In 1847 work began on a suspension bridge to the island but this was never completed due to bad weather, bankruptcy and strikes.
The foundation stone of Birnbeck Pier was laid on 28th October 1864 and it was officially opened on 6th June 1867. It was designed by Eugenius Birch (1818-84), who designed 14 piers around Britain. It consisted of a 317 metre long pier between the mainland and Birnbeck Island and a 12 metre long timber and iron jetty, which extended westwards,
Many of the visitors to Birnbeck Pier arrived by paddle steamers. It was particularly popular with visitors from South Wales, as pubs used to be closed in Wales on Sundays. The original jetty was dismantled in 1872 and was replaced by one, which was 76 metres long, on the north side of the island. A stone pavilion, containing a concert hall and refreshment rooms, was built on the island in 1884. The pavilion burnt down in December 1897 but was replaced by a building designed by Hans Price & Walter Wooler in 1898.
Another jetty was built on the south west side of Birnbeck Island in 1898, which reached deep water even at low tide. Both jetties were damaged in a storm in 1903. The northern jetty was rebuilt in steel and extended to 91 metres in length: it is still there. The south west jetty was rebuilt in 1909 but closed in 1916 and was dismantled in 1923.
The RNLI opened a lifeboat station on Birnbeck Island in 1882. In 1889 a boathouse was built on the north east side of the island. This was replaced in 1902 by a boathouse on the south east side of the island, which had a slipway that was long enough to allow launching even at almost all states of the tide.
Birnbeck Pier suffered a loss in trade when the Grand Pier opened to the south in 1904. However steamers were unable to moor alongside the Grand Pier, so Birnbeck Pier kept its monopoly. Fairground rides, such as a helter-skelter, merry-go-round, switchback railway, water chute and flying machine were built on Birnbeck Island in the early years of the 20th century. In 1909 the southern end of Birnbeck Pier was enlarged by the construction of a concrete platform. This new area housed a roller skating rink, a bio-scope (cinema) and a theatre.
In 1941 the island was taken over by the Admiralty and used by the Department for Miscellaneous Weapons Development. It was closed to the public. After the Second World War it was given back to its owners. It then had a succession of owners. The last scheduled sailing from the pier was made by the MV Balmoral in 1979.
In 1984 the pier was damaged by equipment that drifted into it while work was being carried out in Sand Bay to the north of the pier. It was repaired but was badly damaged by storms in 1990 and was closed to the public for safety reasons in 1994.
Birnbeck Pier suffered a loss in trade when the Grand Pier opened to the south in 1904. However steamers were unable to moor alongside the Grand Pier, so Birnbeck Pier kept its monopoly. Fairground rides, such as a helter-skelter, merry-go-round, switchback railway, water chute and flying machine were built on Birnbeck Island in the early years of the 20th century. In 1909 the southern end of Birnbeck Pier was enlarged by the construction of a concrete platform. This new area housed a roller skating rink, a bio-scope (cinema) and a theatre.
In 1941 the island was taken over by the Admiralty and used by the Department for Miscellaneous Weapons Development. It was closed to the public. After the Second World War it was given back to its owners. It then had a succession of owners. The last scheduled sailing from the pier was made by the MV Balmoral in 1979.
In 1984 the pier was damaged by equipment that drifted into it while work was being carried out in Sand Bay to the north of the pier. It was repaired but was badly damaged by storms in 1990 and was closed to the public for safety reasons in 1994.
The RNLI carried on using the pier to access their lifeboat on Birnbeck Island until 2013 when they decided it was too unsafe for their crews to use any more. They moved to a temporary boathouse near Knightstone Island. The pier was badly damaged in a storm in December 2015 and a section of the walkway collapsed into the sea.
There have been several plans to redevelop Birnbeck Pier and open it again since it closed in 1994 but so far none have come to fruition. I wish they would hurry up, as this island, although tantalisingly close, is currently unvisitable.
2022 update: North Somerset Council issued a Compulsory Purchase Order to the owners of Birnbeck Pier and Island in 2020 and purchased it from them in 2021. They are planning to work together with the RNLI to renovate the pier and allow public access once more.
Birnbeck Pier from Prince Consort Gardens, Weston-super-Mare
Birnbeck Island from the Flat Holm Ferry
RNLI 1902 Lifeboat House on Birnbeck Island
Birnbeck Pier and Island from Anchor Head in March 2017
Birnbeck Pier and Island in March 2017
RNLI Lifeboat House on Birnbeck Island
This was my 'first' island - for I grew up in Bristol and Weston-super-Mare was our family excursion destination. The Grand Pier had its attractions, but there was something about the Old Pier which still lingers. That 'something' is probably that it was the 'Bridge to Birnbeck' - a piece of rock which had identity - with a lifeboat station, paddle steamers and an amusement arcade, the sell-by-date of which had long expired! Now I am the proprietor and editor of Scottish Islands Explorer magazine- www.scottishislandsexplorer.com So that connection with islands, made as a child, fused.
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