![]() Prior to the construction of the pier, Birnbeck Island could be accessed by a natural causeway at low tide. The rock is limestone, giving rise to the geological term "Birnbeck Limestone Formation". ![]() Alternatively Birnbeck could be from the Old Irish 'berna bec', a 'little gap' because of the narrow channel separating the island from Worlebury Hill. The origin of the name Birnbeck is unknown but may take the 'beck' from the Scandinavian word 'bekk', a bench in literary Old Norse. Part of the pier collapsed during storms on 30 December 2015. The pier remains in a largely derelict state. Since its closure, ownership has changed many times and it has been subject to a series of proposals for its redevelopment which have all proved fruitless. The final excursion visited the pier in 1979. The pier reopened after the war, but the number of visitors and steamer passengers declined. Notably conducting trials on the Barnes Wallis 'bouncing bomb'. During the Second World War the pier was commissioned as HMS Birnbeck by the Admiralty as part of the Directorate of Miscellaneous Weapons Development (DMWD) for research into new weapons. As a boarding point for steamers plying their trade in the Bristol Channel, it underwent various extensions and modifications over the years. The pier has been closed to the public since 1994 and is now on the Buildings at Risk Register.ĭuring the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries the pier was popular both with locals and tourists to the town. The refreshment and waiting rooms of 1898 were designed by local architect Hans Price and the clocktower and the piermaster's house have been attributed to him. ![]() Birnbeck Pier is one of only six Grade II* piers surviving in the country. The grade II* listed pier was designed by Eugenius Birch and opened in 1867. It is the only pier in the country which links the mainland to an island, linking to Birnbeck Island, a 1.2-hectare (3-acre) rocky island just to the west of Worlebury Hill. Weston-super-Mare, Bristol Channel, Englandĥ1☂1′23″N 2★9′40″W / 51.3565°N 2.9945°W / 51.3565 -2.9945īirnbeck Pier, also known as the 'Old Pier', is a pier situated on the Bristol Channel in Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset, England, approximately 18 miles (29 km) south-west of Bristol. ![]()
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