Any self respecting holiday resort wants a pier and Bournemouth was no exception. A short 100ft (30m) wooden jetty was completed in 1856, but this was soon washed away by storms.
George Rennie, an eminent engineer of
the period, designed Bournemouth’s first real pier in 1859. It was constructed
of wood being 1000ft (305m) long and opened on 17th September 1861
by Sir George Meyrick. The piles were soon being attacked by the Teredo worm,
so during the late 1860s they were gradually replaced by cast iron ones. A gale in 1867 swept away 300ft (91m) and
another storm in 1876 rendered the structure unsafe and it was subsequently
demolished.
A new 838ft (255m) long cast iron
pier, designed by Eugenius Birch was opened by the Lord Mayor of London on 11th
August 1880, later being extended to 1000ft (305m). During the Second World War
the pier was breached in July 1940 as an anti-invasion measure, being fully
reopened again in November 1947.
A concrete substructure was built to
carry the Pier Theatre which opened on 3rd June 1960. From 1979 the
pier was extensively rebuilt, with much use of reinforced concrete. A new
leisure complex was opened at the pier head on 16th July 1981, to
mark completion of all these works.
Peter Kazmierczak,
Senior Heritage Librarian, Bournemouth Libraries
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