Hastings pier is in a sorry state, but in its prime, it was a centrepiece for
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In the 19th century ‘pleasure piers’ became immensely popular attractions and a must-have for every Victorian seaside resort worth its salt. When construction started on Hastings Pier in December 1869, its £23,250 cost was an enormous local investment as the town competed with other popular south coast resorts such as Brighton and Eastbourne, which already had piers of their own, to attract tourism. Designed by the same engineer, Eugenius Birch, Hastings Pier was modelled on Brighton’s already successful West Pier but with the added attraction of an eastern-style pavilion at its far end. It was opened amid much celebration on 5th August 1872, Britain’s first ever bank holiday, when in typical bank-holiday style it rained hard all day! The pier proved a real success and, along with improved rail links to the town, greatly boosted Hastings’ popularity with day-trippers and holidaymakers. Initially the pier was a simple but elegant 910ft long promenade leading to the pavilion, its sole building until 1908. Like other early pleasure piers it was designed to allow visitors to walk its length and enjoy the health-giving benefits of sea-air, and a novel view of the town. Entertainments included performances by popular artistes, and a paddle-steamer which ran trips to Eastbourne, Brighton and even Boulogne, a service that continued until the Second World War. No other attractions were added until 1910, when a shooting-gallery and bowling alley were built, the dome of which can still be seen today. The pier remained very popular, attracting up to 30,000 visitors on busy bank holidays. A key event in its history was the selling of ‘the apron’ section (originally known as the ‘parade extension’) by the Hastings Pier Company to Hastings Council in 1914. At the considerable sum of £7,100 it was bought as part of an ‘Improvement Scheme’ adopted by the council (not so different from our current ‘Regeneration’), which aimed to turn the White Rock area into the centre of the town’s tourist attractions. The council made many improvements over the following years, but on 15 July 1917, the much-praised pavilion was destroyed in a huge blaze, believed to have been sparked by a cigarette following a concert held for Canadian troops stationed near the town. It took five years to restore the damage and build a new pavilion, which still stands today and was at first unflatteringly likened to an aircraft hangar. In the early 1930s the apron buildings were revamped in art-deco style, while the shore and seaward pavilions were also greatly improved. The 1930s really were the heyday of the pier: there was dancing every night, daytime concerts, stunt diving, speedboat trips and even a searchlight fitted to the end of the pier for youngsters engaged in night-time swimming. But the Second World War brought fears of invasion and caused it to be closed, strewn with barbed wire and a large section removed to isolate it from the shore. Despite a brief renaissance during the 1950s, the post-war years saw the beginning of a long slow decline for the south coast holiday resorts, reflected in the loss in popularity and lack of upkeep of their already ageing piers. New attractions (including long-since removed ‘Triodome’, in 1966 to mark 900 years since the Norman invasion) failed to stop this decline accelerating through the 1960s and 1970s as holidaymakers went elsewhere. Although still a popular venue for rock and pop bands, the pier was struggling financially and changed ownership a number of times, with the Council and the Pier Company failing to maintain the structure. However, while the structure deteriorated out of sight, there were still a number of thriving businesses on deck. The Who, Jimi Hendrix, the Hollies, Pink Floyd, Gene Vincent and the Rolling Stones all performed to huge crowds - way larger than today’s fire regulations would allow. In the 1980s, the real rot set in. The Pier Company sold out in 1983 because revenue was falling while maintenance costs were rising. It was sold for £196,000 to Hamberglow Ltd, a company that relaunched as the new Hastings Pier Company in 1985. In 1989, Hamberglow confirmed that grants would be needed to keep the business viable. The Pier Preservation Society was started in 1990, hoping to restore the 1930s art deco frontage, but wound up three years later as it proved impossible to secure a large enough grant for repairs. |
In 1996, after an application for Millennium Funding was refused, the pier was put up for sale. No acceptable offers were made and after a poor summer season, it closed in October 1999. Storms just a week later caused considerable damage and the creditors, meeting three days later, heard that the company debt was £160,000. The estimate for restoring the long-neglected structure was upwards of £6 million. Although the National Piers Society urged the council to form a trust, which would have made the pier eligible for lottery cash, it didn’t happen. August 2000, and the last change of hands: the pier was bought from the receiver by Andorra-based millionaire Ian Stuart. Major above-deck renovation began before the sale was even complete. But while Stuart injected cash into the public face of the pier, the supporting structure continued to crumble. In 2004, he moved ownership to another company he owned: Ravenclaw Investments Inc, registered in Panama. The final warning of today’s crisis came in January 2005, when the council received a report prepared by an engineer on behalf of a potential purchaser, showing repair work costing up to £1.2 million was needed. From then on, Hastings Council attempted to set up a compulsory regime of maintenance, but communication with Ravenclaw proved difficult. Last year in April, a council officer inspecting the pier touched part of the structure - and it fell off. Warning notices went up and improvement notices served on Ravenclaw, demanding a full structural survey (still not carried out).. Soon after a report from specialist engineers warned that the pier structure was unsafe and, in the light that there was a major event planned for the next day, the council immediately closed the pier beyond the apron. Then began a ten-month series of legal clashes over safety and financial losses suffered by tenants. Despite an injunction to keep the apron open, in July last year Ravenclaw withdrew all security cover from the site, and Hastings Council took over responsibility. In a steadily worsening situation, the pier tenants kept going until the end of October, but finally gave up on Halloween. The pier closed on 1st November 2006. Hastings Council is funding a structural survey of the pier this summer, with a report that will determine its future due in September. If indeed the sum needed is near the £6 million estimated, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a tragic re-enactment of the fate of Brighton’s West Pier, where finding a means of saving it took too long, and failed. Since a crowded public meeting at the White Rock Theatre last November, a group is looking into taking on ownership of the pier and raising of funds from grants. The first aim of Friends of Hastings Pier is to secure the reopening in the short term, while preparing to take over ownership if all else fails. At least for now - at the time of writing - employer Stylus plans to reopen its bingo hall in July. The company is spending £200,000 on repairs to the seaward end of the pier, backed by a £50,000 grant from Hastings Council. |
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