Birnbeck Island
Birnbeck Pier and Island
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| Official name | Birnbeck Pier |
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| Type | Pleasure Pier with RNLI lifeboat station |
| Locale | Weston-super-Mare, Bristol Channel, England |
| Design | Eugenius Birch |
| Owner | CNM Estates |
| Total length | 1,150 feet (351 m) |
| Opening date | 5 June 1867 |
| Coordinates | 51°21′23″N 2°59′40″W / 51.3565°N 2.9945°WCoordinates: 51°21′23″N 2°59′40″W / 51.3565°N 2.9945°W |
Birnbeck Pier is a pier situated on the Bristol Channel in Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset, England, approximately 18 miles (29 km) south west of Bristol. It is the only pier in the country which links the mainland to an island, linking to Birnbeck Island, a 1.2 hectares (3.0 acres) rocky island just to the west of Worlebury Hill. The grade II* listed pier was designed by Eugenius Birch and opened in 1867. The gothic toll house and pierhead buildings were designed by local architect Hans Price. The pier has been closed to the public since 1994 and is now on the Buildings at Risk Register.
During the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries the pier was popular both with locals and tourists to the town. As a boarding point for steamers plying their trade in the Bristol Channel, it underwent various extensions and modifications over the years. During World War II the pier was commissioned as HMS Birnbeck by the Admiralty as part of the Directorate of Miscellaneous Weapons Development (DMWD) for research into new weapons. The pier reopened after the war, but the number of visitors and steamer passengers declined. The final excursion visited the pier in 1979.
Today, the pier is still home to the Weston-super-Mare Lifeboat Station. Since its closure, ownership has passed hands many times and it has been subject to a series of proposals for its redevelopment which have all proved fruitless. The pier remains in a largely derelict state. Part of the pier collapsed during storms on 30 December 2015.
The island was originally called Bearn Back, derived from the Old English words burn and bæc which means The spring brook island. It was pronounced by locals as Be-arn Back which has since become corrupted into the current name Birnbeck. The rock is limestone, giving rise to the geological term "Birnbeck Limestone Formation".
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