Cleethorpes Pier marks 150th anniversary

The promenade cost £10,000 to build and opened in 1873

Cleethorpes Pier is marking its 150th anniversary on 4 August with a series of exhibitions and postcards.

The structure cost £10,000 to build and nearly 3,000 people paid to walk on the pier on its opening day in 1873.

The pavilion was a key venue for Northern Soul, North East Lincolnshire Council said, and later hosted pop stars including Five and Blur.

Councillor Hayden Dawkins said the pier's "rich history mirrors that of the whole resort".

"The pier stands as a marker of great Victorian architecture and is one of the focal points of our resort," Mr Dawkins said.

The pier and Ross Castle picture in 1926, before the structure was shortened

The structure was sold to Cleethorpes Borough Council in the years between World War One and World War Two.

During World War Two a large section of the walkway was deliberately destroyed to stop enemy invaders from using it as a landing stage.

Most of the salvaged timber was used to build a new stand at the former ground of Leicester City Football Club at Filbert Street.

But post-war compensation from the government did not supply enough money to rebuild the pier and it remains at one third of its original length.

A set of commemorative postcards has been produced to mark the pier's 150th anniversary

The current pavilion hosted acts including The Nolan Sisters, Cannon and Ball, Tony Christie and Mike and Bernie Winters in the 1970s, according to the council.

In the 1990s and 2000s it attracted concerts by pop stars including Blur, Five, A1 and Billie Piper.

In 2016 the pier was bought by Papa's Fish & Chips, which created a large restaurant at the site supplied by fish processed at Grimsby Dock and potatoes grown in Lincolnshire.

To mark the anniversary a free commemorative brochure and postcards have been published.

Two exhibitions will also take place in September.

Papa's Fish & Chips bought the pier in 2016