The Grand Pier at Weston-super-Mare was one of the last of the great seaside piers to be built.

The pier was opened in 1904 to complement the Somerset resort’s Birnbeck Pier and to cope with the huge numbers that would descend on Weston in the summer months.

It was built not only to provide entertainment for the bucket-and-spade crowds but, initially, as a landing facility for those arriving by steamer.

In the event, tides and strong currents meant the mooring plan was abandoned, as was a scheme to extend the pier to a length of 2,000 metres.

The highlight of the early days of the Grand Pier was the 2,000-seat pavilion where opera, music hall, ballet and even boxing was performed. In January 1930 the pavilion was wrecked by fire and did not re-open until 1933 when a large funfair replaced the theatre.

The Grand Pier was bought by a Mr A Brenner in 1946 and in 1970 the entrance area was redeveloped to provide shops and amusements. In 1974, the pier was granted Grade II listed-building status.

A new bowling alley was completed at a cost of £250,000 in 1993 and a few months later a two-storey funhouse and Ferris wheel were added for £350,000.

The Red Arrows had been due to fly over the pier in an air show next month and a new £500,000 indoor go-kart track had just opened at the pier, which had recently sported a new climbing wall.

Meanwhile, the old Birnbeck Pier, to the north of the town, is now derelict, although a Manchester-based company which purchased it in 2006 had promised to restore it.

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