Dating to 1866, the historic West Pier closed in 1975 and started collapsing into the sea in December 2002. Having since caught fire twice, it is today just a dark shadow on the water. It’s a sad end for this Victorian marvel, where the likes of Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel once performed. Nevertheless the metal skeleton is still quite an arresting, beautiful sight, though the only flocks of visitors now are the thousands of starlings who swoop around it in winter.
At the time of writing, an original, salvaged octagonal pier kiosk from 1866 was being restored to be reinstated on the seafront, close to its original site.
