Promenade Pier, Lytham

The Pier, which was designed by Eugenius Birch as the first pleasure attraction in Lytham, was opened by Lady Eleanor Cecily Clifton on Easter Monday, 17 April 1865. It was 914 feet long and with continuous seating and gas lighting all along its deck.

When the project was fairly matured the whole of the proposed shares were taken up without as much as the issue of a prospectus or the publication of a single advertisement. The share list having been completed, the provisional directors placed themselves in communication with Eugenius Birch, Esq, C.E., of Parliament-street, London, the engineer of the Blackpool and other piers, and he submitted a design which met with the approval of the directors who invited tenders for the construction of the work. That of Messrs. Laidlaw and Sons, of Glasgow, Edinburgh, and London, the contractors for the erection of the Blackpool pier, and also for those at Deal, Brighton West, Eastbourne, and Hastings, all of which were designed by Mr- Birch, was the lowest, and it was accepted, and directions were given for the work to be proceeded with without loss of time.

The pier will be in a line with Dicconson-terrace, and, when completed, it will be an ornament to the place as well as a convenience to visitors- It will be 914 feet long, extending from the promenade to low water mark, at neap tides and to within 150 feet of low water mark at spring tides. The pier will, mainly, be on the same principle as the one at Blackpool. It will be built on piles, hollow cylindrical columns of cast iron. To the base of each column is attached one helix of a screw. This is screwed four feet six inches into the clay, below the sand. The piles are in clusters and are placed at every sixty-six feet. On these piles wrought-iron latticed girders, with ornamental entablatures will be fixed. The clusters of the columns or piles are braced together, forming equal triangular trusses. Every 250 feet along the pier there will be a recess on each side, and in each there will be an ornamental lamp lighted with gas. At the head of the pier will be waiting rooms for visitors. Off the head of the pier, and a distinct structure from it, will be a dolphin or landing stage for the accommodation of passengers arriving at or leaving Lytham by steamers. The dolphin will communicate with the pier by a staircase.

The entrance to the pier will be by ornamental gates, somewhat of the style and character of those at the new pier at Brighton West, and much more elegant than those of Blackpool pier.  The entrance to the Lytham pier will also be more imposing than that at Blackpool, as instead of the steep descent from the promenade at the latter place, there will be a slight ascent, so that the entrance will be seen to advantage a considerable distance. There will be a tollhouse, also of an ornamental character. Within the gates there will be a circular area of 150 feet wide; then the pier proper will be 18 feet wide, except opposite the recesses where it will be, of course, of greater width. A seat will be fixed on each side, the entire length of the pier, for the accommodation of visitors. The structure will be entirely of iron, except the roadway, which will be planked. It was determined to have no public demonstration, in connection with the pier, until its completion. On the occasion, however, of commencing the work, on Wednesday last, the directors of the company screwed the first pile. … [The Preston Guardian Saturday, 11 June  1864]

The structure is very much less and of lighter build than that at Blackpool, arising from the circumstance that Lytham is a less exposed part of the coast. It is also considerably shorter than the Southport Pier, being only about 900 feet long. It is about 18 or 20 feet wide, and will accommodate about 5,000 persons. The entrance is flanked by two octagonal gatehouses, a part of which is arranged as a waiting room, and there is also a waiting room at the pier head. There is a large asphalted area about 150 feet wide at the entrance to the pier, and the approach is separated from the beach by some elegant palisading. The pier stands on cylindrical iron columns, arranged in clusters about 50 feet apart, and the promenade is of wood, asphalted. The pier reaches to within a few feet of the principal channel of the Ribble, and it will be brought still nearer by a “dolphin,” which the engineer proposes to erect at the pier head. The necessary preliminaries were arranged with the Ribble Navigation Company, with Colonel Clifton, the owner of the beach, and with the Admiralty, and the first pillar was screwed in June.

Length 914 feet, breadth 20 feet. Cost £5,860. It would accommodate between 4,000 and 5,000 persons of whom 1,000 could be seated – T H Clifton speech. [Manchester Guardian  18 April 1865 page 6]

By 1892 the pier was in ruin. A new company took over and substantially re-built the structure - LYTHAM PIER - The pier was constructed in 1864/65 at a cost of £5,890. The pier was reconstructed in 1892 at a cost of over £12,000 and it now presents an attractive appearance. It has been much widened and an attractive pavilion erected capable of seating 500 people. A commodious stage and ante-rooms have been provided and at the south end a handsome band stand has been erected. A jetty for the accommodation of boating parties has been put down, and the whole of the structure is illuminated with electric light" [Barrett's Directory, 1895]

Reference    Builder 18 June 1864 Page 460
Reference    The Preston Guardian Saturday, 11 June  1864 – first pile
Reference    The Preston Guardian, Saturday, April 22, 1865 – Opening
Reference    Manchester City News Saturday 22 April 1865 – opening
Reference    Manchester Guardian  18 April 1865 page 6
Reference    Manchester Guardian 8 April 1865 page 1 – notice of opening
Reference    Manchester Guardian 4 June 1892, page 9 – rebuilding