Eastbourne Pier

The Eastbourne Pier is a 300 m long pier in the southern English town of Eastbourne in East Sussex .

history

It was built between 1866 and 1872 by the architect Eugenius Birch . The pier was opened on June 13, 1870 by Lord Edward Cavendish. In the following years, stylish superstructures were built on the pier that were used for amusement venues, cafes and snack bars. The building with a theater, a bar and a camera obscura from the turn of the century (1899–1901), located at the rear, towards the sea, burned down in 1970. After the building was rebuilt it was u. a. used for a night club. The camera obscura was reconstructed in 2003 and made accessible by a new staircase. The complex is a listed building (since May 2009: Listed Building Level II *). The pier is part of the private Six Piers Ltd .

Eastbourne Pier, looking south west
View from the north, summer 1996
View from the South Downs at Beachy Head
The tower of the pier with its camera obscura

Fire 2014

On the afternoon of July 30, 2014, around 3 p.m. local time, a fire broke out in the main hall known as the “Blue Saloon”, which had served as a “gaming hall” with “slot machines” and other devices for many decades. These as well as some smaller stands were destroyed by the fire. The pier could be evacuated in good time so that no people were injured. Approx. 80 firefighters from the East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service from Eastbourne and the surrounding towns as well as the lifeguard crews of the seaside resort and the coastguard were involved in the operation, which lasted until late at night. Low water pressure and the advancing ebb hindered the extinguishing work. Only almost two hours after the fire broke out, a lift was used to fight the flames from above.

The destruction affected about a third of the entire pier. Only the metal framework of the hall, e.g. Partly with the straps strongly bent by the heat, stopped. The entrance area of the pier as well as the seaward rear part with the tea room and the large round end building with the discotheque "Atlantis" were preserved, but were no longer accessible afterwards. The first repair measures mean that the pier has been accessible again since October 2014; further reconstruction work has been completed.