The Pier (Including The Pierfoot Pavilion And The Pierhead Pavilion)

The Pier was originally constructed between 1860 and 1862, designed by Robert Rawlinson for J Cliff of Bradford. The structure extends 960 feet in length. The neck of the pier was widened from 15 feet to 30 feet between 1887 and 1889, and the pierhead was enlarged to 105 feet during this same period. The pier consists of 24 spans of longitudinal lattice girders supported by cast iron trestles and carrying timber joists for the wooden decking.

The Pierfoot Pavilion (shoreward pavilion) dates to 1926. It features stucco walls and metal clad roofs. The building comprises a polygonal hall with an oval vestibule on the shoreside, and two square side pavilions joined to it by concave quadrant pilastrades. The vestibule is of 5 bays externally, separated by engaged Corinthian columns over which the entablature breaks. A festooned frieze adorns the structure. The central three bays have glazed double doors with mask keystones. The domed roof has 3 glazed oculus dormers, while the domical main roof has bullseye dormers. Delicate iron cresting in the manner of a balustrade is present. The main roof has a low clerestory with lattice glazing. A plainer cornice carries round the hall. The lower side pavilions have strongly swept mansard roofs with round headed dormers and plain entablatures over Doric pilasters. The pier entrances, in the quadrants, are flanked by engaged Corinthian columns. The detailing is in a subtle and festive neo-Grec style, carried through into the two domed interiors.

The Pierhead Pavilion was designed in 1935 by the Borough Architect. It is a handsome and largely unaltered example of the Nautical Style. The shape is a rectangle with rounded ends, with terraces wrapped around a small concert hall. Frame construction is clad in metal faced Plymax, using almost continuous glazing of the Crittall type. Asphalt terraces and roofing are present. The hall is of four bays with a simple proscenium arch surmounted by a radiating design. From the outside the main effect is strongly horizontal, created by the projecting decks and cornices. Good mahogany doors retain some frosted glass panels with wave patterns.

A Midway Amusement Arcade was added in 1959. The pier is owned by the local authority.