade, and this was refused. The Commissionaire who proposed the refusal, Rev J.W. Tottenham, was also a shareholder in the ''Hastings Pier Company''.
Seeing the success of Hastings Pier, plans were again drawn up for a pier at St Leonards in 1886, led by owner of the Royal Victoria Hotel, Richard Reed, and local solicitor Williams Carless, located west of the hotel.
Permission from
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
was obtained under the
General Pier and Harbours Act 1861. Design work and raising of finance was started in early 1877.
Design
The pier was designed by Richard St George-Moore, would later design the
Brighton
Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
and
Swanage
Swanage () is a coastal town and civil parish in the south east of Dorset, England. It is at the eastern end of the Isle of Purbeck and one of its two towns, approximately south of Poole and east of Dorchester. In the 2011 census the civil ...
and
Tenby
Tenby ( cy, Dinbych-y-pysgod, lit=fortlet of the fish) is both a walled seaside town in Pembrokeshire, Wales, on the western side of Carmarthen Bay, and a local government community.
Notable features include of sandy beaches and the Pembroke ...
piers. The long design used steel
piled columns and girders. Unlike most piers, the main pavilion was located near the landward (north) end so entertainment was less likely to be interrupted by adverse weather and horse-drawn carriages could drop patrons off directly at the pavilion.
There was a large open area at the seaward end to provide for further expansion of the facilities at a later date and a small landing stage.
The main pavilion was designed by local architect Frank Humphries
in a semi-
Moorish
The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages.
Moors are not a distinct or se ...
style and could seat 750 people.
Construction
Construction began on 1 March 1988, with the local mayoress, Mrs William Stubbs, present when the first pile was screwed into the ground.
Financial problems delayed construction which were resolved with a low-cost loan of £7,000 from the
South Eastern Railway Company who had recently opened
West St Leonards Station
West St Leonards railway station is on the Hastings line in the south of England and is one of four stations that serve Hastings, East Sussex. It is down the line from London Charing Cross. The station and all trains serving it are operated ...
and hoped the pier would increase passengers to the station. The mayoress inserted the last of 22,500 bolts holding the framework together on 9 October 1890.
The pier was built by Head, Wrightson and Co of
Stockton on Tees using 1,500 tons of iron which was brought in by sea.
It cost £30,000 to build.
Early years
The pier was opened on 28 October 1891 by
Lord and Lady Brassey, who greeted the public whilst the pipers of the Gordons Boys Home played. Unfortunately, due to gale force winds, the seaward end was closed to the public.
During a gale in october 1898, the landing stage, which had had little use apart from the odd
steamer, was washed away. Another gale destroyed the pier's west toll house in February 1899.
The first showing of
moving picture
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
s in the area was on the pier on 7 November 1896.
In 1904 the pavilion became a fashionable lounge called the Kursaal.
American Syndicate
![St](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/St.Leonards_Pier_%282%29.jpg)
On 1 April 1909 an 'American Syndicate' took a lease of the pier. They carried out many improvements and the pier was reopened as the ''American Palace Pier''
on 23 May 1909. Six ornamental kiosks were erected
and a second pavilion was built at the seaward end of the pier in July 1909 for use as a
roller skating
Roller skating is the act of traveling on surfaces with roller skates. It is a recreational activity, a sport, and a form of transportation. Roller rinks and skate parks are built for roller skating, though it also takes place on streets, sid ...
rink.
The pavilion had a steel frame with the upper parts of the walls opening glass and the flooring was maple.
Angling
Angling is a fishing technique that uses a fish hook or "angle" (from Old English ''angol'') attached to a fishing line to tether individual fish in the mouth. The fishing line is usually manipulated via a fishing rod, although rodless techniqu ...
was popular on the pier and the ''Hastings and St Leonards Angling Association'' used the pier as their base. Fishing competitions were frequently held.
John Gardner
John Henry Gardner purchased the pier in August 1917.
He became well known locally for his support for local charities and efforts to make the pier a success.
The music on the pier was well received, in his column for
The Westminster Gazette
''The Westminster Gazette'' was an influential Liberal newspaper based in London. It was known for publishing sketches and short stories, including early works by Raymond Chandler, Anthony Hope, D. H. Lawrence, Katherine Mansfield, and Saki, ...
(7 April 1923),
Aldous Huxley
Aldous Leonard Huxley (26 July 1894 – 22 November 1963) was an English writer and philosopher. He wrote nearly 50 books, both novels and non-fiction works, as well as wide-ranging essays, narratives, and poems.
Born into the prominent Huxley ...
surmised that during the winter months more good orchestral music could be heard on St Leonards pier than in the
West End.
Although popular, the pier wasn't a financial success. Almost bankrupt, Gardner offered the pier to Hastings Corporation for £9,000 in 1927. The Corporation declined on the grounds that refurbishment of the pier was needed at an estimated cost of £21,000. In 1933 the debenture holders put their shares up for sale.
Lannon Brothers
In 1933 the pier was purchased by two brothers from London, David and Philip Lannon. Major changes were made and the pier reopened as the ''New Palace Pier'' in March 1934
with a new
Art Deco
Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
frontage.
To accommodate tourists, well known bands were hired, a bridge congress was held and wrestling was staged.
The pier hosted
Chipperfields Wonder Zoo in 1935, which claimed to be ''‘the greatest collection of wild and rare animals, birds and reptiles ever seen on the South Coast’''.
The Lannon Brothers tried to sell the pier in late 1938 at an auction in London. The highest bid was £34,750, which was below the reserve price.
44,000 people visited the pier over the 1939
August Bank Holiday
A bank holiday is a national public holiday in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and the Crown Dependencies. The term refers to all public holidays in the United Kingdom, be they set out in statute, declared by royal proclamation or held ...
, just before the outbreak of
WW2
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 opposing ...
.
WW2
The pier was requisition by the military in September 1939
and the centre section removed to prevent its use in the case of an enemy invasion.
The structure suffered damage during a bombing raid in October 1940, and was further damaged by a gale in February 1943.
Further damage was caused by a fire in March 1944. Canadian soldiers were blamed after it was rumoured that one of the soldiers has lit a flare which had drifted onto the pier.
Demolition
After the end of the war the owners made no attempt to repair the pier.
Hastings Corporation purchased the pier from the Lannon Brothers in January 1951 for £1,000
and began demolishing it in February that year.
The structure was further damaged by a gale on 13 March with the seward end collapsing into the sea. Most of the demolition was completed in mid-1952. Some piles remained, which were removed in the summer of 1953 using explosives
by the
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...
of the
Territorial Army.
In August 1979 shingle movement exposed 4 piles from the pier. These were removed by Hastings Council as they were a hazard.
Legacy
In October 2017 Hastings Mayor, Judy Rogers, and local historian Steve Peak unveiled an information plate on the promenade to mark the site of the pier.
References
Bibliography
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External links
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St Leonards seen from the skiesHastings Observer
The ''Hastings & St. Leonards Observer'', commonly known as just the ''Hastings Observer'', is an English weekly tabloid newspaper, published every Friday since 1859 in Hastings, East Sussex.
History
First published in 1859, The Observer is the ...
{{Hastings
Buildings and structures in Hastings
Piers in Sussex