History of

The Clevedon Pier Company issued a prospectus in March 1867. Designed by J.W.Grover (1836-92) and R.J.Ward (1817-81), this unique structure used discarded wrought iron railway lines formed into eight, 100 ft arched spans standing on trestles of the same material. The pier is 842 feet long and 48 feet high, to accommodate the wide local tidal range. It opened on Easter Monday, 1869.

In 1891, due to the pier’s high operating costs, the major shareholder, Sir Edmund Elton, Bart., bought all remaining shares and donated the pier to the local council.

In 1892, the original wooden pier-head was replaced with a cast-iron structure, angled to the pier-neck to align with tidal flows. Ornate, cast-iron buildings were added in 1894.

From 1952, safety concerns led the council to sub-contract regular testing for insurance purposes. On October 16th 1970, during testing, two spans collapsed.

In April 1971, a public appeal was launched. Grade 2 Listed Status was gained in September 1971 and, on 6th December, Clevedon Pier Preservation Trust was formed and fund raising began. However, by 1979, restoration estimates had risen ten-fold and, in July 1979, Woodspring District Council sought permission to demolish the pier. However, in March 1980, a public enquiry led to the withdrawal of the demolition order, the pier being described as “…an exceptionally important building warranting every effort to preserve it.”

The Trust became a company limited by guarantee and restoration began in May 1982. In 1983, a structural survey led to a £500,000 award from both the Heritage Memorial Fund and the Historic Buildings & Monuments Commission. In 1985, the pier-neck was dismantled and restored at Portishead. It was re-erected during 1988 and re-opened on 27th May 1989.

In 1995, a Lottery grant enabled full restoration of the pier-head and landing stage. Work began in May 1997 and, on 23rd May 1998, the pier was re-opened by Sir Charles Elton, Bart., great-great-grandson of the Chairman of the original Clevedon Pier Company.

Full restoration had cost £3.2 million, raised through local fund raising, and with major grants from District and Town Councils, the Heritage Memorial Fund, the Monuments Commission, the National Lottery and others.

The pier won a Civic Trust Award in 1999 and in the same year was named Pier of the Year by the National Piers Society. In 2001 its listing was upgraded from Grade II* to Grade 1. Clevedon’s pier plaque scheme has become hugely successful with thousands of plaques now having been sold.

In December 2009, a notice was served on the owners of The Royal Pier Hotel adjacent to the pier forcing them to carry out about £40,000 of urgent work to protect the building. But then, in the same month, the pier was put up for sale by its owners, Royal Pier Hotel Developments and in January it was announced that the pier had been purchased by Bristol-based Freemantle Developments.

MAJOR planning applications for both Clevedon Pier and the Royal Pier Hotel were submitted to North Somerset Council in November 2010, following months of work between the Clevedon Pier and Heritage Trust, the hotel owners, Freemantle Developments, and many community groups. The plans included the conversion of the derelict Grade II-listed hotel into luxury residential accommodation, and new modern visitor facilities created at the land end of Clevedon Pier, with toilets and dedicated education, exhibition and refreshment areas.

Then in April 2011, the plans for the futuristic £1m visitor centre to be built on the ramp leading to Clevedon's Grade I-listed Victorian pier were approved by North Somerset Council. An appeal to help pay for the development was launched with the hope that work could begin in spring 2012. A glass-fronted educational centre looking out towards the Bristol Channel and built under the ramp was included together with a refreshment area and toilet facilities.

***