South Parade Pier facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
South Parade Pier

Type	Pleasure
Carries	Pedestrians
Locale	Portsmouth
Total length	600 feet (180 m)
Opening date	26 July 1879; 145 years ago (1879-07-26)

The South Parade Pier is a fun pier located in Portsmouth, England. It's one of two piers in the city, with the other being Clarence Pier. This pier used to have a long hall in the middle with seats and a small restaurant. Outside the hall, there's a walkway that goes all the way along the pier. After a time when it wasn't looked after very well, the pier was fixed up. By 2017, it had become a place with arcade games and food shops.

The South Parade Pier is in Southsea, which is part of Portsmouth. It's a pleasure pier, meaning it's a place for fun and entertainment. You can find typical seaside things here like souvenir shops, ice cream, indoor games, and even a small funfair for kids. It also has a special deck for fishing and two rooms often used for live music shows.

History of the Pier

How it Started

The pier has had a very exciting history, much like many other piers in the UK. Building work began in 1878. The pier officially opened its doors on 26 July 1879. Sadly, the pier's main building, called the pavilion, was destroyed by a fire on 19 July 1904. After the fire, the pier was sold to the city of Portsmouth. It officially reopened on 12 August 1908.

In 1914, a steam boat service started running between South Parade Pier and another pier called Seaview Chain Pier. This service stopped in September 1914. It was officially prevented from running again by the Navy in 1915.

Middle Years (20th Century)

South Parade Pier in 1967

During the Second World War, parts of the pier were taken apart. This was done to make it harder for any enemy invasion. The pier also caught fire a few times. The most famous fire happened in 1974 while a movie called Tommy was being filmed there.

In the 1980s, the pier had two big ballrooms called the Gaiety and Albert ballrooms. Students from Portsmouth Polytechnic used these rooms several times a week for discos. The pier even appeared in an episode of the TV show Mr. Bean called Mind the Baby, Mr. Bean.

Recent Times (21st Century)

In 2010, three business people bought the pier. They promised to make it as good as new. Today, the pier is owned by Frederick Nash, who runs a property company. His partners are Tony Marshall, a lawyer, and David Moore, who owns a stud farm.

Fixing Up and Reopening

The main deck of the pier was closed to the public in April 2012 because of safety worries. At first, people could still go fishing there, but later, all access was stopped. In November, the pier was completely closed off by Portsmouth City Council because it was unsafe. A few days later, the front part of the pier, which included some arcade games and shops on land, was reopened.

In December 2012, there was an attempt to sell the pier at an auction, but it didn't work. Then, in February 2014, strong storms hit the pier. Parts of the boat deck at the very end of the pier broke off and washed up on Southsea beach. The shops facing South Parade reopened in April 2015.

A company called South Parade Pier Limited bought the pier in 2014. In June 2015, they shared their plans to bring the pier back to life. They wanted it to be a place for music shows and for boats to dock. By this time, most of the big repairs to the pier's structure were finished. The buildings were then fixed up too.

The pier was finally fully repaired and reopened on 14 April 2017. It had a new and improved arcade and a cafe. A restaurant called Deep Blue Restaurants opened in the summer in the old Albert Tavern building. The pier is now managed by the South Parade Trust. This group works to buy, improve, keep, and grow the pier and its businesses.

In July 2019, a funfair called "Kidz Island" opened on the pier. In November 2019, it was confirmed that Richard Cadell had signed a deal to keep the funfair on the pier for 15 years. The very last repairs were finished in November 2019. This included opening a brand new boat deck, which cost £200,000 to rebuild. The old one had been removed in 2014 because of the storms.

Kidz Island Rides

Current Rides

Past Rides

Images for kids

• 

  Amusements at the pier

• 

  Gaiety Bar

• 

  Kids Island fairground