Claremont Pier

Claremont Pier
	The Claremont Pier looking towards front.
Type	Pleasure Pier
Official name	Claremont Pier
Owner	Charmaine and Edward Mayne and Family
Characteristics
Total length	600 feet (180 m)
History
Designer	D. Fox
Opening date	1903;119 years ago
Coordinates	52°27′57″N1°44′47″E / 52.4657°N 1.7464°E Coordinates: 52°27′57″N1°44′47″E / 52.4657°N 1.7464°E

Last updated August 15, 2022

The Claremont Pier is a traditional seaside pier in Lowestoft in the English county of Suffolk. Opened in 1903 and named after nearby Claremont Road, the pier was sectioned during the war through fear it could be used for an enemy invasion. It was subsequently restored using a Bailey Bridge and used as a training facility for the army.

History

The pier was constructed by the Coast Development Company and opened in 1903, originally as a mooring for Belle steamers.^[1] Its name originates from its close proximity to Claremont Road.^[2] It was designed by D. Fox^[3] and was originally 600 feet (180 m) before being extended in 1912 when a T-shaped landing head was added,^[1] bringing it to a length of 760 feet (230 m).^[3]

Mid 20th century

Steamer services ended at the pier in 1939, with the last use being to bring evacuees from London. As with many piers during the war, it was sectioned in 1940 as a defense measure against the threat of invasion.^[1] When that threat had passed, the gap was closed with a Bailey bridge and the pier became an Army training centre during World War II until 1948.^[3]

By 1948 the pier was abandoned and derelict, and when Lowestoft Town Council refused an offer to purchase it for £4,000 the actor George Studd took it over for a year and began to repair the pier. After repair in the 1950s, a storm in 1962 washed a section of it away, reducing its length to 720 feet (220 m).^[3]^[4]

Late 20th century

In the 1990s the pier was taken over by the Scott family and, despite restoration work on the shoreward end, much of the pier remains in need of restoration. Facilities at the shoreward end include a nightclub, amusement arcade, children's rides and a restaurant and take-away.

21st century

In 2005 the pier was put up for sale at £2.8 million but was unsold.^[4]^[3]

In April 2018, the pier was put on the market with an asking price of £2.5m. It remained unsold by January 2020, by then being available at a much reduced asking price of £1.25m. By this time, it had been owned for 50 years by David Scott and his family.^[5] The pier was sold during the summer of 2020 with the new owners reopening the pier in July 2020 along with the restaurant and ice cream kiosk. Future plans included a desire to reopen the pier deck and allow people to walk along, with costs estimated at between £1.5m - £3m and requiring a grant or lottery funding to make it viable.^[6]

Facilities

The pier includes an ice cream kiosk, coffee shop, fish and chips takeaway and restaurant, amusements arcade, beach bar, sports bar, night club and a brand new roof top terrace.^[5]

Related Research Articles

Casino Pier is an amusement park situated on a pier, in Seaside Heights, New Jersey, United States. The pier opened in 1932 and formerly extended approximately 300 ft (91 m) into the Atlantic Ocean, from the narrow strip of the Barnegat Peninsula in which Seaside Heights is situated.

Eastbourne Pier is a seaside pleasure pier in Eastbourne, East Sussex, on the south coast of England.

Southwold Pier is a pier in the coastal town of Southwold in the English county of Suffolk. It is on the northern edge of the town and extends 190 metres (620 ft) into the North Sea.

North Pier is the most northerly of the three coastal piers in Blackpool, England. Built in the 1860s, it is also the oldest and longest of the three. Although originally intended only as a promenade, competition forced the pier to widen its attractions to include theatres and bars. Unlike Blackpool's other piers, which attracted the working classes with open air dancing and amusements, North Pier catered for the "better-class" market, with orchestra concerts and respectable comedians. Until 2011, it was the only Blackpool pier that consistently charged admission.

Pacific Park is an oceanfront amusement park located in Santa Monica, California. The park, located on the Santa Monica Pier, looks directly out on the Pacific Ocean, in the direction of Catalina Island. It is the only amusement park directly located on the West Coast of the United States located on a pier and LA's only admission-free park. There are a total of twelve rides in Pacific Park, including the world's first and only solar powered Ferris wheel that provides a view of the Pacific Ocean and a roller coaster that circles the majority of the park. Pacific Park is also home to 14 midway games and over-the-ocean food and retail outlets. It has appeared in over 500 movies and television shows such as Fat Albert, Hannah Montana, Hannah Montana: The Movie, Kidsongs, 90210, Bean, and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, as well as the popular video game Grand Theft Auto V. In 2020, it featured in the opening ident for the sky television channel Sky Comedy. It is operated by Premier Parks LLC.

The Grade II listed structure of Mumbles Pier is an 835 feet (255 m) long Victorian pier built in 1898. It is located at the south-western corner of Swansea Bay near the village of Mumbles, within the city and county of Swansea, Wales.

