Victoria Pier - History

History

Designed by Maynall & Littlewoods of Manchester, Colwyn Bay's Victoria Pier was one of the later British piers to be built, with construction starting in June 1899 by the Salford firm of William Brown & Sons. Its official opening was on 1 June 1900, when the architect, Mr. Littlewood, handed a golden key to the pier's owners. As first constructed, the pier was just 316 ft (96m) long and 40 ft (12m) wide, comprising a timber promenade deck with seating and railings along its length, and a 2,500 seat 'Moorish' style pavilion. The pavilion was set to the right of the deck, with a walkway allowing access to the pier-head to the left. The pavilion's main entrance was flanked on one side by a flower shop and, on the other, by a coffee lounge and cake shop. Inside, the pavilion boasted a large balcony which extended around three sides of the auditorium and a full orchestra pit.

In 1903, the Victoria Pier Company decided to extend the neck to a length of 750 ft (227m) to facilitate outdoor theatrical performances.

A 600 seat 'Bijou' theatre was built at the pier head in 1917 for the purposes of light entertainment. The main Pavilion building was completely destroyed by fire in 1922. The Victoria Pier company suffered serious financial difficulties after the fire. As a result, Colwyn Bay Urban District Council purchased the pier and work began immediately to rebuild the pavilion. In July 1923 the second pavilion was opened, at a cost of £45,000. Unfortunately, disaster struck again on 16 May 1933, when the second pavilion was destroyed by fire, followed on 28 July 1933 by a fire that destroyed the Bijou theatre.

Once again, Colwyn Bay Urban District Council set about rebuilding, and the present pavilion was opened on Tuesday 8 May 1934 at a cost of £16,000, but the Bijou theatre was never rebuilt. Increasing usage of the pier led the council to introduce a twopenny toll (free after 6pm) in 1936, which included the price of a deckchair and listening to the band. The purpose of the toll, said the council, was to prevent 'indiscriminate lounging on the pier'. In the pavilion, Ernest Binns presented 'The Colwyn Follies', with seats at two shillings, one shilling and sixpence.

During the 1950s and 60s, the pier began a period of gentle decline. In 1953, the pavilion's tearoom, which had been a year-round meeting place for 40 years, started closing for the Winter. In 1956, the line up of entertainment in the pavilion was as follows: Monday: Bingo, Tuesday: Wrestling, Wednesday: Amateur Talent Show, Thursday: Old Time Dancing, Friday: Popular Dance, Saturday: Young People's dance. 1958 saw the end of the Summer variety shows in the pavilion. In 1959, the variety shows were replaced by a small orchestra of six musicians; over 20,000 people paid 9 pence each that year to attend the afternoon concerts, with another 10,000 attending in the evenings. By 1961, falling audiences forced the council to reduce the orchestra to three musicians. 1962 saw the council admit defeat for live performances and install pre-recorded orchestral music.

In 1968, ownership of the pier passed from the local council to Entam Leisure, a division of Trust House Forte, for just £59,000. Entam Leisure decided that the pier needed modernisation to prosper. This involved building the Golden Goose Amusements in a large new modern building on the pier neck, the opening of the Golden Fry Restaurant in the old tearooms, and the conversion of the pavilion into the Dixieland Showbar. As part of this work, the ornate Moorish toll booths at the entrance to the pier were removed to create an open aspect to the pier entrance.

During the 1970s, the Dixieland Showbar hosted many live concerts, featuring groups/acts such as Motorhead, The Damned, Siouxie & The Banshees, Elvis Costello, Slade, Budgie, The Specials, Jackie Wilson, Madness, Cockney Rejects.

In 1979, the pier was sold again, this time to Rhyl based leisure operators, Parkers Leisure (Holdings) Ltd. They converted the Dixieland Showbar into CJ's Nightclub and built an extension onto the front of the Golden Goose Amusements, to create a larger entrance/amusements area. 1987 saw the entire seaward end of the pier being closed to the general public, on grounds of safety. In 1991, Parkers Leisure closed down their amusement and disco businesses on the pier. Vandals attacked the pier after the closure, smashed most of the windows in the former Golden Goose Amusements, and broke into the pavilion to set fire to it. In 1993, Colwyn Borough Council gave permission to demolish the pavilion and seaward end of the pier, but the work was never carried out.