Fleetwood Pier

In 1892 Richard Edmundson, the Town Commissioner, made the first proposal for a pier at Fleetwood but the plan was opposed by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company and others who feared that it would be a hazard to shipping and subsequently failed. A scheme to build a pier at the end of Bold Street also failed. In 1899 a plan by the Fleetwood Pier Company to build a pier 1290 feet long was approved by Fleetwood UDC but once again concerns were raised as to its potential danger to shipping. The Company submitted a revised prospectus and plan for a pier 700 feet long, extending from Fielden Esplanade which was approved in 1906.

Revised plans to a length of 492 feet were submitted by T G Lumb and approved in 1909. Built for the Fleetwood Victoria Pier Company Fleetwood Pier opened on Whit Monday in 1910 being the last seaside pleasure pier to be built in England at the end of almost a century of such construction beginning with Ryde Pier in 1813. Originally the pier's structure consisted of vertical cast iron columns braced diagonally by tie rods and horizontally by angle irons. The original buildings comprised four kiosks with graceful roofs and a large curved-roof pavilion added in 1911. Further improvements took place in 1930 and 1938.

In 1952 the pier was badly damaged by fire. The pierhead deck was rebuilt in reinforced concrete with transverse and longitudinal concrete beams on five rows of columns. The seaward end of the neck was also rebuilt in reinforced concrete, on four rows of columns.  The wide landward end of the pier was again rebuilt in 1972 using galvanised steel lattice girders. A new single storey pavilion housed amusements, and a bar and a cinema were also built at this time.

On 8 September 2008 the pier was again destroyed by fire. Wyre Borough Council, citing safety concerns, announced that the pier would be completely demolished and on 10 October 2008, confirmed that the pier would not be rebuilt.

Reference           Martin Easdown: Lancashire's Seaside Piers: Also Featuring the Piers of the River Mersey.

Image                Fylde and Wyre Antiquarian