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Southport Pier is Britain's longest overland Pier |
Southport Pier
Victorian engineer Sir James Brunlees masterminded
the construction of Southport Pier, which opened to the public in 1860.
Believed to be the first leisure Pier to be built in the United Kingdom, it
was originally 3,600ft long before being extended to it is maximum of
4,380ft in 1868, then the longest in Britain. The Pier perfectly
complimented the elegant resort of Southport which, to this day, retains a
unique sense of style epitomised by the famous Lord Street.
A pier was first
suggested in the 1840s but a company was not created until 1859. Work began
the same year. Waiting and refreshment rooms for boat passengers were added
in 1862. A baggage line opened on May 7th 1863 but was re-laid the following
year when the pier was widened and extended. It was upgraded to a
cable-operated tramway in 1865. A further extension, in 1868, brought the
length to 4380ft. Storm damage and fires, in 1933 and 1957, reduced the
length to the present 3633ft - the second longest in Britain and the longest
overland pier.
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