Grand Pier, Weston-super-Mare

Weston-super-Mare Grand Pier during 2005

Weston-super-Mare Grand Pier is a pier in Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset, England. It is situated on the Bristol Channel approximately 18 miles (29 km) south west of Bristol.

The privately-owned Grand Pier is one of three piers in the town together with Birnbeck Pier, which now stands derelict awaiting possible restoration and the much shorter SeaQuarium aquarium built towards the south end of the seafront.

The Grand Pier is 400m (1,300ft) in length. It has been damaged by fire on two occasions in 1930 and 2008.^[1]

History

The pier was started, with P. Munroe acting as the engineer, in November 1903 and opened in June 1904.^[2] It is supported by 600 iron piles.

The pier was the winner of the 2001 National Piers Society Pier of the Year award, and has been designated by English Heritage as a grade II listed building.^[2]

1930 fire

On January 13 1930, the 2,000 seat theatre at the end of the pier, used for opera, music hall, stage plays and ballet, was destroyed by fire.^[3] The remains of the pier were purchased by Leonard Guy, who re-built and opened it three years later.^[4] The new pavilion was rebuilt as a funfair rather than a theatre.^[3] Guy's part in the pier's history was recognised in 2008, when "Leonards's Bar" was opened on the pier by new owners Kerry and Michelle Michael.

2008 fire

At 01:35 BST on 28 July 2008 the fire alarm was triggered within the Grand Pier pavilion building.^[5] However it was not until 06:46 BST that fire officers were notified of the fire. Avon Fire and Rescue Service immediately deployed 13 fire engines, special appliances, and more than 85 firefighters to tackle the blaze,^[5] which broke out at the foot of the north tower on the shoreward (eastern) end of the pavilion. Preliminary investigations suggested that the fire started due to a number of deep fat fryers which had been located within the area inwhich it is believed the fire first started.^[1] However after further investigation this was later ruled out. Fire Investigators later ruled out an arson attack, however investigators remain at the scene and are yet to conclude a final report.

Eyewitnesses and news reports stated that smoke could be seen anything from 10 miles (16 km) and 60 miles (97 km), or as far away as Taunton and Shaftesbury, Bristol and the Somerset/Devon border. Witnesses claim that the flames were reaching 100 feet (30 m) in the air. The fire service experienced extreme difficulty getting enough water to the fire to dampen the flames as the pier is a quarter mile (400 m) out to sea and the tide was out at the time the pier caught fire. A water barrier between the structure and the esplanade was later established to prevent the fire spreading. The fire was left to burn itself out and within two hours the pavilion had been completly destroyed, although there were no casualties. Despite warnings from the police, hundreds gathered along the seafront and on the beach to get a view of the structure.^{[citation needed]} Courageous employees of the Grand Pier were later praised by the fire service as they braved the extreme intensity of the heat from the flames to rush around the side of the building to remove gas canisters which had been stored within the premises, had these not been removed the fire service claim that the fire could have been much, much worse and with the possibility of evacuation of local residents and traders.^{[citation needed]}

The pier itself is structularly intact, fortunately the fire did not cause the pier to collapse however investigations are currently under way in conjunction with the current pier owners who are hoping that the metal framework is strong enough for the pavilion to be rebuilt. A preliminary investigation saw a team of experts fly above the pier, from which they suggested the structure of the support appeared safe. Further investigation is to be carried out as to whether this is definitely the case.^[6] In the meantime, the front shops were re-opened on 31 July for trading and most of the walkway is also accessible.^[7] Many events, such as the Red Arrows air display and Freewheelers EVS motorcycle show, are going ahead as originally planned.^[8]