The Clevedon Pier Story

The life of an award-winning Victorian Pier.

Clevedon Pier: A Survivor Against the Odds For more than 150 years, Clevedon Pier has stood proudly over the Bristol Channel — but its survival has been anything but certain. Opened in 1869, the pier was built in the great Victorian age of seaside tourism, welcoming paddle steamers, holidaymakers and generations of local people. But its history is one of extraordinary highs and lows: financial difficulties, changing fashions, war, neglect and, most dramatically, the catastrophic collapse of part of the pier in 1970. What followed was an unlikely fight for survival. With the pier apparently destined for demolition, a remarkable campaign brought together local people, enthusiasts and engineers determined to save it. Against considerable odds, Clevedon Pier was restored and given a new lease of life. This illustrated talk tells the story of the pier, its people and the events that have shaped it — from its Victorian beginnings to the present day. Above all, it is the story of how a structure that came perilously close to disappearing became one of Britain's most celebrated Victorian piers.