NATIONAL PIERS SOCIETY

The National Piers Society (NPS) is a registered charity in the United Kingdom dedicated to promoting and sustaining interest in the preservation and continued enjoyment of seaside piers.

It was founded in 1979, with Sir John Betjeman as the first Honorary President. Currently the role is filled by Gavin Henderson CBE, Principal of the Royal Central School of Speech & Drama, with Tim Mickleburgh (Chair 1995-2003) as Honorary Vice President. The NPS became a registered charity in 1999, and as a society publishes a quarterly magazine. The society also lobbies heritage bodies, lottery boards, local authorities and the media on pier issues. In 2014 it worked with English Heritage to bring out "British Seaside Piers".

The Annual General Meeting takes place at a different resort each year. In addition to establishing regional branches, the society is working to create a National Piers Museum.

The NPS maintains links with the relevant trade association, the British Association of Leisure Parks, Piers and Attractions, and the Paddle Steamer Preservation Society (PSPS)

There is some ambiguity where "At Risk" piers are being listed on the NPS website as being in good condition, when Historic England has them listed as being "At Risk". If a structure is at risk for because a part of the building is missing, for example Eastbourne Pier, then it should not be rated as being in good condition, for that description is misleading.

Since 1996 the society has presented an annual Pier of the Year award. Past awards have been given to:

The society also presents a triennial award for engineering excellence, the Peter Mason Award named after a past Chairman. In 2005, a limited company - The National Piers Society Ltd. - was created as the NPS trading arm.

FIRE TRAGEDY - It made many people weep to see this icon reduced to a pile of scrap steel. The problem with steel in fires is that the rolled girders twist and distort, making it impossible to repair. The only way is to take it down and start again.

CHARITABLE STATUS

The NATIONAL PIERS SOCIETY LIMITED was successfully incorporated on 12 July 2005 at Companies House as a Private Company limited by Guarantee. Charitable status was awarded to the new Company by the Charities Commission on 12 September 2005. The new Registered Charity Number is 1111251. The newly incorporated Charity is being registered as a Company in England in Wales, Company Number 5506251.

NATIONAL PIERS SOCIETY LIMITED
24 WRINGTON MEAD
CONGRESBURY
BRISTOL
NORTH SOMERSET
BS49 5BH

Patrons	Timothy West CBE Dame Joan Bakewell Gyles Brandreth
Hon. President	Gavin Henderson CBE
Hon. Vice-President	Tim Mickleburgh 11 Boulevard Avenue Grimsby Lincolnshire, DN31 2JP
Chairman	Tim Wardley
Vice-Chairman	Tim Phillips
Treasurer	Chris Southon
Secretary	Anya Chapman
Membership Secretary	Joy Surtees
Editor PIERS	Suzie Hart
Media Relations Officer	Anthony Wills
Sales Manager	Frances White Tel: 01829 271275
Other Committee Members	Caroline Buttolph Mike Davies Jan Oldfield
Non-Executive Members
Archivist	Martin Easdown
Website Manager	Clover Chapman

BRITISH RESORTS AND DESTINATIONS ASSOCIATION (BRADA) - The British Resorts and Destinations Association website is designed as a one stop shop providing a wealth of information on many of the UK's most popular built and rural inland and coastal destinations.

BRISTOL BLUE GLASS - Bristol Blue Glass has been free blown in Bristol since the 18th century. The Bristol Blue Glass Company provided the beautiful engraved plate for the National Piers Society's Outstanding Achievement Award presented to Weston-Super-Mare Grand Pier.

BUILDING CONSERVATION - The Building Conservation website provides a wide variety of information for the conservation, restoration and repair of historic buildings

CINEMA TREASURES - Cinema Treasures is building the world’s most comprehensive guide to movie theaters to help celebrate and preserve the moviegoing experience.Their database includes over 34,000 movie theaters from the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and dozens of other countries around the world.

CIVIL ENGINEERING - This link to the website of the Civil Engineer Library contains a series of technical works by Vincent T. H. Chu, including information on the construction of piers and marine structures.

COAST MAGAZINE - Coast magazine is the ideal publication for everyone whose heart is by the sea. It brings along a large amount of coverage of the sea and coastal life and related issues.

DANIEL ADAMSON PRESERVATION SOCIETY - The DANIEL ADAMSON is a significant historic vessel being constructed as a tug – tender having the capability to both perform towage duties as well as carrying passengers. She is one of only two surviving tug tenders in the U.K. and the only surviving steam powered tug tender.

DISCOVERING BRITAIN - Developed by the Royal Geographical Society, Discovering Britain is an exciting series of geographically-themed walks across the country that aim to inspire everyone to explore and learn more about the way the forces of nature, people, events and the economy have created the Britain of today.

ENGLISH HERITAGE - English Heritage is the Government's statutory adviser on the historic environment. English Heritage exists to protect and promote England's spectacular historic environment and ensure that its past is researched and understood.

