Eugenius Birch
Eugenius Birch | |
---|---|
Born | East Indian Railway | 20 June 1818
Design | Promenade piers |
Eugenius Birch (20 June 1818 – 8 January 1884) was a 19th-century English seaside architect, civil engineer and noted builder of promenade-piers.[1]
Biography
Both Eugenius and his elder brother, John Brannis (born 1813), were born in Gloucester Terrace (later Pitfield Street),
Career
As a result, aged 16 he joined Messrs. Bligh’s engineering works in
On 19 February 1839, Birch was elected a Graduate of the
He also designed the
Piers
On his return to England from India, Birch brought his global experiences to bear on the developing English fascination with seaside holidays, specifically the construction of piers. With the railways now allowing easy and cheap access to the seaside, and the known health benefits of clean air, businessmen in coastal towns were competing against each other to create the longest and most ornate piers to attract the greatest number of tourists.[2]
In 1853, a group of
The Margate pier led to a series of new commissions, which eventually ran to 14 piers in total, the most famous of which is the
In the BBC Radio 2 sitcom It Sticks Out Half a Mile (the radio sequel to Dad's Army), Birch is the builder of the fictional Frambourne-on-Sea pier.
Later life
Later in his life, particularly during his travels, Birch produced numerous
Personal life
In 1842 Birch married Margaret Gent, the daughter of a silk manufacturer from Cheshire. She was the sister-in-law of Birch's sister. The couple had no children, but Birch had two children, Eugene (born 1879) and Ethel (born 1881), with his wife's niece, Marion Morris.[6]
List of piers
Location | Built | Contractor | Status | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|
Margate Pier, Margate
|
1855–57 | Closed 1976 | First iron pier. Also known as Margate Jetty. Hit by storm-driven ship 1 January 1877. Hit by storm 11 January 1978. The wrecked pier remained for several years, surviving several attempts to blow it up, before final demolition though part of pier head remains. | |
North Pier, Blackpool | 1862–63 | R Laidlaw and Son, Glasgow | Open | Grade II-listed. The oldest remaining example of a Birch pier. |
West Pier, Brighton | 1863–66 | R Laidlaw and Son, Glasgow | Closed 1975 | Major sections collapsed in late 2002, and two fires in March and May 2003 left little of the original structure. Structured demolition took place in 2010 to make way for the observation tower i360; further structural damage from storms has occurred since. |
Deal Pier | 1864 | R Laidlaw and Son, Glasgow | Final demolition 1954 | Hit by ship 1940, destroying 200 feet of ironwork. Demolished by the army. Final demolition 1954. Replaced by a concrete pier, which opened in 1957. |
Lytham Pier | 1864–65 | R Laidlaw and Son, Glasgow | Closed 1938. Demolished March/April 1960 | In October 1903, sliced in two by drifting barges and repaired. The pavilion destroyed by fire in 1927. |
Aberystwyth Royal Pier
|
1865 | JE Dowson | Open | Grade II listed. Following storm damage, the pier is currently a third of its original length. |
Eastbourne Pier | 1866–72 | Open | Grade II*-listed. The pier's arcade building, called the Blue Room, was destroyed in a fire in 2014. However, the pier continues to attract healthy numbers of visitors. | |
Birnbeck Pier, Weston-super-Mare | 1867 | Closed 1994 | Grade II*-listed. No successful regeneration attempts have been made, so the pier continues to be in an extremely poor condition. | |
New Brighton Pier | 1867 | JE Dowson | Closed 1972 | Demolished 1977. |
Scarborough North Pier | 1866–69 | J E Dowson and another | Destroyed 1905 | Destroyed by storms in 1905. Entrance building remained until 1914. |
Hastings Pier | 1869–72 | R Laidlaw and Son, Glasgow | Open | Re-opened in 2016 following a major restoration project. |
Hornsea Pier
|
1880 | Demolished 1897 | Demolished following financial difficulties. | |
Bournemouth Pier
|
1880 | Open | Pier head rebuilt in concrete in 1960, followed by the neck in 1979. Pier zip-line built in 2014. | |
Plymouth Pier | 1884 | Demolished 1953 | Demolished 1953 following WWII bombing in 1940. |
References
- ^ "Eugenius Birch (1818-1884) Obituary". Grace's Guide. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Eugenius Birch". eastlondonhistory.com. 28 June 2008. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
- ^ "About Us and Our History". SEA LIFE Brighton Aquarium. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
- ^ a b c Jonathan Glancey (11 March 2002). "A blot on the seascape". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
- ^ "West Pier, Brighton". Arthur Lloyd. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
- ^ "Eugenius Birch". manchestervictorianarchitects.org.uk. Retrieved 13 September 2023.