Southport Pier

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For the Southport Pier in Australia, see Southport Pier, Gold Coast.

Coordinates: 53°39′11″N 3°01′01″W / 53.653°N 3.017°W / 53.653; -3.017

The pier, stretching over a kilometre out to sea
A single pair of tramlines runs down the centre of the pier
Names and remembrances embedded in the pier

Southport Pier is a Grade II listed building in Southport, Merseyside, England. At 1,216 yards (1112 m) it is the second longest in Great Britain after Southend Pier.[1] It was listed at Grade II on 18 August 1975.[2] The Southport Pier Tramway runs from Southport Promenade to the pier head (the far end of the pier).

Recent modernisation and repair of the pier formed part of a wider redevelopment strategy, including the new Marine Drive sea wall, landscaping around the pier and the new tram route, and the new £23m Ocean Plaza shopping centre - which presents a blank back wall on the seaward side. Completion was in 2002.[3]

The pier is a completely open structure, with modern railings on an older base, and a deck made of hardwood slats, affording a partial view of the sea below. Plans to restore the Victorian shelters along its length remain just plans.

The modern structure at the pier head, the Pavilion, was designed by Liverpool architects Shed KM. The building houses a cafeteria with airport style floor to ceiling windows overlooking the beach and until mid-May of 2012, a collection of vintage mechanical amusement machines, re-creating a traditional pier-end penny arcade. The former exhibition of Edwardian and Victorian machines operated on pre-decimalisation pennies, which were available to purchase on-site (£1 bought 10 old pennies) and proved very popular with locals and tourists alike.

Awards

References

  1. ↑
  2. ↑ English Heritage, "Southport Pier (1379746)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 28 August 2013 
  3. ↑ CABE case study

External links

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