History of

Building began on this 1760 foot pier in 1891 and it opened on 20th May 1899. The designer was R.St.George Moore. A 1500 seat theatre at the seaward end opened on 3rd April 1901 and there were smaller pavilions for dining, smoking and reading. Ornamental archways carried illumiations and an electric tram ran up the centre of the pier. Construction had cost a record £137,000 and taken 10 years to complete. A pavilion/winter garden was added to the centre of the pier in 1910 followed a year later by a steamer landing stage. The pier was extended in 1938 but was temporarily sectioned as a war precaution in 1940.

After being re-opened after the war, the pier continued to prosper although there were was little significant change until 1973 when a barge being used during demolition of the unused landing stage drifted into the pier causing £100,000 of damage in October 1973. The theatre was closed and the landing stage was wrecked, finally being completely demolished in 1975.

The Noble Organisation took over the pier in March 1984. They dismantled the theatre in 1986, on condition that it would go into storage for eventual restoration. However, it is not now known what happened to the theatre’s remains, which has given rise to protests from the Theatres Trust and other bodies. The site of the theatre is now occupied by a large amusement and pleasure dome.

A £20 million expansion plan announced in 1995 never actually came to fruition although some enhancements, including a Ferris wheel, were introduced. In February 2000, a fire destroyed a number of the amusement rides but new rides were introduced in the summer of that year.
By 2007, several new high ‘thrill’ rides had been introduced, , and new facilities, including a food court,were opened.

The pier continued to thrive under the stewardship of the Noble Organisation, although their decision to rename the pier as simply ‘Brighton Pier’ rather than retaining the full name as ‘Brighton Palace Pier’ was opposed by the National Piers Society.

Then, in a shock announcement made on 30 June 2011, the Noble Organisation revealed that it was putting the pier on the market. The news had been leaked to The Guardian the previous day and was subsequently covered in the rest of the national papers. Purchase by Brighton & Hove Council was quickly ruled out and Leeds-based consultants, GVA Humberts Leisure, were engaged to handle the sale. A worldwide search for prospective buyers was mounted and the asking price was thought to be in excess of £30 million.

At the same time, a campaign was mounted by the local Argus newspaper to have the pier's name restored to the original 'Brighton Palace Pier'

Palace pier is the most visited in the UK and among the Top Ten visitor attractions in the country.

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