The second museum we visited was Southend Pier Museum, which seems to only open at weekends, even during peak season. Nevertheless, it's a great little museum and can be done in under an hour.
I've also created a YouTube vlog, link:-
Southend Pier is the world's longest pleasure pier, and extends 1.33 miles (2.14km) into the Thames Estuary. Construction of it started in 1829, and the first stone was laid in 1829, on 25th July (my birthday.) That wooden pier was replaced by an iron version, which opened to the public in 1889.
The pier is a Grade II listed building.
This museum houses a selection of pier trains, and this one below is very much like the two in use nowadays.
English poet Sir John Betjeman said: "The pier is Southend, Southend is the pier." One of the pier trains is named after him.
Inside the train, and the other is named after Sir William Heygate. He was a member of parliament, and led the public campaign to create Southend Pier.
Southend was granted city status in 2022.
The driver's cab, and the trains run every half an hour (every 15 minutes during peak season).
This cabinet houses remnants of a bowling ball found in the wreckage of the 1995 fire; caused by an electrical fault in the bowling alley.
Penny slot machines, and such amusements would once have stood on the pier.
In 1908 a ship broke from its moorings and smashed into the pier causing significant structural damage, and in 1986 a tanker crashed into the pier. Really? It's hardly as if the pier is easy to miss!
We were given a handful of old pennies so that we could have a go.😀
Cabinet of promotional material and memorabilia pertaining to pier shows and events...
Southend-on-Sea ceramic souvenirs...
This is a model of the Royal Sovereign- a 1948 coastal cruiser which operated between London, Southend and Margate.
Original 1949 train.
The seat backs "flipped" from one edge of the seat to the other, so that you could face the required direction.
I don't believe this old clock was working- it was late afternoon, not 6.35 when we were there!
Model of The Brick Tollhouse- Southend Pier Victorian entrance 1885-1931.
I loved the mock-up of this end-of-pier snack hut, and popped in and did a vaudeville-esque theatrical pose!
Signal box, and we had a go at working the levers.
...Not necessary when you're sitting sideways, much like in the trains they use nowadays...
1949 Pier Train Driving Control Unit.
Kiddies' play train.
Original toast-track tram, with patrons dressed in various period clothing styles. This tram ran from 1890 to 1949.
Lifeboat trolley wheels.
The RNLI has an offshore boathouse at the end of Southend Pier, plus a gift shop.
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Looking over atmospheric water to Westcliff-on-Sea...
We sat on the wall and shared an ice cream, overlooking the pier and the fairground.
We enjoyed out breakfasts here- here's another postie, this time in a more agreeable position!😁
The industrial contraption is part of Tilbury Docks and I spotted it from the train as we passed near Leigh-on-Sea (which I've since visited a couple of times.)
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2024 update:
Two new pier trains replaced the Sir John Betjeman and Sir William Heygate trains in 2022.
They are eco-friendly and one is named after murdered local Member of Parliament Sir David Amess (1952-2021). Southend was granted city status as a tribute to him. The other train is named after William Bradley (1850-1932), a pier stalwart who went on to become a local councilman and alderman.
The old trains were "retired" to the end of the pier, with the carriages providing seating and shelter. This section of locomotive is in the area where the bar (destroyed in the 2005 fire) once stood.
Reaching the end of the pier, and the modern building is the Royal Pavilion, which is an event space which houses a coffee bar. It was developed in 2000 and I'm unsure if I like it.
Beginning the long walk back...
These seagulls were divebombing for whatever fishy prey they'd discovered...
Pier panorama from the beach.
This is a shot of the Kursaal (Kursall is a German word, meaning "cure all"), which was opened in 1901. It once contained an arcade, ballroom, billiard room, circus and dining hall. In its time it's been an ice rink, zoo, rock music venue and a centre for trade exhibitions and sporting events.
The last time I ventured in was in 2012, when it was a bowling alley. Nowadays, this imposing building is sadly closed.
The Last Post is a pub inside former Post Office premises.
I'll assume this guy swinging from the ceiling is a postie!😁
The SuperDean wondered if I was posing this way as to avoid looking like I have a double chin, but no- I have no such thing, and was actually manoeuvring my head in such a way so my spots wouldn't be highlighted!
I originally took these photos to show off how bouncy my hair was looking that evening (although I did threaten to get a crew cut as the weather was hot, hot, hot...)
The SuperDean took this photo of Adventure Island fairground and Southend Pier the day we arrived, and it's the first time I'd ever seen them at nighttime.
The next day we took the l-o-o-o-o-ng walk to the end (1.341 miles, or 2158 metres to be precise) and then walked back again as we needed the exercise!
Southend, I will return.
Until then...
TTFN
The Miss Elaineous
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