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You are here: HomenextPlacesnextLandmarks and attractionsnextWest Pier

West Pier

The West Pier was built between 1863 and 1866 by the Brighton West Pier Company and designed by the doyen of pier engineers, Eugenius Birch of Westminster.

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  • 'What the Butler saw'

    'What the Butler saw'

    Mutoscopes were a popular feature of amusement arcades and pleasure piers in the UK until the introduction of decimal coinage ...
  • 3D construction of this famous landmark

    3D construction of this famous landmark

    Cultural heritage is an important factor for each place, without cultural heritage there are no evidence of history. There is ...
  • A ghost of a pier

    A ghost of a pier

    When I’m on the Palace Pier playing in the arcades, I look across and see the West Pier, which looks ...
  • A photographic record of the damage

    A photographic record of the damage

    Local photographer Sean Clark was allowed unprecedented access to the West Pier and so was able to produce this very sad ...
  • A potted history

    A potted history

    The West Pier was built between 1863 and 1866 by the Brighton West Pier Company and designed by the doyen ...
  • A second fire in May 2003

    A second fire in May 2003

    These photographs show the middle section of the West Pier on fire in May 2003. The fire brigade were called ...
  • A shadow of its former self, 1975

    A shadow of its former self, 1975

    The West Pier was closed to the public in 1975 for safety reasons.   Photographer Bob Herrick took these photographs on ...
  • A view from the beach in the early 1970s

    A view from the beach in the early 1970s

  • A visit in the 1960s

    A visit in the 1960s

    Palace Pier’s poor relation Being born in 1949 I obviously missed the halcyon years of the West Pier, and by the ...
  • A winter storm and high tide

    A winter storm and high tide

    This photograph shows the damage caused to the West Pier during a winter storm and a particularly high tide. The beaches ...
  • An aerial view in 1991

    An aerial view in 1991

  • An exhibition of children's paintings

    An exhibition of children's paintings

    In spring 1992 schools in Brighton and Hove were invited to produce designs that could be copied onto large panels ...
  • Appearing in the Brighton Festival

    Appearing in the Brighton Festival

    I first came to Brighton in 1990. I was working in nursery schools, having completed an Open University Bachelor of ...
  • Boating lake

    Boating lake

  • Can you help the National Gallery?

    Can you help the National Gallery?

    Crowdsourcing project The National Portrait Gallery has launched a crowdsourcing project online, to transcribe the names of tourists on the West ...
  • Closed to the public in 1975

    Closed to the public in 1975

    Please note that this text is an extract from a reference work written in 1990.  As a result, some of ...
  • Construction and Opening in October 1866

    Construction and Opening in October 1866

    Please note that this text is an extract from a reference work written in 1990.  As a result, some of ...
  • Decay and damage

    Decay and damage

    Local photographer Sean Clark continues his photographic chronicle of the decay and damage on one of Brighton’s foremost landmarks. All images ...
  • Developments in the 19th and 20th centuries

    Developments in the 19th and 20th centuries

    Please note that this text is an extract from a reference work written in 1990.  As a result, some of ...
  • Did You Know?

    Did You Know?

    West Pier attractions Among the first attractions of the West Pier was a minature cannon fired exactly at noon by the ...
  • Fond memories of the 1950s

    Fond memories of the 1950s

    As a Brightonian whose first memories were of Clarence Square, my playground became the seafront by the West Pier and ...
  • Happy 1950s Summers on the beach

    Happy 1950s Summers on the beach

    A fun place We lived in Bennett Road in Whitehawk, and in the summers of the 1950s, on Sundays my Mum ...
  • Happy times in a summer job

    Happy times in a summer job

    Summer holiday job In the summer of 1975, I was a student looking for holiday work, and found it on the ...
  • Images

    Images

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Landmarks and attractions
  • Palace Pier at war
  • West Pier 1904
  • Brighton Aquarium
  • Chattri memorial
  • Devil's Dyke
  • i360
  • Mazda fountain
  • Palace Pier
  • Peace Statue
  • Preston Manor
  • Queen Victoria Memorial
  • Royal Pavilion
  • Royal Pavilion Indian Gate
  • Saltdean Lido
  • The Anthaeum
  • Victoria Fountain, Old Steine
  • Volks Electric Railey
  • War Memorial, Old Steine
  • West Pier
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