Clevedon Pier
The pier from Clevedon seafront
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| Type | Victorian Pleasure Pier |
|---|---|
| Carries | Pedestrians |
| Spans | Estuary of the River Severn |
| Locale | Somerset, England |
| Design | Hans Price |
| Construction | John William Grover & Richard Ward |
| Owner | North Somerset Council |
| Longest span | Eight 30-metre (100 ft) arched spans |
| Total length | 310 metres (1,020 ft) |
| Width | 5.0 metres (16.5 ft) |
| Clearance below | 4.3 metres (14 ft) (high water) |
| Opening date | 1869 |
| Toll | Adults £3.00, Concessions £2.50, Children (4-15yrs) £2.00, Family (2 adults + up to 3 children) £9.00. Children under 4 free. |
| Coordinates | 51°26′36″N 2°51′48″W / 51.4432°N 2.8632°WCoordinates: 51°26′36″N 2°51′48″W / 51.4432°N 2.8632°W |
Clevedon Pier is a seaside pier in the town of Clevedon, Somerset, England on the east shore of the Severn Estuary. It has been described by Sir John Betjeman, as "the most beautiful pier in England" and was designated a Grade I listed building in 2001.
The pier was built during the 1860s to attract tourists and provide a ferry port for rail passengers to South Wales. The pier is 312 m (1,024 ft) long and consists of eight spans supported by steel rails covered by wooden decking, with a pavilion on the pier head.
The pier opened in 1869 and served as an embarkation point for paddle steamer excursions for almost exactly 100 years. Two of the spans collapsed during stress testing in 1970 and demolition was proposed, but local fund raising and heritage grants allowed the pier to be dismantled for restoration and reassembled. It reopened in 1989, and ten years later was awarded the Pier of the Year from the National Piers Society, and a Civic Trust Award. The pier now, once again, offers a landing stage for steamers and is a popular attraction for tourists and anglers.
The pier projects from the seafront at Clevedon into the Severn Estuary, which separates South West England from South Wales. The pier and toll house, where entry fees are collected, are adjacent to the Royal Pier Hotel, originally known as The Rock House and built in 1823 by Thomas Hollyman.
The shore at Clevedon is a mixture of pebbled beaches and low rocky cliffs, with the old harbour being at the western edge of the town at the mouth of the Land Yeo river. The rocky beach has been designated as the Clevedon Shore geological Site of Special Scientific Interest. It is the side of a mineralised fault, which runs east-west adjacent to the pier, and forms a small cliff feature in Dolomitic Conglomerate on the north side of Clevedon Beach, containing cream to pink baryte together with sulfides. The minerals identified at the site include: haematite, chalcopyrite, tennantite, galena, tetrahedrite, bornite, pyrite, marcasite, enargite and sphalerite. Secondary alteration of this assemblage has produced idaite, covellite and other copper sulfides. The nearest parking to the pier entrance is on an esplanade above the rocky beach.
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Wikipedia