The Claremont Pier is a traditional seaside

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 ...

Lowestoft Lowestoft ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . As the most easterly UK settlement, it is north-east of London, north-east of Ipswich and sou ...

in the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

. Opened in 1903 and named after nearby Claremont Road, the pier was sectioned during the war through fear it could be used for an enemy invasion. It was subsequently restored using a

Bailey Bridge A Bailey bridge is a type of portable, pre-fabricated, truss bridge. It was developed in 1940–1941 by the British for military use during the Second World War and saw extensive use by British, Canadian and American military engineering units. A ...

and used as a training facility for the army.

History

The pier was constructed by the Coast Development Company and opened in 1903, originally as a mooring for Belle steamers. Its name originates from its close proximity to Claremont Road. It was designed by D. Fox and was originally before being extended in 1912 when a T-shaped landing head was added, bringing it to a length of . PS Walton Belle (1897)

Mid 20th century

Steamer services ended at the pier in 1939, with the last use being to bring evacuees from London. As with many piers during the war, it was sectioned in 1940 as a defense measure against the threat of invasion. When that threat had passed, the gap was closed with a

Bailey bridge A Bailey bridge is a type of portable, pre-fabricated, truss bridge. It was developed in 1940–1941 by the British for military use during the Second World War and saw extensive use by British, Canadian and American military engineering units. A ...

and the pier became an Army training centre during

World War II 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 ...

until 1948. By 1948 the pier was abandoned and derelict, and when Lowestoft Town Council refused an offer to purchase it for £4,000 the actor George Studd took it over for a year and began to repair the pier. After repair in the 1950s, a storm in 1962 washed a section of it away, reducing its length to .The Heritage Trail
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Late 20th century

In the 1990s the pier was taken over by the Scott family and, despite restoration work on the shoreward end, much of the pier remains in need of restoration. Facilities at the shoreward end include a nightclub, amusement arcade, children's rides and a restaurant and take-away. Claremont Pier 2016

21st century

In 2005 the pier was put up for sale at £2.8 million but was unsold. In April 2018, the pier was put on the market with an asking price of £2.5m. It remained unsold by January 2020, by then being available at a much reduced asking price of £1.25m. By this time, it had been owned for 50 years by David Scott and his family. The pier was sold during the summer of 2020 with the new owners reopening the pier in July 2020 along with the restaurant and ice cream kiosk. Future plans included a desire to reopen the pier deck and allow people to walk along, with costs estimated at between £1.5m - £3m and requiring a grant or lottery funding to make it viable.

Facilities

The pier includes an ice cream kiosk, coffee shop, fish and chips takeaway and restaurant, amusements arcade, beach bar, sports bar, night club and a brand new roof top terrace.

References

Citations Sources * *

External links

The Claremont Pier - Official Website

BBC Coast - Claremont Pier
Piers in Suffolk Tourist attractions in Suffolk Lowestoft {{Suffolk-geo-stub