North Pier, Promenade, Blackpool

THE NORTH PIER BLACKPOOL - In December 1861, the advisability of erecting a pier was taken into practical consideration, and the following year a Company was formed, the initial capital being £12,000. The plans of Mr E Birch CE were adopted, and he was also appointed engineer of the scheme. The tender of Messrs Laidlaw of Glasgow was accepted, the amount of the contract being £11,540, and a small sum was paid for foreshore rights and for ground beyond the foreshore water mark. Captain Francis Preston formally inaugurated the new undertaking by driving the first pile into the marl on 27 June 1862. The works received considerable damage the following October, and it was thought advisable to raise the height three feet above the altitude first decided upon; this necessitated an outlay of an additional £2,000. At the time the total length of the structure was 1,405 feet. On the promenade deck were erected several ornamental shelters and refreshment houses, and lamps were placed along the whole length on either side. In 1867 an extension or iron jetty was constructed at a cost of £6,000. In the present entrance was constructed at a cost of £2,700 and in 1874 the Company arranged with the erecting contractors to enlarge the Pierhead by putting out two wings from the designs of Mr Birch, thus adding to the already vast expenditure on the North Pier of £14,000. In the pavilion concerts are frequently held, and all the star artists of the day perform from time to time. [Note accompanying a view of the Pier woven in silk by E Wilson Macclesfield. about 1880]