The South Parade Pier is a pier in Portsmouth, England. It is one of two piers in the city, the other being Clarence Pier. The pier once had a long hall down its centre which housed a seating area and a small restaurant. The outside of the hall is a promenade which runs the length of the pier. Once fallen into disrepair, as of 2017, the pier has been developed into an amusement arcade and food outlet.

The Victoria Pier was a pier in the seaside resort of Colwyn Bay, Wales. Despite dismantlement since May 2018, much of the metalwork remains and retains the legal status of a grade-II listed structure. Plans for a partial re-build in 2019 have been made by the pier's owner, Conwy County Borough Council.

Paignton Pier is a pleasure pier in the large English seaside resort of Paignton, Devon. It was financed by Arthur Hyde Dendy, a local Paignton barrister and designed by George Soudon Bridgman.

Sandown Pier is a pleasure pier in Sandown, Isle of Wight, England.

Skegness Pier is a pleasure pier in Skegness, Lincolnshire, England. Opened in June 1881, it was at the time the fourth longest in England, originally stretching a length of 1,844 ft (562 m). When originally built, it was a T-shaped pier with a saloon/concert hall at the pier head. Steamboat trips ran from the pier to Norfolk until 1910.

St Anne's Pier is a Victorian era pleasure pier in the English seaside resort of St Anne's-on-the-Sea, Lancashire. It lies on the estuary of the River Ribble. The pier, designed by Alfred Dowson, was completed in 1885 and was one of the earliest public buildings in St Anne's, a 19th-century planned town. The pier was originally intended to be a sedate promenading venue for the resort's visitors, but attractions were later added. Changes made to the estuary channels to improve access to Preston Dock left the pier on dry land and ended its steamer services to Blackpool and Liverpool.

Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier is a pleasure pier in Galveston, Texas, United States. Opened in the summer of 2012, it has 1 roller coaster, 15 rides, carnival games and souvenir shops.

Garth Pier is a Grade II listed structure in Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales. At 1,500 feet (460 m) in length, it is the second-longest pier in Wales, and the ninth longest in the British Isles.

Penarth Pier is a Victorian era pier in the town of Penarth, Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales. The pier was opened in 1898 and was a popular attraction to seaside-goers at the time, who also enjoyed trips on pleasure steamers that operated from the pier. It has on several occasions been damaged by vessels colliding with the structure and in 1931, a fire broke out in one of the pavilions. This wooden pavilion was never replaced, but a concrete pavilion has been used over the years as a concert hall, ballroom, cinema and for other purposes. It is currently home to the Penarth Pier Pavilion.

Felixstowe Pier is a pleasure pier in the Edwardian seaside town of Felixstowe, Suffolk, England. The pier opened in August 1905 with a total length of 2,640 feet (800 m) and its own railway station, and was once one of the longest in the country. Steamer services operated from the pier to various destinations.

Redcar Pier was a Victorian pleasure and landing pier constructed on The Esplanade in the seaside town of Redcar on the north east coast of Yorkshire, England.

Coatham Pier or Victoria Pier, Coatham, was a pleasure pier built on Newcomen Terrace in the Coatham area of Redcar on the north-east Yorkshire coast.

South Pier is a leisure pier in Lowestoft, Suffolk, engineered by William Cubitt and opened in 1846 at a length of 1,320 feet (400 m). The pavilion was used by the Royal Naval Patrol Service as a headquarters during World War I, although it suffered significant damage during World War II and was subsequently demolished.

References

Citations

1 2 3 Rouse 2011, p. 110.
↑ Wills & Phillips 2014, p. 143.
1 2 3 4 5 "History of Lowestoft Claremont Pier". National Piers Society. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
1 2 The Heritage Trail
1 2 Mark Boggie (9 January 2020). "'Lots of interest' in 117-year-old seaside pier". Eastern Daily Press. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
↑ Mark Boggis (24 July 2020). "Pier's new owners have ambitious plans to restore landmark building". Eastern Daily Press. Retrieved 26 December 2020.

Sources

Rouse, Michael (2011). Lowestoft & the Suffolk Coast Through Time. Amberley Publishing Limited. ISBN 978-1-44562-932-2.
Wills, Anthony; Phillips, Tom (2014). British Seaside Piers. English Heritage. ISBN 978-1-84802-264-5.

External links

This Suffolk location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[FOOTNOTERouse2011110-1] 1 2 3 Rouse 2011, p. 110.

[FOOTNOTEWillsPhillips2014143-2] Wills & Phillips 2014, p. 143.

[nps-3] 1 2 3 4 5 "History of Lowestoft Claremont Pier". National Piers Society. Retrieved 26 December 2020.

[heritage-4] 1 2 The Heritage Trail

[jan20interest-5] 1 2 Mark Boggie (9 January 2020). "'Lots of interest' in 117-year-old seaside pier". Eastern Daily Press. Retrieved 26 December 2020.

[jul20reopening-6] Mark Boggis (24 July 2020). "Pier's new owners have ambitious plans to restore landmark building". Eastern Daily Press. Retrieved 26 December 2020.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]