British seaside piers were a product of the Victorian era in the 19th Century. With steam trains allowing cheap travel, the public flocked to coastal resorts. The piers were first built as simple wooden decked structures allowing people to walk out over the sea as though they were on a boat. Some even included landing stages, which allowed passengers to embark onto or disembark from shallow drafted paddle steamers.
Worthing Pier was commissioned by the Worthing Pier Company and designed by Sir Robert Rawlinson, an engineer and sanitarian who was later to become president of the Institution of Civil Engineers.
Work started on 4th July 1861 when the first pile was driven 6ft (1.8m) into the chalk seabed and just over 10 months later, the pier was opened on 12th April 1862. The pier then consisted of a promenade deck that was 960ft (291m) long and 15ft (4.6m) wide.
With entertainment becoming more popular on the pier, work started in 1888 and was completed in 1889 to make improvements to widen it to 30ft (9.2m) and to build out the far end to create a 105ft (32m) wide pier head on which a 650 seat pavilion was constructed. The central tollgate on the shore end was replaced by two kiosks, one for collecting tolls and the other used for a souvenir shop.
By 1897 paddle steamers were regularly operating between south coast resorts and were mooring up at the landing stage on the southern end of Worthing Pier. Later on there was even a cross channel service. Of the steamers that came to Worthing Pier, perhaps the best known were the Worthing Belle and more recently, the Waverley. Although shallow depths at low tide affected schedules, a plan to make the pier longer was abandoned since a doubling in length would have increased the depth by only 6ft (2m).
On Easter Monday 23rd March 1913, Worthing Pier was battered by a gale. The neck of the pier was destroyed and washed away leaving only the far end and its pavilion. Nicknamed ‘Easter Island’, the isolated pavilion was featured in postcards of the time. Due to the importance of the pier as an attraction, rebuilding work was started immediately and it was re opened by the Lord Mayor of London on 29th May 1914.
After the First World War in 1920, the Worthing Corporation, now the borough council, purchased the pier. Improvements were made to repair the structure and replace the shore end kiosks with a 1,000 seat pavilion. Designed by Adshead & Ramsey and opened on 26th June 1926, it was to become home to one of Britain’s earliest full time municipal orchestras.
Another disaster struck on 10th September 1933 when the southern pavilion, the last of what remained of the 1889 pier, was destroyed by fire. Holidaymakers, some still in bathing costumes helped the fire brigade prevent further spread of the blaze by ripping up the wooden decking. Within two years, it was rebuilt in art deco style and in 1937 the central amusement pavilion and windshields were added in the same style to make the pier much as it appears today.
In 1940, following the retreat at Dunkirk, Worthing Pier and the foreshore were taken into the control of the military authorities. To prevent the enemy use of the pier in the event of an invasion, a section of it was demolished with explosives leaving the far end isolated again. Fears of invasion lessened by 1942 and the shore end pavilion became a recreation centre for troops. Following the Second World War, the pavilion was reopened to the public in June 1946. The repair of the remainder of the pier at that time was not considered a priority and building materials were in short supply. Eventually, the repairs were completed and it was opened again in April 1949.
The Denton Lounge was added to the shore end pavilion in 1959 and since then all three pavilions have been refurbished.
Today, the pier is still a very popular attraction for visitors to take a walk along or to fish from the end. The southern pavilion is home to the Pier Nightclub, the central pavilion is an amusement arcade and at the northern end, the Pavilion Theatre hosts some of Worthing’s top shows.
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