Fun on the pier in the past........

General access to the pier will be free all year-round.

This will be combined with a changing programme of events and attractions, some of which will be charged.

As with other attractions in Hastings, the footfall on the pier will be seasonal, and the events and attractions will necessarily reflect this. However, HPC will seek to stretch the traditional view of where the season begins and ends by using its programme to also build an audience in the colder months.

The pier will boast a broad, rotating programme of events and entertainment. These will range from small-to-medium and seasonal events, to large scale activities, made up of higher profile and/or multiple day events. Through ‘soft‘ programming there will be many reasons to visit the pier. Hastings Pier Charity will endeavour to encourage repeat visits at different times of year, both in and out of the tourist season. The pier’s programme of events will tap in to Hastings’ already vibrant calendar. The objective will be, wherever appropriate, to link the offering on the pier to these well attended events. Private operators will be commissioned to bring entertainment equipment to the pier during periods of high demand.

What is this life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare...........

The vision for Hastings Pier is for a very modern attraction that also draws on its strong and popular heritage.  An important aim is to recapture its creator, Eugenius Birch’s, elegant and open feel; a large social space that encourages promenading.

The Times they are a'changing.....

As an organisation HPC are now making the transition from being set up primarily to rebuild the pier to being set up to operate it successfully.

That’s not to say that the rebuild is yet complete and the weather since the beginning of November has been far from helpful, with many days of strong winds hampering the works.

However, the end of the construction phase is now in sight both literally and metaphorically, and HPC are turning their attention to fresh challenges.

Women's Weekly - June 20th 1925 - Memories are made of this

For Context See: The steelworkers found… 

Attention students, local schools and nursery groups!

What’s going on in the Hub?

Construction Update – November

The strong winds during the past three weeks have severely hampered the replacement of the steelwork at the Pier Head.  Hopefully conditions will improve and the last section can be completed before too long.

The was a brief lull in the wind which was taken advantage of, and we  a team of divers to carry out a final survey of the columns below the waterline to check the condition and see if there is the need for  any further repair work needed.

Work on the Visitor Centre continues, with the cladding in the re-cycled decking nearly completed.

Access to the far end of the Pier Head is now enabled, more of the old deck boards have been recovered . 

These are being prepared and will be used to complete the cladding.

Inside the building, the services and sprinklers have been installed and the floor build up with the insulation and heating mat installed. Work to the toilets and kitchen is also underway.

Work started to construct the steps and arena seating on the North end of the building.

Under the Pier the main services , gas, water, electric and drainage.  These pipes and wires are fixed under the structure with access being gained via the new crawlway.

On the East side  new kiosks have been erected.  These will be available to rent, more will be erected on the West side.

Wish the winds away!

There is only about two weeks work remaining on the steel work at the deck head, but due to the high winds recently, the cranes cannot safely work.

The steelworkers found…

In various conditions buried inside a truss under what was the Ballroom area

June 20th 1925 Woman’s Weekly

Sept 9^th 1925 Daily Express

Aug 1^st 1925 Hastings St Leonards Observer

Flyer D’Oyly Carte Opera Co

These are from Hastings & St Leonards Observer

It is not that something unique has been found – this issue is available on the British Newspaper Archive, or in the Library in both hard copy and on microfilm.

The value is in the finding of them and focusing attention on the contents (such as can be seen) and wondering why, and when, and why those particular titles.

Was it packing before cement was poured, or someone just leaving their mark………?

(More anon)

 

.

Hastings Pier Reopens –visit1066 Country. Well, not just yet!

http://www.visit1066country.com/things-to-do/attractions/hastings-pier-reopens-p1233701

Following a £14.2m refurbishment and over two years work, Hastings Pier will re-open to the public in Spring next year with a gala celebration being planned for May 2016.

The pier will offer a full service restaurant in the one remaining original, and now restored, building plus a bistro in the newly built Visitor Centre. The two storey Visitor Centre doubles as a Heritage Centre, a digital archive of different aspects of the pier’s history, much of it contributed by local residents. It will also be licensed for weddings with function rooms for private events, receptions and meetings plus a roof terrace café.

Poor maintenance forced the closure of the pier some ten years ago and a major fire in October 2010 nearly destroyed the entire structure.

Much of the funding for the renovation of the pier came from a substantial Heritage Lottery Fund grant whilst a Community Share issue in the pier’s operating company raised over £600,000 from some 3,000 investors, many of whom are local to Hastings.

The pier has plans for farmers’ markets, outdoor cinema, concerts and theatre, Xmas fairs, ice rink, circus, art installations and night sky watching as well as the more traditional seaside promenading.

