Some Pier History–1866 - 1899

01/1866	Harbour and Pier? From the Hastings News of 26/01/1866 A council meeting on 19 January decided against the harbour and pier projects. But special council meetings on 12 and 16 February discussed a letter received from the promoters of the projects, and then approved the plans.
12/1869	Hastings Pier: Work Starts 18/12/1869 The first pile of Hastings Pier was driven at 3.00 am.
03/1870	Pier Piles From the Hastings News of 25/03/1870 The first cargo of iron works for the pier had arrived at Whitstable harbour. For more than a week the heavy screw piles had been hauled to the Parade at White Rock and stacked ready for use.
07/1870	Pier Progress From the Hastings News of 15/07/1870 About a hundred of the new screw piles of the pier now being built had now been driven in.
07/1871	Submarine Forest From the Hastings News of 21/07/1871 A large iron pile for the new pier-head hit a hard object and broke the large screw. It was a large oak trunk, three feet widest, 24 feet long, weight about 2 tons. “The pier-head is evidently in the very heart of the forest, as several smaller trees have already been taken up, and many others are scattered about. ” The new saloon is almost completed and will be the biggest room in the borough.
01/1877	1877 Jan 1 - The highest tide on record and a gale caused the worst damage on record, partly washing away the parade and some of the pier.
08/1883	Pier’s Busiest Day From the Hastings News of 10/08/1883 Hastings Pier had its busiest day so far in its 11-year history on Bank Holiday Monday, 6 August, when over 9,400 people passed through the turnstiles.
08/1885	Pier Landing Stage From the Hastings News of 28/08/1885 A new landing stage at the pier, costing £1,140, had commenced.
08/1887	Pier Steamer From the Hastings News of 12/08/1887 The pleasure steamer the Nelson was plying from Hastings Pier every weekday.
05/1890	Pier Landing Stage From the Hastings News of 02/05/1890 A big new landing stage on Hastings Pier was opened for steamboat traffic on Thursday 1 May.  The original landing stage was along the east side of the promenade beside the Pavilion. The work of the last ten months had extended this to the end of the pier and then taken in the whole of the pier-head. The staging now ran round both the east and south side of the Pavilion, but not the west, because that was too exposed. The staging was in three levels. About 400-500 tons of greenheart woods had been used, plus130-140 tons of iron. As many as four steamers could use the pier together.
02/1899	Pier Improvement From the Hastings News of 03/02/1899 The Hastings Pier pavilion closed at the end of January for re-roofing and enlargement. It was expected to re-open in mid-May. The pavilion had been open continuously since the pier opened in 1872.
09/1899	Pier Fire From the Hastings News of 22/09/1899 There was a fire on Hastings Pier on Monday 18 September, with the decking close to the side seats alight. The  probable cause was a careless smoker.