St Leonards Pier...

I have long been considering writing about the absent St Leonards Pier (1891-1951), thanks to regularly seeing the above when I walk along the promenade, and, I'd imagine, many people have been like me and stood below this plaque, realising you are standing under where the Pier used to be; though not so much when the beach huts are there... As the Pier was demolished in 1951, following bomb and fire damage during World War II, and storm damage earlier that year, I wasn't yet born, consequently I couldn't take any photographs of the pier, so the two below are borrowed, and suitably acknowledged, no plagiarism here!

Promenading along St Leonards Parade (image2)

The building of the 960 feet long (292.6 metres) St Leonards Pier was a response to the growing popularity of Hastings Pier, and no doubt rivalry with Hastings soon after the two had merged as a single entity in 1885. Work on building the pier began in 1888 virtually opposite the Royal Victoria Hotel, and the pier was opened by Lord and Lady Brassey on the 28th of October 1891 at a cost of £30,000. 

Looking down at St Leonards Pier (image3)

St Leonards Pier had a few owners before it was requisitioned under Defence Regulation 51 in June 1940 because of fears that a German invasion may mean enemy troops and supplies could be disembarked alongside all the piers in Sussex. They all had had demolition charges previously placed, removed and replaced in May, but now sections were cut out of the piers to hinder any German plans. St Leonards Pier had charges removed finally once an 18 foot gap had been cut using oxy-acetylene equipment between July and August 1940. Then, sadly, on the 4th of October 1940 three high explosive bombs were dropped on the beach end of the pier, 3 members of the Devonshire Regiment were wounded, and another, Private Stanley Beer, was killed.

The missing section of the pier, the bomb damage, a fire late in the war, and the previously mentioned storm damage in 1951 meant the pier never re-opened...

Acknowledgements: The first image is my own; image2 is circa 1905 and thanks to East Sussex Libraries; image3 is about 100 years old, I guess, looking at the military uniforms, and thanks to Jack Vanderwyck's website, though I have no idea who took the photograph; and information is from all over the place, many thanks to all!

The Conqueror's Stone, a Myth, a Hotel, and a Pier!

Tradition has it that William the Bastard first dined in England upon this stone, soon after landing in 1066, hence it being called "The Conqueror's Stone", but aka "Old Woman's Tap" aka "Tapshaw" aka "Tapshore" (because it used to be situated at the bottom of Maze Hill, and a stream flowed over/by it). Of course, there is no provenance for this piece of mythology, and some believe the story was started by James Burton when he wanted to shift the stone, as it was in the way of his development of St Leonards! Anyway, it has moved a few times over the years, and is currently opposite the Royal Victoria Hotel... 

... in St Leonards, which was designed by Burton in the 1820s and 1830s, and the Royal Victoria Hotel, originally called St Leonards Hotel, was built in 1828 as its focal point. St Leonards Pier was later built virtually opposite the hotel, a little to the west, in 1888-1891, sadly hit by a bomb in WW2 and damaged by fire, and later suffered serious damage during a gale in 1851, and was demolished later that year, well outlived by the first Hastings Pier which, thankfully, is re-opening next month!