St Anne's Pier

St Anne's Pier, built in 1885, with additions of 1904 and 1910, was significantly altered and reduced to about half its original length following a fire circa 1978. It is constructed of cast iron with a wooden deck, and features shelters and pavilions of cast iron, wood and glass, topped with metal-clad roofs. The entrance pavilion, dating from 1910, is built of red brick, with some mock half-timbering and a red tiled roof.

The main pier structure comprises four parallel rows of cast-iron columns set into the beach, with an inner and outer row on each side, inclined inwards. The inner rows are linked by segmentally-arched girders, featuring geometrical openwork in the spandrels. The outer rows are now linked by 20th-century latticed girders, reinforced by further 20th-century girders running close to the original inner girders. The wooden deck is now largely enclosed by a modern amusement arcade, incorporating an original pair of cantilevered shelters, which have been altered to serve as kiosks, approximately halfway along the pier. The exposed deck, protected by attractive geometrical cast-iron railings, widens to form two hexagonal platforms; the inner platform contains a pair of lozenge-shaped pavilions (undergoing restoration in 1991), and the outer platform has a pair of cantilevered shelters. All shelters and pavilions have panelled and glazed screen walls and steeply-swept roofs with tall metal finials.

The entrance pavilion is in a vernacular-revival style and is symmetrical, featuring a tall two-storey central section and lower two-storey side wings. The central section has half-timbering to the first floor, a projected gabled bay with an oriel, and an octagonal lantern on the roof. The side wings have hipped roofs with half-dormers featuring shaped gables. The ground floor now incorporates a modern loggia with shops at each end.

St Anne's Pier is an important element within a group of promenade structures, including a bandstand, a lifeboat monument, an octagonal pavilion, and two shelters.