Nine lovely old pictures of Eastbourne's iconic pier

We had a hunt through our archives and came across these nine wonderful old photographs of Eastbourne Pier.

The iconic landmark was designed by Victorian architect Eugenius Birch, and was opened on June 13, 1870 by Lord Edward Cavendish.

However, it wasn’t completely finished until two years later.

At around 300 metres (1,000ft) long the pier is built upon stilts which rest in cups on the sea bed.

This allows the pier to move with the sea during rough weather, giving it the flexibility it needs to withstand damage from the pounding of the waves.

During World War Two, some of the decking was removed and a machine gun installed in the theatre.

The concrete part of the decking today is where the gap was during the war.

On July 30 2014, a large fire ripped through the pier, completely destroying the large dome-roofed structure nearest the shore, known as the Blue Room, which was being used as an amusement arcade at the time (it was formerly a dance hall).

In the aftermath of the blaze, Eastbourne Pier passed into the ownership of Sheikh Abid Gulzar, who repaired much of the pier, rebuilt the burned out decking and built new, smaller buildings on the Blue Room site.

Film credits include Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging (2008), much of which was filmed in Eastbourne, and Brighton Rock (2010) when Eastbourne Pier was used as a stand-in for Brighton’s Palace Pier.

For more information, visit Eastboune Pier’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/EastbournePierOfficial/

IF you have any old photographs of Eastbourne you wish to share with us, and perhaps the story behind them, please email us at [email protected]

We’d love to feature your memories and pictures, both here in the newspaper and online on our website.