“Our Pier . . . . in the middle of the sea . . . .”

Pier Update

As was announced some while ago, it is still very much the intention to open the Pier to the public in April and a date wiill be announced just as soon as feasible.

It is dependent on the completion the fit out of the restaurant spaces and the final installation of ther amazing heritage interpretation overlay that will bring the story of the Pier to life for all  visitors.

HPC will also be launching their open-air cinema season. Kino Digital and Luna Cinema will present "Cinema on the Pier" on May 12th, 13th & 14th.

Tickets for these nights will be going on sale shortly.

The opening of the seasonwill be with a very local feature on the 12th, so please stay tuned for more news on that.

Join us on Saturday 21st May

Tickets go on sale to the public on Thursday 24th March at 9am.
Come and have fun in celebration of the Pier’s reopening with a glittering day and evening filled with music, activities and entertainment – culminating in a very special finale headlined by Madness!
Tickets are limited (owing to our restricted capacity of 2,500 people on the Pier), and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. We expect these events to be very popular, so recommend that you book as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Opening Ceremony: Invitation only
10am – 2pm
The formal Opening Ceremony of Hastings Pier will only be open to shareholders and a small number of invited people who have been involved with the project.
We are unable to open the Opening Ceremony to the public. Thank you for your understanding.

Gala Entertainment: Pay What You Want
3pm – 6pm
The Gala Entertainment session will feature lots of entertainment, food stalls and music celebrating the Pier's musical heritage from the 60s and 70s.
Tickets are available for a 'Pay What You Want' donation to Hastings Pier Charity, and are limited to two tickets per booking.
Book tickets here from Thursday 24th March at 9am.

Finale Concert by Madness: £25 per ticket
7pm – 10.30pm
Madness will take to the stage on Hastings Pier to headline our Opening Gala celebrations on the evening of Saturday 21st May.
Tickets for our Finale Concert are priced at £25 each (inc VAT), and are limited to two tickets per booking.
Book tickets here from Thursday 24th March at 9am.
There will be a high volume of traffic to the ticketing website on Thursday morning, and as such we expect there to be waiting times. We appreciate your patience.

 

Madness’ Suggs drills in final plank at Hastings Pier

Read more: http://www.hastingsobserver.co.uk/news/local/madness-suggs-drills-in-final-plank-at-hastings-pier-1-7290225#ixzz43e1weOQz

Madness lead singer Suggs drilled the last plank into the Hastings Pier decking today (Tuesday, March 22), before its anticipated opening next month.

The Hastings-born pop star completed the redecking of the pier after a £15m renovation over the past two years.

In the News again!

The Argus
Madness lead singer Suggs to finish off re-build of Hastings Pier
FINISHING touches are being made to a pier so it can finally reopen a decade after it closed and six years since it was destroyed by fire. The Grade II ...

Hastings Pier Set To Re Open
Dreamstime Blogs
Hastings Pier Set To Re Open- Dreamstime: Blogs about stock photography; tips about stock images and how to generate revenue from your photos.

Fire-ravaged Hastings Pier set to re-open after multi-million pound restoration
Abomus
A seaside pier devastated by a fire six years ago is set to reopen after a multi-million pound renovation project.

Hastings Pier Fire - Sad and will now start supporting HPWRT
Dailymotion
Hastings Pier Fire - Sad and will now start supporting HPWRTNeed new shirts ? http://ahshirts.comNeednew shirts, get it at http://ahshirts.com.

 

TQ8109 : Hastings Pier
Geograph
Opened 1872 - Closed 2007 - Length 910ft. The pier was closed in 2006 and 2007 due to structural decay, and was due to be restored after the ...

Scoopnest.com
Fire-ravaged Hastings Pier set to re-open after multi-million pound restoration ... Legendary music venueHastings Pier set for new lease of life after ...

Fire-ravaged Hastings Pier set to re-open after multi-million pound restoration
titles.ws
Fire-ravaged Hastings Pier set to re-open after multi-million pound restoration. A seaside pier devastated by a fire six years ago is set to reopen after a ...

 

madness on the Pier tomorrow!

Hastings-born musician Suggs, from Madness, will fix the last plank to complete the 50 miles of new decking on the Victorian structure on Tuesday.

A music-themed ceremony is set for May 21, heralding the re-opening of the pier, which was first opened in 1872.

The pier was never restored by its then registered owner and Hastings Borough Council sought a compulsory purchase order to allow control of the pier to be handed to a special trust.