Grateful thanks to East Hastings Sea Angling Association for the use of their boats…

…….while divers inspect columns in the sea bed at far end of the Pier

 

A £300k bid to ‘re-model’ and ‘revitalise’ the promenade at White Rock has been backed by councillors.

Members of Hastings Borough Council’s planning committee gave the proposals unanimous approval at their meeting yesterday (Wednesday, November 25).

Cllr Judy Rogers said: “This is really good to see. With the opening of the skatepark next year, it will liven up the seafront. I have been working very closely with the White Rock business group to bring a whole new lease of life to this area.

“Together with the opening of our wonderful pier in March next year, this will make the whole area lovely and part of the Hastings scene.”

The council first unveiled the proposals, which affect the promenade from Hastings Pier to the Robertson Street junction at White Rock, in June.

They include planting eight mature palm trees along White Rock and revamping the existing water feature.

There will also be a projecting viewing platform, as well as the promenade being re-paved.

At the junction of the promenade and pedestrian crossing from Robertson Street there will be a kiosk and terrace.

A pergola is also included in the proposals, which will be located west of the Grade-II listed Boer War memorial.

Read more: http://www.hastingsobserver.co.uk/news/local/hastings-promenade-plans-are-given-green-light-1-7086442#ixzz3sbooH5mi

Caught between the sand and the sky

Robertson Street and White Rock

Council bosses’ plans to re-model and revitalise the promenade at White Rock will come under discussion on Wednesday (November 25).

The authority first unveiled the proposals in June, which include planting mature palm trees along White Rock and revamping the existing water feature with a water cascade and a stage for licensed buskers.

The council said the proposals are designed to make the promenade from the pier to the junction with Robertson Street and White Rock more attractive for visitors, as well as complementing the reopening of Hastings Pier next March and the revamp of the disused White Rock Baths into a BMX and skateboarding park.

Read more: http://www.hastingsobserver.co.uk/news/local/hastings-promenade-plans-on-agenda-1-7071836#ixzz3rr8xcnvw

Pier Christmas cards

Pop in to the Pier hub to create a special pier card using zinc from the pavilion roof as decoration.

There’ll be sanding, drilling and glitter for that festive sparkle and you’ll be able to record your on Christmas message in it too.

FREE drop in to the Hub Saturday November 21 @ 11:00 am - 3:00 pm

We want your memories! Were you at a gig on the Pier? Did you go to a Rave?

Write a paragraph describing what it felt like to be at that event on the Pier.
Please title it 'Gig Memory' with details of the event and Send Mail

Oral History Transcribing Volunteer Role

We are seeking volunteers with a basic level of IT skills and equipment at home that we can call upon to transcribe some of the many interviews we have done.

To find out more check out our website.

Not much happening? Think again!

• The replacement of the steelwork at the Pier Head is progressing well, and is now 85% complete.
• On the West side there was a column which had severely deteriorated and needed to be replaced. To do this we had to drive in two small diameter piles which were then filled with reinforcement and concrete. This operation needed to be carried out at low water so work took place very early in the morning and late at night to get the piles driven.
• Work on the Visitor Centre continues, with the cladding nearly complete on the West Side.
• The East side has to wait until the remaining deck boards from the far end of the Pier Head are lifted, and will then be prepared and used.
• The zinc trim around the windows and entrances is being fitted.
• Inside the building, the services and sprinklers have been installed and the floor and fitting out is now well underway.
• The steps and arena seating on the North end of the building will be underway soon.
• Re-instatement of the old cast iron balustrade at the front of the Pier is now complete, exactly 100 years after it was originally installed.
• Under the Pier the main services, gas, water, electric and drainage are being installed. The pipes and wires are fixed to the structure with access being gained via the new crawlway .

Hastings Pier Charity Interpretation Scheme - Marine Environment Research Package

 Starlings at dusk, Hastings Pier, http://www.countryfile.com/image/starlings-hastings-pier-dusk

This research package would be suitable for someone with a background in geography and knowledge of marine biology and experience of research. An interest in wildlife photography would be advantageous.

Waves; wind; tides; fish; birds; seaweed; coast, sun, moon and stars; cliffs and rocks

To apply

Send an e mail explaining why you feel you have the skills and experience to complete this research to Beatrice Rapley, Learning and Education Manager by Tuesday 17th November at 12noon.

For fee payable and other information contact Bea.

Low tide medley

There’s a hole in our Pier, Dear Liza……..

Deck lifted for installation of power cables to Visitor Centre

Working by the light of the moon

Fireworks! Cutting deck steels

Preparing to drive Pile 48b

Welding Pile 48a whilst it is installed at low water.

