A BOOK celebrating Yorkshire's piers, including one in Scarborough, has been published giving a detailed written and photographic account of the seaside pleasures.
Yorkshires Seaside Piers by Martin Easdown, provides an interesting insight into pleasure piers and, in particular, the lost piers from Hornsea, Coatham, Redcar and Scarborough.
The book shows the piers in all their glory as well as in their demise and contains exerts from newspapers, including the Scarborough Mercury, from the time when the piers were in use.
An 1891 view of Scarborough North Pier showing the enlarged refreshment room on the pier head and the pavilion at the entrance both added in 1889
Mr Easdown has not only researched the piers and how they came to be constructed, but also looks into the men that built them and the hazards they had to contend with.
A closer view of the pier head refreshment room
Throughout the book, Scarborough is mentioned and Easdown documents the building of the pier and its initial hostile reaction from some townsfolk, through to its demise.
The North Cliff seen from Scarborough pier 1885. The short lived Queens Parade Tramway (1878- 87) can be seen on the cliff side
Scarborough's pier was the first pier to be built when it was opened in 1868.
The book points out that Scarborough has been popular with visitors since 1616 when Elizabeth Farrier discovered the underground spring that led to the establishment of the Spa.
Looking down onto the pier from the cliff in 1902
"Scarborough's unique stance as the only major spa to be located by the sea, thus led it to also become Britain's first seaside resort," says the book.
Crowds watch a stormy sea lash the promenade and surviving pier entrance building in 1910. The building became dilapidated and was demolished in January 1914
"By 1733 the world's first bathing machines were in use and in 1787 there were 26 operating in the South Bay."
It points out that those who invested in pier promotion and construction companies, expected to reap bumper benefits, however they were to have their fingers burnt, this was the case with Scarborough and several others.
On January 7 1905 Scarborough Pier was alomost totally wrecked, leaving just the entrance and pier head buildings standing
In 1863 the Scarborough Marine Promenade and Jetty Company was formed to build a pier in the South Bay.
Snapshot of the entrance building following the storm shows the point where the pier deck broke away and fell into the sea
Pictures reproduced courtesy of the Marlinova Collection, Scarborough Collection Centre and publishers
The full article contains 307 words and appears in Scarborough Evening News newspaper.
