I spent a bit of time photographing Hastings Pier last week, so my next few posts will have this as the subject. I have posted a view of the pier previously and described it’s fate, you can view this post here.

Eugenius Birch designed Hastings Pier, one of fourteen he built which include the West Pier, Brighton, Eastbourne and Margate. It took two years and about £1.5 million in today’s money to construct the 910 feet long (277 meters) structure. When the pier opened on 5th August 1872 it was raining. The local dignitaries at the opening included the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, Earl Granville and Thomas Brassey. The pier was described as being ‘the peerless pier’ or ‘the palace on the sea’.

A second pier, the St Leonards Pier, was opened along Hastings seafront at St Leonards (oddly enough) in 1891, opposite the Royal Victoria hotel. It survived a couple of German bombs during the 2nd World War, but was damaged beyond repair during subsequent storms and demolished in 1951.