A fine example of Victorian architecture, our beautiful seaside pier is one of the most photographed places in Cleethorpes. Follow our Instagram profile for many amazing images captured by visitors and locals.

The arrival of Cleethorpes Pier

In 1863 the railway line to Cleethorpes was opened by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway Company (MSLR) In 1867, the Cleethorpes Promenade Pier Order was approved
and planning began on developing Cleethorpes sea front.

The pier was designed by Messrs JE and A Dowson of London and built by Head Wrightson of Thornaby on Tees. Costing £10,000, funds were raised by selling shares to local businessmen.

Opened on 4 August 1873 by Mr AWT Grant-Thorold of Weelsby, Chairman of the Cleethorpes Promenade Pier Company, the structure was 370 metres long and supported by cast iron cylindrical columns. The deck, constructed of pitch pine, had an 800-capacity concert hall at the end. The pier opened on the August bank holiday and was very popular with nearly 3,000 visitors paying to walk on the pier.

Cleethorpes Pier during the wars

In 1903 the pier head concert hall was destroyed by fire. A pavilion was built near the shore in 1905 and a café and shops on the site of the original building. During the war, a hole was blasted in the decking to prevent the structure being accessed by Germans who may arrive by boat. The remains of the pier were finally taken down years later, and sold by the Council. Some of the material went to Filbert Street, the home of Leicester City Football Club.

How the pier has changed

In 1968 it was modernised to include a 600-seat concert hall, café and bar. In the 1970s it featured many familiar favourites such as The Nolan Sisters, Cannon and Ball, Tony Christie and Mike and Bernie Winters and was a key venue for Northern Soul.

It was transformed again in 1985 and the pier was turned into a nightclub named Pier 39. Several other refurbishments and renewal works have taken place over the years. In the 90s and 2000s, the musical heydays of the previous century revived as the likes of Blur, Five, A1 and Billie Piper pack out the pier building.

In 2013 the pier began exciting major renovation works of £4.7 million to create a new high quality restaurant, tea room and ballroom.

The transformation included the repair of Victorian columns and restoration of the stained-glass window overlooking the promenade which became the centre-piece of the pier’s façade. It was named Pier of the Year in 2016 by the National Piers Society.

Later that year, the pier was sold to family run business, ‘Papas Fish & Chips’, becoming the ‘world’s biggest fish and chip restaurant’ seating over 500 people.

Papa’s Fish & Chips attracts over 2 million visitors a year to Cleethorpes and employs over 100 staff. Fish served at Papa’s is processed through Grimsby Dock and the potatoes which make the chips are grown in Lincolnshire.

Cleethorpes Pier today

On 4 August 2023, Cleethorpes Pier celebrates its 150th birthday. A new commemorative brochure and two commemorative postcards have been produced to mark the occasion.

During Heritage Open Days in September, two special exhibitions will open. Taking place at Cleethorpes Town Hall on Friday 8 and Saturday 9 September, ‘A Pier, a Prince and a Castle‘ celebrates the vision of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway’s Chairman, Sir Edward Watkin, in the development of the resort and pier over 150 years.

The ‘Tracks, Smacks and Sunhats‘ exhibition opens at the Grimsby Fishing Heritage Centre on Friday 15 September through until December 2023. The exhibition looks at the impact of the early years of the railway on the towns of Grimsby and Cleethorpes and will feature Cleethorpes Pier.