Worthing Pier is 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
Worthing
Worthing () is a seaside town in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 111,400 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Brighton and Hov ...
,
West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ar ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. Designed by Sir
Robert Rawlinson
Sir Robert Rawlinson KCB (28 February 1810 – 31 May 1898) was an English engineer and sanitarian.
Early life
He was born at Bristol. His father was a mason and builder at Chorley, Lancashire, and he himself began his engineering educatio ...
, it was opened on 12 April 1862 and remains open to the public. The pier originally was a simple promenade deck long and wide. In 1888 the pier was upgraded with the width increased to and the pier head increased to for a 650-seat pavilion to be built. It is a Grade II
listed building
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 ...
structure.
The pier has been named Pier of the Year by 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 ...
on two occasions, first in 2006 and again in 2019.
History
By 1894 a
steam ship
A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...
began operation between Worthing Pier and the
Chain Pier in
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 ...
, twelve miles to the east. Over the Easter weekend that year 4 year old Archie Miles, separated from his promenading family, managed to unwittingly stow away on board setting off a police hunt and was only reunited with his frantic parents after a night in the workhouse at Brighton and a telegram to his grandparents in Mayfield.
The first moving picture show in Worthing was seen on the pier on 31 August 1896 and is commemorated today by a blue plaque.
In March 1913, on Easter Monday, the pier was damaged in a storm, with only the southern end remaining, completely cut off from land. Later, it was affectionately named 'Easter Island'. A rebuilt pier was opened on 29 May 1914.
In September 1933 the pier and all but the northern pavilion were destroyed by fire. In 1935 the remodelled
Streamline Moderne
Streamline Moderne is an international style of Art Deco architecture and design that emerged in the 1930s. Inspired by aerodynamic design, it emphasized curving forms, long horizontal lines, and sometimes nautical elements. In industrial design ...
pier was opened, and it is this that remains today.
Worthing Pier was sectioned in 1940 for fear of German invasion after the British retreat at
Dunkirk
Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.[Worthing Borough Council
Worthing Borough Council is a district council in the county of West Sussex, based in the borough of Worthing. The borough council was created in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 out of the existing Worthing Municipal Council, which also ...]
(formerly Worthing Corporation).
The Pavilion Theatre and Denton Cafe is situated at the northern, land end of the pier; at the middle is the 1935 amusement arcade, which from 1956 - 2006 carried a distinctive 'New Amusements' sign that was featured on the cover of the album ''
To See the Lights'' (1996) by
Britpop
Britpop was a mid-1990s British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. It produced brighter, catchier alternative rock, partly in reaction to the popularity of the darker lyrical themes of the US-led grunge music and to the ...
band
Gene
In biology, the word gene (from , ; "...Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a ba ...
. Since 2006 the sign has changed from 'New Amusements' to 'Pier Amusements'.
The Southern Pavilion (the sea end) is currently home to tearoom and function area, having undergone extensive renovation between September 2013 and the re-opening in April 2014, having previously been used as a nightclub named The Pier, which opened on 20 December 2007, and prior to that a cafe, dance hall and to house a model railway layout. It can be hired for weddings and is used as a live music venue.
Since 2008, Worthing Pier has been the home of the annual
International Birdman competition, which moved to Worthing after it could no longer safely be held on the
Bognor Regis Pier
Bognor Regis Pier is a pier located in the seaside resort of Bognor Regis, West Sussex. The pier opened on 5 May 1865 to the design of Sir Charles Fox and J. W. Wilson. Initially constructed with a length of 1000 ft (305m), it now stands ...
at
Bognor Regis
Bognor Regis (), sometimes simply known as Bognor (), is a town and seaside resort in West Sussex on the south coast of England, south-west of London, west of Brighton, south-east of Chichester and east of Portsmouth. Other nearby towns ...
, some to the west.
However, Birdman competitions were held in both towns from 2010.
On 24 February 2016, it was announced that the Birdman will be cancelled for that year and that the Worthing Town Centre Initiative (WTCI) were unsure whether it would return in 2017.
In November 2009 during strong winds, two Worthing kite surfers became the first people to
kitesurf
Kiteboarding or kitesurfing is a sport that involves using wind power with a large power kite to pull a rider across a water, land, or snow surface. It combines aspects of paragliding, surfing, windsurfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, and wak ...
over the pier.
Awards received
*2006 -
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 ...
- Pier of the Year
*2019 -
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 ...
- Pier of the Year
References
External links
History of Worthing Pier
{{Piers in the United Kingdom
Piers in Sussex
Pier fires
Buildings and structures in Worthing
Grade II listed buildings in West Sussex
Streamline Moderne architecture in the United Kingdom
Tourist attractions in West Sussex
Art Deco architecture in England