THE HERITAGE ALLIANCE - The Heritage Alliance is the biggest alliance of non-Government heritage interests in the UK. It represents non-Government organisations from larger bodies such as the National Trust, to many smaller organisations. The National Piers Society is a member.

THE HERITAGE TRAIL - The Heritage Trail is an independent historical website that has been established for many years, showcasing a diverse range of historical sites and monuments, including many of Britain's seaside piers.

JOYLAND BOOKS - Joyland Books is a family-run bookstore, specialising in the sale of books about amusement parks, roller coasters, fairgrounds and circuses, plus seaside attractions including, of course, seaside pleasure piers.

MARINE CONSERVATION SOCIETY (MCS) - MCS champions marine wildlife protection, sustainable fisheries and clean seas and beaches via campaigns such as the introduction of Marine Reserves, the Good Fish Guide on sustainable seafood choices and the Beachwatch initiative to clean our beaches of litter. .

THE MEDWAY QUEEN PRESERVATION SOCIETY - The Medway Queen Preservation Society was established in 1987 to restore and preserved the 1924 build paddle steamer Medway Queen; she is the Heroine of Dunkirk, rescuing some 7,000 men. The ship has been re-built in Bristol, and is fitting out at Gillingham pier, River Medway, Kent.

NEW WALMINGTON MODEL PIER - A few British seaside piers had a railway or tramway on them including of course the well known one at Southend-on-Sea. This layout represents a fictitious small pier tramway of the Edwardian times to give a period flavour of a seaside pier and its tramway.

OLD THEATRES MAGAZINE - OLD THEATRES is a magazine produced by and for theatre devotees throughout Britain under the Patronage of Ken Dodd OBE and other theatre personalities. It is rapidly developing a cult following, not only within Britain but from theatre devotees worldwide.

OLD UK PHOTOS - An archive of old photos of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, including England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, the rest of the British Isles, and the Republic of Ireland (which of course is not in the United Kingdom).

PADDLE STEAMER HERITAGE - The Paddle Steamer Preservation Society Collection is the largest and most complete archive of material relating to paddle and pleasure steamers in the UK.

PADDLE STEAMER PRESERVATION SOCIETY - This is Britain's longest established, largest and most successful steamship preservation group. Through its associated charitable and non-profit distributing companies, the Society operates Britain's only two working paddle steamers, Waverley and Kingswear Castle, plus the MV Balmoral.

PENNY ARCADE - A fascinating website dedicated to the old penny amusement machines and end of the pier arcades of yesteryear. The site contains a fascinating range of pictures and videos of these once essential elements of many seaside piers with detailed explanations of how they work.

PUNCH & JUDY AT THE SEASIDE - There is a long tradition, in Britain, associating the Punch & Judy Show with the seaside: coastal holiday resorts to which the whole population would flock during the Summer months.

RNLI - The RNLI is the charity that saves lives at sea. They are volunteers across the UK and the Republic of Ireland who provide 24-hour lifeboats and seasonal lifeguards dedicated to saving lives at sea.

SALVOWEB (UK) - Salvo provides a directory of architectural/demolition salvage which occasionally includes items salvaged from piers. Salvo also aims to increase appreciation and awareness of historical crafts skills and manufacture, and to help reduce the amount of salvageable materials from old buildings and gardens going to landfill.

SAVE BRITAIN'S HERITAGE - A strong, independent voice in conservation, formed in 1975 by a group of architects, journalists and planners, campaigning for threatened historic buildings and the historic environment.

SEASIDE HISTORY - This site is all about the British Seaside Holiday and has sections about lidos, holiday camps, piers, hotels, camping, sun bathing and the history of the British Seaside Holiday.

THE THEATRES TRUST - The Theatres Trust is the National Advisory Public Body for Theatres, protecting theatres for everyone. The Trust operates nationally in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland promoting the value of theatre buildings and championing their future.

TRINITY HOUSE - Trinity House is the charitable organisation dedicated to the safety, welfare and training of mariners and is the General Lighthouse Authority for England, Wales, the Channel Islands and Gibraltar.

THE VICTORIAN SEASIDE (BBC HISTORY) - A BBC History essay by Professor John Walton on 'The Victorian seaside: a refuge from the stresses of everyday life, or an environment demanding the keeping up of appearances and expensive rituals?'

THE VICTORIAN SOCIETY - Victorian and Edwardian buildings are irreplaceable, cherished, diverse, beautiful, familiar and part of our everyday life. The Victorian Society is the champion for these buildings.

VINTAGE SPIRIT - Vintage Spirit is the UK's fastest-growing steam and vintage magazine, featuring all the latest from the preservation world each month.

WHITBY SEA FISHING - People from across the world visit the picturesque town of Whitby based at the mouth of the river Esk every year. The town has a timeless dimension about its old cobbled streets.