Clevedon Pier, North Somerset - Now and Then

This autumn and till next spring the grade 1 listed pier is receiving an overhaul with repainting and isolated repairs. The original pier restoration was completed in 1998 and the Victorian structure resides in one of the most extreme rise and fall tidal locations in the world.

To pay for future maintenance the Trust have also commissioned a new visitor centre which if successful in Heritage Lottery funding (at Stage 2) will commence on site in 2013. The centre will provide interpretation, an education room plus cafeteria. The Toll House and Pagodas will be upgraded as well for retail and an ice cream parlour.

The original restoration started in 1984 and took 14 years to complete over several phases. The initial contractor dismantled the pier to repair on land, unfortunately became insolvent and another contractor reassembled and re-erected. Other phases laid the decking, restored the pier head and renovated the Toll House.

Such was the unique nature of the original patch repairs to the wrought iron Barlow rail that a bespoke method of measurement was written.