SOUTH PARADE PIER SOUTHSEA PORTSMOUTH

SOUTH PARADE PIER, SOUTHSEA

Seaside funfair attractions on the south coast of England

SOUTH PARADE PIER - Looking good in the 1950s

NEWS

19/2/15: Portsmouth City Council issued a legal Repairs Notice specifying how the pier must be safeguarded for the future, the result of a petition on 38 Degrees that attracted 7,128 signatures.

ABOUT THE PIER

The South Parade Pier is a pier in Portsmouth, England. It is one of two piers in the city, the other being Clarence Pier. The pier has a long hall down its centre which houses a seating area and a small restaurant. The outside of the hall is a promenade which runs the length of the pier and connects the entrance building with the small funfair at the southern end.

The South Parade Pier, in Southsea, part of the English city of Portsmouth, is a pleasure pier offering typical seaside attractions including souvenir shops, ice creams, indoor amusements and a small children's funfair. It also contains a fishing deck and two function rooms which are often used for live music.

The history of the pier has been eventful; like many UK piers. Construction started in 1875 and was officially opened in 1879. It was partly dismantled during the Second World War in an attempt to hinder any invasion and it has also caught fire several times, most famously in 1974 during shooting of the film Tommy. In the 1980s the pier's Gaiety and Albert ballrooms were used several times a week for discos organised by Portsmouth Polytechnic students. The pier appeared in an episode of Mr. Bean entitled "Mind the Baby Mr. Bean."

The Pier was sold to three businessmen in 2010, who pledged to restore it to its former glory. The iconic pier is now owned by Frederick Nash, director of Hampshire property firm Matchams South Coast, and partners Tony Marshall, a London lawyer, and Cambridgeshire stud farm proprietor: David Moore. Very little has happened to the pier since the purchase in early 2010.

In April 2012 the deck was closed to the public because of concerns as the the safety of the structure.

In April 2015 the boarding on the front deck was removed and the Ice Cream Parlour and Newsagents resumed trading. The rest of the pier still remains closed to the public.

SOUTH PARADE TRUST

South Parade Trust
C/O Parity Trust
East Wing
1000 Lakeside
North Harbour
Portsmouth, PO6 3EN

Email: info@southparadetrust.org

Facebook: Facebook.com/thepeoplespier

Twitter: Twitter.com/peoplespier1

Google Plus: Google.com/+SouthParadeTrustOrg1

YouTube: Youtube.com/peoplespiersouthsea

PIER HISTORY

South Parade Pier has important historical and cultural value. British and Canadian troops embarked from there on their journey to Normandy for the D-Day landings in 1944. Winston Churchill and Montgomery addressed huge audiences there. Rock legends Pink Floyd, Genesis and David Bowie all performed there - and filming of The Who's rock opera 'Tommy' led to the infamous fire in 1974. Generations of Portsmouth residents and tourists have walked, danced and gathered on the pier since 1879.

THE PIER IN 1901 - a superb photo of the South Parade pier showing a paddle steamer pleasure cruiser docked at the landing jetty. Many piers offered similar rides at this time.

BBC NEWS 12 DEC 2012

A Victorian pier has failed to find a new owner after being put up for sale at auction.

South Parade Pier in Southsea, Portsmouth, had a guide price of £190,000 to £210,000 at the Clive Emson Auction in Southampton earlier.

The Grade II listed pier closed in October after engineers found it to be structurally unsafe and "a danger to the public".

Experts hope it could be purchased in a post auction deal.

The auction catalogue described it as offering "huge scope and potential" for a new owner.
The Who

Rob Marchant, from Clive Emson, said interested parties included an amusement arcade enthusiast and a current pier owner.

He said: "We are in talks and hope to find a new owner soon.

"Other privately-owned piers have shown they can be commercially viable and this is a great looking pier with magnificent views.

"I'm sure there is an investor out there who could revive the fortunes of this grand old structure."

The original pier was destroyed by fire in 1904 and required a complete rebuild at a cost of £85,000.

Previously popular as a terminal for ferries to and from the Isle of Wight it was latterly used as the backdrop for The Who's rock opera Tommy.

In 1974, another fire left it requiring a further rebuild.

NOT ANOTHER ONE - What is it with piers and fires

PIER CONTACTS

Pier hire events or booking line: 023 9281 6623.

General enquiries: 023 9273 2283.

South Parade Pier
South Parade
Southsea
Portsmouth
Hampshire
PO4 0SP
Email

Email: info@southseapier.com