Cleethorpes Pier
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In the late 19th. century Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England became a popular resort for the large industrial towns of nearby Yorkshire and Lancashire. The Cleethorpes Promenade Pier originally cost £8,000, which was largely financed by railway companies serving the cities of Sheffield and Manchester and the county of Lincolnshire. It was officially opened on August Bank Holiday Monday 1873.
1,200ft (366m) in length (to span the unusually large distance between low and high tide limits), the pier comprised a timber deck and pavilion (constructed in 1888), supported on iron piles. A section was, however, cut out of the pier during the Second World War to impede its use in any German invasion attempt. Nowadays, it is the shortest UK pier, at just 335ft.
The original pavilion was destroyed by fire in 1903 but in 1905 a new one was built, halfway along the pier, and also a cafeteria and shops at the entry from the promenade. The pavilion offered a venue for dances and concerts. Cleethorpes Borough Council assumed ownership of the pier in 1936, the year that the resort gained borough status.
A £50,000 investment in 1968 made the pavilion one of the most modern on the East Coast. As well as traditional summer shows, it housed wrestling, coin & stamp fares and dance festivals. However after a series of losses on the summer show, the council sold the pier in 1981 to Funworld of Skegness, who later themselves put the pier up for sale. The council declined an offer to buy the pier back, saying it'd need a £200,000 reconstruction. At this point, nightclub owner Mark Meyer stepped in, and after a further investment of £300,000, the venue reopened as 'Pier 39' (a modern nightclub) on the 4th of September 1985. Developments to follow included a shelter for those awaiting access to the night-club, and pier widening with new underneath piles clearly distinct from the originals.
Cleethorpes pier's owners since 2005 are those responsible for a management buyout from Luminar Leisure. In 2006 they rebuilt the former Paradise Club, with the new Waterfront bar officially opened by Tim Mickleburgh, Hon Vice President of the National Piers Society.
