Hastings Pier

Hastings Pier

Pier built between 1869 and 1872 by Laidlaw and Son of Glasgow to the designs of Eugenius Birch (1818–1884), the noted Victorian engineer. The pier was constructed at a cost of £23,250 and opened on the first ever August Bank Holiday in 1872, when it was dubbed the 'Peerless Pier' and was among the first iron piers constructed purely as a tourist destination.

The structure comprises cast iron columns on screw piles with a lattice girder framework supporting a wooden deck. The original pier included a pavilion at the seaward end capable of seating up to 2,000 people. In 1885 a landing stage was added to the seaward end, and additional buildings were constructed at the landward end, including a shooting and slot machine gallery (1910–1911), a rifle range and bowling alley (1912), and arcades, shops and a tea room developed by the council after its purchase in 1913. The original pavilion was destroyed by fire in 1917 and replaced in 1922 by The Ballroom, which became a noted music venue from the 1960s onward.

Following closure during the Second World War, when it suffered minor bomb damage, the pier was renovated with the West View and East View solaria added in 1951 and 1956 respectively. In 1966 a domed building called the Triodome was constructed at the approach to the pier on the site of an earlier bandstand which was originally flanked by a pair of curved pavilions dating from the early 20th century. The Triodome housed an embroidery marking the 900th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings. In 1969 it was converted into an amusement arcade and the pavilions became kiosks and shops. The pier was continuously altered throughout the 20th century.

A major fire on 5 October 2010 destroyed most of the superstructure, leaving only the western entrance pavilion standing. The pier was subsequently restored and rebuilt to designs by the architectural practice dRMM between 2013 and 2016, with funding from public, community, and the Hastings Pier and White Rock Trust. The restoration involved conservation or replacement of the supporting cast iron columns, replacement of virtually all the timber decking with West African ekki hardwood, restoration of the surviving curved pavilion from the early 20th-century pair, and the construction of a cross-laminated visitor centre using timber salvaged from the fire. Hastings Pier reopened on 21 May 2016 and was awarded both an RIBA National Award and the Stirling Prize in 2017.