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2 History of the pier 3 List of towns with piers 4 See also |
Piers were found in all fashionable seaside towns during the Victorian era, and are still retained by many.
The most well known piers are perhaps at Brighton in East Sussex, while the longest is at Southend-on-Sea at 1.25 miles (2 km) long.
Wigan Pier was the subject of a well known Music Hall joke, since the name was given to a small jetty used to load canal barges - besides which Wigan is miles from the sea. It became world famous after George Orwell entitled a book of social commentary The Road to Wigan Pier.
In 2002 it was stated in Paliament that there were 80 piers in England that had been designated by the Government as listed buildings. However this conflicts with the total figure of 55 piers given by the National Piers Society.
The first pier in the UK was opened in 1814 at Ryde on the Isle of Wight, to allow steamboat ferries to and from the mainland to moor.
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England
Piers in the UK
History of the pier
List of towns with piers
Wales
Is it reasonable to add the list here? There are at least 80 piers in England alone!