The key focal points in Great Yarmouth separating miles of sandy beach are the three Great Yarmouth piers. At the northern end, the Britannia Pier stands proudly above the beach, while donky rides take place below.
History of the Pier
Britannia Pier is the 2nd of Great Yarmouth's Piers. The original wooden structure was designed by A.W. Morant and was opened in July 1858.
The Pier when constructed measured 700ft long but was badly damaged by the schooner 'James and Jessie' only a year later. This damage resulted in the pier being reduced in length by 50ft.
In the 19th century the pier was often used for evening band performances and open air concert parties. In 1880 a properly enclosed area was built to allow all weather use.
At the turn of the 20th century, Great Yarmouth was becoming quite a prosperous seaside resort. With this in mind, the Pier's wooden structure was replaced with a wooden/steel construction and a grand 2000 seat pavillion was built. This development work commenced in December 1900 and the Pier officially opened, again, in June 1902.
It would seem that the buildings on the Pier were to be plagued by fires. Only 7 years after the pavillion opened, it suffered the first of its fires.
A second pavillion opened one year later but burn't to the ground in 1914. Local gossip believed this to be an act of arson.
The 'Floral Hall' Ballroom, which opened in 1928, was only to survive 4 years. This was re-built and opened again in 1933.
Ironically, both the ballroom and pavillion survived the war, only to be both destroyed by yet another blaze in 1954.
The 4th pavillion was the only one to be rebuilt, and opened in 1958. Thankfully this construction has survived and is home to our present theatre.
The pier was purchased from First Leisure PLC in 1995 by the present owners Family Amusements Ltd
The reasoning for considering to use the Brittania Pier in our music video is due to the pier symbolising Britishness and this ties in with the band being from Britain and very true to home themselves. The band evoke the feeling of 'old school' tunes and they're lyrics are very chirpy and fun which ties in with the association of british piers.
0 comments:
Post a Comment