In 1895, George Luttrell was given the first official sanction to construct a pier. A dispute delayed the start of work until 1900. The 700 foot structure, designed by J.J.Webster, opened in 1901. The cost was £12,000.

There were four landing stages, tollbooth and, later, a shelter. Steamers called on a regular basis.

The pier was removed in 1940 to allow nearby gun batteries a clear line of sight. Minehead was the only pier to be completely demolished during World War II. The owners, Campbells, were awarded £90,000 compensation. The money was used to improve their steamer fleet.

Minehead Pier 2000 Association was formed in the mid-1990s. They planned a new £5 million pier using millenium funding from the National Lottery. However, the funding application was rejected.

July 2019 – Remembering Minehead Pier
Built in the Victorian era, the pier allowed tourists and residents to climb abroad steamboats and travel to the North Devon coast and Cardiff. The large seaside attraction was later demolished and despite several attempts to build a new one, it is yet to be replaced.
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February 2022 – Minehead Pier in miniature on display at Minehead Museum
The 700ft long Edwardian pier has now been reduced to 3ft 6in in length but retains some fine detailing of the structure’s trolley railway and the complex landing stage at the end. The original gate, stabilised rather than fully restored, is also on show. The pier display will be the main feature of the 2022 season when the museum re-opens on March 26.
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July 2024 – A Feature on Minehead Pier
A general history of John James Webster’s third pier (after Dover Promenade and Bangor Garth). In the relatively few surviving photographs of it, there are resemblances to the two former structures in the substructure and balustrades, although the buildings are rather plainer. Webster had also received the second prize in the design competition for Watkin’s Tower, a subject investigated in one of Martin Easdown’s recent books. The claim that Minehead Pier was the only pier to be entirely destroyed during WWII can surely be retorted with the name Deal (the 2nd generation pier, 1864-1940). On the history progresses to the years approaching the Millennium, with the usual story of a new pier proposal coming and going. Evidently the proposal’s downfall came with resident’s concern on the effects a pier would have on the character of the town and its conservation area.
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National Piers Society

Celebrating Seaside Piers

Minehead Pier

Minehead Pier

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