03/08/2023
Cleethorpes Pier turns 150!
This month marks 150 years since Cleethorpes Pier was opened to the public.
Plans to build it first appeared in the ‘London Gazette’ on 16th November 1866. It was eventually built for £8,000 and opened on August Bank Holiday, 1873.
The pier has taken on many uses throughout its history And has previously housed various restaurants, shops, a nightclub and a 600-seat concert hall.
In 2016, Papa’s Fish & Chips took over the site, transforming it into the world’s biggest fish and chip restaurant and takeaway. The facility created over 100 new jobs and can host 500 people at a time.
To mark the 150th anniversary of the opening of the pier, a free commemorative brochure and postcards have been produced. You can pick up your copy from The Resort Hub on Central Prom, Cleethorpes Library or Papa's Fish & Chips on Cleethorpes Pier.
In September, there are two exhibitions to mark the special occasion:
- A two-day exhibition taking place titled 'A Prince, a Pier and a Castle' at Cleethorpes Town Hall on Friday 8 and Saturday 9 September, part of Heritage Open Days and supported by the Townscape Heritage Project.
- The following weekend, a new exhibition opens at the Grimsby Fishing Heritage Centre entitled 'Tracks, Smacks and Sunhats', which looks at the impact of the early years of the railway on Grimsby and Cleethorpes. It opens to the public from Friday 15 September.
Councillor Hayden Dawkins, Cabinet member for heritage, said: "The pier stands as a marker of great Victorian architecture and is one of the focal points of our resort. It's rich history mirrors that of the whole resort, and we should be very proud to have it still standing!”