Most of the money for the renovation has come from the Heritage Lottery Fund, and thousands of people have bought community shares.

The pier's reopening comes in a special year for the seaside resort as 2016 also marks the 950th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings.

The End in sight

In December 2013 the Hastings Pier Charity Learning and Education team commissioned independent external evaluators to assess the impact of the team’s work and to evaluate how successfully they were fulfilling the aims and objectives of the Heritage Lottery Funded Activity Plan:
Through the work of the Learning, Education and Volunteering departments we will provide high quality opportunities for people to:

1. Learn about Hastings Pier’s past through interpretation and activities.
2. Engage with Hastings Pier through volunteering and events.
3. Use Hastings Pier as a gateway to employability.
4. Enjoy their interactions with Hastings Pier.

And through this work the ultimate goal is that people will feel a sense of ownership and involvement, an increased sense of pride in the area and as a result they will care for and about the future of Hastings Pier.

Please click below to download the Interim Evaluation Report with the evaluators findings.

Download the Report (PDF 2.4mb)

March Construction Update

The Pier is in the final weeks of construction, the cranes have gone and the last piece of the 3,000 tonnes of new steel has been fitted.

The final lengths of the 50 miles of Ekki deck boarding are being laid and the last box of the 510,000 screws has been opened.

Having at last got the electric power on, the Visitor Centre is being completed, testing the heating and the other systems, so that the equipment, exhibits etc. can be installed ready for the opening next month.

Fitting out of the Pavilion building for the new restaurant is nearing completion, ready for the kitchen equipment and the final fittings are to go in.

The railings at the front of the Pier have been repaired and painted in Fir Green colour and the wave breaks are being installed.

The site huts are being removed progressively as the workforce reduces.

After two and a quarter years the end of what has been a very challenging and thoroughly rewarding project for everyone involved is evident..

Rats! Cats! And now spiders?

For rats & cats see 

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

RATS (Rope Access Technicians) at work on the Rat Run

http://ninebattles.com/tag/history-of-music-on-hastings-pier/

Chess on the Pier

Many players will remember that the ballroom on the pier is where the Hastings International Chess Congress took place for some years.  It was a large hall, but not ideal.   It swayed underfoot depending on the tides.

"I stopped going to Hastings when they announced it would be on the pier, as I had inspected said pier and noticed that any indoor parts of it were cold and let the rain in, and I didn't fancy playing chess wearing three sweaters and a raincoat."

Someone else says "One advantage of .... the Pier over the Falaise is that the air circulation is a lot better. It's less usual to return from Hastings with a cold."

David Bronstein, and Sir Patrick Moore Stewart at the Living Chess game on the pier during the centenary celebrations in 1995 - http://www.hastingschess.org.uk/2011/pier.htm - need to scroll down a bit
Also:
http://www.hastingsobserver.co.uk/news/local/astronomer-remembered-by-chess-congress-1-4585214#ixzz41YRtt5uq

The Glory Days - Wrestling on the Pier

Wrestling took place on the Pier on Mondays in the sixties and then on Tuesdays in the seventies. A 300-yard walk was necessary right to the very far end of the Pier to reach the variously named ballroom, or in the wrestling world, Pier Pavilion. Wrestling presentations were weekly from the beginning or end of June through to the start of September.

The Pavilion was rather square and perfectly flat. The ring was in the centre, with room for two rows of seats ringside in front of the stage. The directors chairs were not especially comfortable but this seemed fair enough in the holiday environment.

There were two raised levels.  Four rows of seats were placed on the stage itself and afforded great views at ring height.  And there was also a balcony at the rear of the hall, over the entrance, and only along the width of the Pavilion.  Only unknowing visitors would fork out for these over-priced seats too high and too far from the action.

All the great names appeared on the Pier.  Mick McManus featured in the most electric atmosphere one night, right, when the Pavilion was completely sold out. McManus and Pallo sharing top billing was a rare event, and tellingly this was not overlooked by casual and avid fans alike.  Pallo drew with Johnny Kwango, and McManus was satisfyingly disqualified against Masambula.  Nobody complained.
For more, much more, go to www.wrestlingheritage.co.uk

The good thing about the venue for serial autograph hunters was that the wrestlers were trapped at the end of the pier and had to funnel through the turnstiles where they could be ambushed.[This was one of several Hastings venues.]

What's in a name?