7 Things The Victorians Loved To See Beside The Sea

3. Pleasure Piers

Pleasure piers are an iconic part of the British seaside and served as a popular source of entertainment for the Victorian holiday maker. Piers allowed holiday makers to walk beside or over the sea regardless of whether the tide was in and out. This made them an incredibly popular asset for seaside holiday resorts and by the end of the Victorian era there were nearly one hundred in existence around the coast of Britain. Sadly, this number has now halved due to the expense of maintaining the piers.

Piers featured long promenades as well as shops and, at larger resorts, even music halls and theatres. The need for better indoor lighting in Victorian theatres led to the invention of slaked lime based lamps, the lime shone brightly when heated by a blow torch and this bright light could be used as a spotlight which gave birth to the saying 'in the limelight'. Charges to enter piers were often in place and would prevent members of the working class from being able to use them.

The first pleasure pier to be built was designed by a man named John Kent and was opened in July 1814 at Ryde on the Isle of Man. When designing piers, designers were keen that each one should have its own charm and character that would encapsulate the ambience of the town in which it was being built. The Victorian's love of piers led to them building Southend Pier, which at 1.34 miles long remains the longest pleasure pier in the world.