Pier Head works; Cranes dancing at dusk

:

The Musical heritage of Hastings Pier by Olu Jenzen and Beatrice Rapley

The silent disco on the Hastings Pier was an event that aimed to test the potentials and limitations of telling the popular culture history of the pier through music. It was organised in September of 2015 as part of the Heritage Open Days.

The event was a collaboration between The People’s Pier research project and the Hastings Pier Charity.

Olu and Archie produced a podcast that showcased the musical heritage of the pier from the 1960s to the 2000s, based on research into the pier as a music venue and space for the enjoyment of a wide range of popular culture by the research team in collaboration with the pier archive team volunteers. It featured music, oral history and various seaside sound effects.

the Rolling Stones played Hastings Pier three times in 1964, but also groups such as The Kinks, The Who, The Zombies and artists such as Jimi Hendrix and Cilla Black sustained youth culture on the south coast as well as attracted young people down from London.

Hastings Pier has such a fantastically rich musical heritage – and is quite unique in how it became the host for waves of new types of music such as progressive and glam rock (Pink Floyd, The Nice, Genesis, Hawkwind, Sparks, T-Rex) and onward into the punk period (Sex Pistols, The Damned, The Clash, The Jam) and in the 1990s, as youth musical culture became more dance orientated again – like in the 1950s – Hastings Pier morphed into a rave party venue featuring acts such as the Prodigy.

See The Kinks and read more at http://blogs.brighton.ac.uk/thepeoplespier/2015/10/27/the-musical-heritage-of-hastings-pier/

Makes a good jigsaw puzzle!

As the Pier Head work progresses rotten trusses are cut out and lifted by crane then transported along the Pier for scrap metal recycling.

An Important Part of Pier History–The Hub

Getting ready for the transition to the opening of the pier, use of the Pier Hub is changing to specifically facilitate training, archive research, schools sessions and family activities.

The Pier Hub opened on Wednesday 15^th January 2014 and since then it has been open to the public for 344 days, staffed by 71 volunteers, who have dedicated over 4,000 hours to keep the public up to date with the reconstruction of the Pier.

Over the course of the Pier Hub’s opening time the Learning and Education team have delivered 78 family activities, 28 project sessions, 19 schools workshops, 10 talks, 8 exhibitions, 8 Science-on-sea sessions, 7 Hands on Heritage events, and 6 school theme days - all inspired by the heritage of Hastings Pier.

We have welcomed 12,434 general visitors – so thank you to everyone who took the time to come and meet us and find out about the project – we look forward to seeing you all with your friends and family when the pier re-opens in 2016.

What a great photo! Do you know when?

Find from the Archive
Hawk Trainers flying over Hastings Pier as part of the annual air show that used to take place. We believe this was taken in the late ‘70s/early ‘80’s. Were you there? Can you confirm the date for us? Get in touch: archive@hpcharity.co.uk

Nearly there . . . ! RATs and CATs at Pier Head

Rope Access Technicians installing X bracing.

 

“Cradle Access Technician” preparing trusses and beams prior to replacement with new galvanised trusses and deck beams.

Construction update

Work on the Visitor Centre continues with the fixing the re-cycled deck timber to clad the building.  The boards have been sanded and bevelled and are being fixed in an articulated chevron pattern.

Around the windows and in the doorways there will be blue/grey zinc cladding panels.

The main services to the building are being laid.  Air conditioning, electrics and sprinklers are being fitted inside.  The lift and the ‘dumb’ waiter have been installed.

The construction of the steps and arena seating on the North end will be undertaken shortly.

Reinstatement of the old cast iron balustrade is nearly complete, exactly 100 years after it was originally installed.

The new steel balustrade is being erected along the West side of the Pier with a timber handrail to match the decking.

At the Pier Head the replacement of the trusses, deck beams and bracing continue,  progressing towards the end of the Pier, with only 8 bays to go.

Another view of the “now you see it, now you don’t” railings.

Education Assistant Internship

Hastings Pier Charity seeks an enthusiastic and reliable individual to work with a small team of staff and volunteers to support with the administration of the education and outreach programme.

This is an ideal opportunity for someone looking to gain experience working with a charity and wanting to learn more about education work, funded projects, and community engagement.

14 hours per week, 2 days a week with some weekend working connected to the opening of the pier.

Click here to download Job Application

Now you see it, now you don’t – the new railings beyond the Apron

Replacing -

And the railings around the Apron -

The old finial brought back into use – beautiful!

A View from up aloft–Visitor Centre ‘roof’.

A View that will soon disappear from sight