Birnbeck Pier, Victorian pier in Weston-super-Mare, England
Birnbeck Pier is a 19th-century coastal construction in Weston-super-Mare on the North Somerset shore that links the mainland to the small rocky outcrop of Birnbeck Island. The construction features curved steel girders resting on screw-pile supports and timber walkways that rise above the tidal waters of the Bristol Channel.
Engineer Eugenius Birch designed the structure, which opened in 1867 and carried passengers and goods between the shore and steam vessels calling at the coast. During World War II, the Royal Navy used the site under the designation HMS Birnbeck for testing military equipment.
The structure once served as a landing stage for passenger steamers that carried day-trippers across the Bristol Channel to other seaside resorts. Today, the surviving foundations of entertainment pavilions and tearooms recall the role this construction played as a social gathering point by the sea.
The structure is currently closed to visitors due to ongoing restoration work, with local authorities planning to rebuild the former lifeboat station since acquiring the site in 2023. Walkers can view the structure from the shoreline and observe the silhouette of the girder framework above the water.
The crossing is the only coastal pier structure in Britain that joins a mainland shore to a natural island. The foundation method relies on spiral metal blades twisted deep into the seabed, a technique that allowed builders to secure supports without driving solid piles.
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