The history of Eastbourne pier

Over 25 members of the Eastbournian Society turned up at the College on Thursday 26 February for an interesting and sometimes amusing illustrated talk about the history of Eastbourne pier given by Paul Jordan.

Paul, who is a local historian and a volunteer in the College archives, described the early days of the pier, which opened in 1870, and showed how it had developed over the years.

Showing the breadth of entertainment that was available, Paul talked about the variety show 'Twinkle' and Sandy Powell's 'Star Wagon' and 'Starlight' shows. The pier as a departure point for sea voyages was also featured, with passport-free trips to Boulogne in the 1950s and the more recent visits of the paddle steamer Waverley.

He also touched on disasters that afflicted the pier, including when part of the structure was swept away in a storm in 1877, the fire in the Pavilion theatre in 1970, and the more recent fire of 2014 which destroyed the amusement arcade, originally the music pavilion. Paul finished the talk with some of the pier's appearances on film, including standing in for Brighton's Palace Pier in the recent remake of the film Brighton Rock.

With tea, coffee and cake as well, the audience had a thoroughly entertaining and enjoyable afternoon.