Withernsea Pier stands in the seaside town of Withernsea on the coast of the East Riding of Yorkshire. I say “stands”, but that’s only partially true these days…
The pier was built between 1875 and 1877 to draw tourists following the arrival of the railway from nearby Hull. Reaching almost twelve hundred feet into the North Sea, it was intended for both leisure and also as a landing point for ships and fishing boats. The pier featured a distinctive castellated entrance modeled on Conwy Castle in Wales, and a fee of one penny was charged for visitors to walk out over the sea.
Although popular, the pier was beset by problems. Storms and collisions with boats damaged the structure, gradually reducing its length until a vessel – the Henry Parr – struck it in 1893, leaving only a short section attached to the towers. The remnants of the pier were removed in 1903, but the entrance towers still stand today, marking where it once reached out over the waters.
Plans to construct a new, shorter pier were explored in more recent times, but the project was declared unviable and abandoned in 2023.
Olympus OM-10 & G-Zuiko Auto-W 35mm f/2.8 on Ilford Delta 400 (expired October 2003) @ 100asa. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 8mins @ 20°
Taken 25 July 2026.
