Pier History

 

• Hastings Pier with the Parade Extension sectioned and surrounded by barbed wire. Possibly photo from late 1945. Some Piers were booby trapped (Brighton West Pier)
• Further along the Pier the Access section had bays removed early in WW2 when the threat of Invasion was imminent. Hastings Pier carried a pipe from a fuel bunker on top of White Rock. In the event of Invasion it would have run into the sea and ignited to set fire to invasion barges.
• Because photographs of the coastal defences were totally prohibited, few exist, but the view towards Warrior Square from the Pier shows the concrete blocks with angle iron pickets surrounded in barbed wire being removed. Note the sailor again!
• Work begins to replace the trusses and deck after WW2 at the Parade Extension.

What’s all the excitement at The Hub?

Visitors, timber trade trainees, and HPCharity staff……..

gather to inspect the Treasure Chest, made from some of the old pier planks, and containing items of interest from the pier, as well as a sample of the Ekki planks, which are being laid now.

View from the webcam–and what a view!

 

Eugenius Birch lives on…

The left one is an 1869 Cast Iron Birch raker set at 80 degrees. The angled rakers used to run all along the edge of the original Pier.   Picture centre is Column 305a which connects to an original Pile cap and is one of the two installed last week. Columns have abrasion guards as the shingle wears right through the columns in time.

Another busy Day at the Pier Information Hub

The carousel

And then there’s that boat

All lit up and looking lovely

The Pavilion ………

Destroyed by fire in July 1917, it was replaced in 1922 by a much less elaborate structure, known locally as ‘the aircraft hangar’

A view of the pier after 1917 fire probably 1919-1923 before the art deco façade was added and the Pier middle was widened.

You can see why the Pier Head was nicknamed the Aircraft Hanger.

Teagan builds a pier…….

And others joined in……

Love the deckchair -

Here’s a sight to raise your spirits! Really exciting.

The first new truss and steel deck beams in place as the next scheduled truss is cut out

Half term activities at The Pier Hub on The Front

Half-term holidays at the Hub: Build a pier | Hastings PierCharity

hpcharity.co.uk

The engineers are busy restoring Hastings Pier; come along and help build a model of the pier. Suitable for all the family. Free and no need to booktails

Date:

February 19, 2014

Time:

1:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Tea time construction updates @ The Hub | Hastings PierCharity

hpcharity.co.uk

Drop in to meet Nick Sangster, HBC Resort Services Manager, and find out how the recent weather has affected the coast around Hastings ...

Date:

March 5, 2014

Time:

3:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Half-term holidays at the Hub: the pasta pier challenge |Hastings Pier Charity

hpcharity.co.uk

This fun family activity will teach you all the skills you need to build a pier – and then we'll try making it from pasta! Please book at least 24 hours in ...

Date:

February 22, 2014

Time:

2:00 pm - 3:15 pm

Valentine’s Day – and Purple Hart on the Pier

It’s now protected  and extremely rare since it’s an endangered species. The timber you see in the pictures is from some of the old deck boards, which sadly are rotten to the core and can’t be re-used. There’s not much of it on the Pier, these were probably laid circa 1910, so it must have been from trees that were growing in 1800’s!.  It has a stunning colour if you look at the inside broken sections.  If you look at jpeg no 4  that is not Purple Heart wood – it could be Balau wood, but can you see the difference in colour?

 

Safety restraints and months of preparation…….

… enable local company Timbercraft uk to lift the 100 year old deck under the burnt out East Bandstand shelter.

In the aftermath of the storms……………

Recent southerly waves have scoured the beach under the pier exposing an original Birch raker pile which was part of his curved Parade connection on which the toll booths sat with their onion tops.

1877 Storm

A classic bank holiday Monday view of Hastings pier in May 1931

Vanished world: aerial views of Britain as it was go on show - The Guardian

– with people lolling on the beach, playing crazy golf or clustered on deckchairs ...

Thanks to TimberCraftUk@TimberCraftUk

The BBC programme………

has had a great response on twitter.

From Pier Head, to Pier Head, to Pier Head…………….

Forever changing, and now there’s another, weather wrought, change!

Update

Serious work on the Pier is now well and truly underway with both the engineers and the decking contractors busily working on site.

Our community engagement space, The Hub, in the White Rock Baths building, is now operational from Wednesdays to Saturdays, staffed by some of our terrific volunteers. Please drop by if you are on the Hastings promenade.

As the project gathers pace our financial contribution to the local economy is now well into six figures and is set to grow rapidly throughout 2014.

Winter sun filters through the exposed structure. Deck removal before truss and beam repairs gives an unusual view under the Parade Extension.

The Pier from The Hub, all on an afternoon

The Work Goes On……

The first rails in place.  Watch out for people planking, (not, not that, the laying of planks!) and men on ropes.  Or call in at the Pier Information Hub on the front, (blue and white building, door on the sea side) for an update.

New clamps fitted to the column with the horizontal (lateral bracing) being installed at low tide this morning. (4.2.2014)

We’re news in Brighton

A Rare Event at the Moment–Sun Over the Pier