St. Annes Pier

In 1879 the St. Annes Land and Building company agreed to build a pier, designed by Mr. A Dowson C.E. It cost £18,000, was 315 yards long, and took six years to build. It was opened on 15 June 1885 by Lord Derby, Col. Fred Stanley M.P.

The pier was extended at a cost of £30,000 and opened on 2 April 1904 with a Moorish pavilion for concerts holding a 1,000 people, a band kiosk and a new pier entrance. The Floral Hall was opened in June 1910 and was used for concerts, vaudeville acts and operas. It was also used for orchestras such as that led by Mr. Lionel Johns.

in 1954 an £8,000 amusement arcade was added to the pier entrance. In 1962 substantial improvements were made including a new amusement centre and restaurant, renovation to the Pavilion, Floral Hall, the jetty and children's section, and an aviary and small reptile house opened. In 1966 the Floral Hall was turned into a Tyrolean Beer Garden.

In 1972 the Moorish Pavilion was turned into the Sultan's Palace, with belly-dancers, fire-eaters and snake charmers. The pier was at its peak, with a quarter of a million adults and 100,000 children going through the turnstiles each year.

In 1974 the pier held a charity concert to celebrate the birth of St. Annes, but a few days later the Moorish Pavilion was destroyed by fire. Then on 23 July 1982 at 7 pm the Floral Hall was also lost to fire. In 1984 after the inability to find funding to restore the damage, 120 feet at the seaward end of the pier was demolished.

St Annes Pier and Pier Entrance

The construction of St. Annes Pier began in 1880, five years after the birth of the town. The work lasted several years suffering many delays including a workmen’s strike, and cost about £18,000. The Pier was designed and constructed by Mr. A. Dowson, C.E., and opened by Lord Stanley on 15 June 1885. Bands and visiting steamers were great attractions.

The Pier was a small structure in the beginning. In 1904 its owners, the St. Annes Land & Building Company, made extensive alterations and additions, including a handsome Moorish Pavilion, at a cost of £30,000. The Floral Hall was added in 1910 where Miss Dorothea Vincent’s Cremona Ladies’ Orchestra proved an instantaneous success.

Sadly, after two disastrous fires in 1974 and 1982, the pier is now only half its original length. The Entrance Pavilion, which was added in 1899, remains the same today except for the modern loggia and shops on each side.

There has been an attempt by the owners to demolish two cantilevered shelters beyond the covered area, which is full of slot machines. They have, however, been under repair recently, helped by a grant from Fylde Borough Council. The National Piers Society together with many local people was concerned at the possibility of their loss.

from "The listed buildings of Lytham St. Annes" - Lytham St. Annes Civic Society 2003