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In this work, Martin Easdown turns his expert attention westward to the Lancashire coast. His highly illustrated survey of the piers constructed at famous resorts like Blackpool, Morecambe, Southport and St Annes-on-Sea celebrates structures that are among the most exuberant and evocative of the Victorian age.
This is the only guide to all 58 extant British seaside piers, including details of location, history and current operations, archive and contemporary photography and a gazetteer.
Fifty-five piers. Two weeks. One eccentric road trip. Before the seaside of their youth disappears forever, two friends from the landlocked Midlands embark on a peculiar journey to see all the surviving pleasure piers in England and Wales. With a clapped-out car and not enough cash, Jon and Danny recruit Midge, a man they barely know, to be their driver, even though he has to be back in a fortnight to sign on. Join Jon and Danny as they take a funny and nostalgic look at Britishness at the beach, amusement in the arcades, and friendship on the road.
Of all the architectural delights of British seaside resorts, the most astonishing and idiosyncratic is the seaside pier. Remarkable visual spectacles, piers are architecturally extraordinary in concept and at times outrageous in execution. They brought together the Victorian genius for technological and material innovation, architectural ambition and engineering ingenuity in the search for new designs for leisure (as well as profit) over the sea. This superbly illustrated book explores the history of the design processes leading to the architectural and engineering innovations that have allowed people to walk on water in such diverse and delightful ways. Coverage includes the development of piers into the crowning architectural glory of British seaside resorts; the key people, materials, inventions and technologies in the field, particularly the work of Eugenius Birch, the greatest pier designer; the remarkable diversity of piers ranging from the earliest simple landing stages, through staid promenade piers and the glories of fully-fledged pleasure piers, to the boisterous joys of funfair and amusement piers; the rich variety of architectural styles, including exotic 'Orientalism' and streamlined Modernism and, finally, today's contemporary prospects for renewal and reinvention.
Vilified by leading architectural modernists and Victorian critics alike, mass-produced architectural ornament in iron has received little sustained study since the 1960s; yet it proliferated in Britain in the half century after the building of the Crystal Palace in 1851 - a time when some architects, engineers, manufacturers, and theorists believed that the fusion of iron and ornament would reconcile art and technology and create a new, modern architectural language. Comprehensively illustrated and richly researched, Iron, Ornament and Architecture in Victorian Britain presents the most sustained study to date of the development of mechanised architectural ornament in iron in nineteenth-century architecture, its reception and theorisation by architects, critics and engineers, and the contexts in which it flourished, including industrial buildings, retail and seaside architecture, railway stations, buildings for export and exhibition, and street furniture. Appealing to architects, conservationists, historians and students of nineteenth-century visual culture and the built environment, this book offers new ways of understanding the notion of modernity in Victorian architecture by questioning and re-evaluating both Victorian and modernist understandings of the ideological split between historicism and functionalism, and ornament and structure.
In 2007, author and broadcaster Chris Foote Wood achieved a lifelong ambition - to visit every seaside pier in England, Wales and the Isle of Man - all 56 of them! In words and fascinating pictures he conveys the history, personalities past and present, the stories and legends associated with each seaside pleasure pier. From initial construction to later repair; through storms, shipwrecks and fires that sometimes led to complete destruction; they are all here - the longest, the shortest, the oldest and youngest, the finest to the most mundane. As the author enthuses, "Each pier is different, with its own personality ... some piers are much as they were when they were built in the Victorian and Edwardian eras, while others are wholly given over to entertainment and modern amusements. There's something about a pier that has universal appeal to all ages, generations and most nationalities .... Enthusiasts appreciate a pier's form and structure, while most holidaymakers are more concerned about the facilities on offer. Some are content to stroll along the pier deck, enjoying the fresh air, exercise and views over the sea while others immerse themselves in the amusement arcades and funfairs that are a major feature of most of our remaining seaside piers. Food, drink and entertainment are all the more enjoyable when taken 'over the waves'." As well as the piers themselves, Chris describes the pier railways - a welcome facility on some of the longer piers - and their associated cliff lifts. As a bonus, the multitude of facts and information make an ideal quiz - questions and answers are provided!
"The story begins in the summer of 1969, with the erection of a giant slide on the boardwalk of Wildwood, NJ by two brothers, both carpenters, who knew little about the amusement business. Their competitors, seasoned boardwalk operators, poured scorn on the newcomers, who, undeterred, began developing an amusement pier around the ride, the Wipe Out. Driven by the work ethic, imagination and "yes-we-can" creed of its founder, Will Morey, this family company, which now runs three piers packed with more than 100 rides and attractions and two world-class waterparks, has become a benchmark for the industry. These days, the Morey organization operates the largest seaside amusement park in the world. From the monster attractions of the seventies to the Euro invasion of the eighties and the roller coaster race of the nineties, this is the remarkable story of a small family company that dared to dream big in one of the most competitive, unpredictable industries of all. Fasten your harnesses and prepare to take a ride ..."--Page 4 of cover.
Pleasure piers are among the most distinctive and memorable creations of Victorian Britain. These magnificent and evocative buildings represent the exuberant, potimistic style of the Britsh seaside resort at the peak of its popularity, and the Yorkshire coast possessed no less than six of these extraordinary structures. In this meticulously researched and highly illustrated account, Martin Easdown tells the story of the rise and fall of Yorkshire's seaside piers. The piers he principally describes in his lively narrative are the long-lost structures at Coatham, Redcar, Scarborough, Hornsea and Withernsea, plus the country's only surviving pleasure pier at Saltburn-by-the-Sea. He looks at how they were designed and constructed, at the men who built and financed them, and at the hazards that beset them - fire, storm, ship collision, war damage and the ever-present threat. 75 b/w photos
This volume includes papers from the 8th International Conference on Sustainable Tourism. Today tourism is becoming accessible to a growing number of people and is an important component of development, not only in economic terms but also for knowledge and human welfare. This collection of research aims to find ways to protect the natural and cultural landscape through the development of new solutions which minimise the adverse effects of tourism. The phenomenon has many more advantages than disadvantages. New forms of economic development and increasing wealth of human societies depend on tourism. Our knowledge of the world now includes a strong component due to tourism. Human welfare has physiological and psychological elements, which tourism promotes, both because of the enjoyment of knowing new territories and increasing contacts with near or far away societies and cultures. The tourism industry has nevertheless given rise to some serious problems, including social costs and ecological impacts. Many ancient local cultures have practically lost their identity. Their societies have oriented their economy only to this industry. Both the natural and cultural – rural or urban – landscapes have also paid a high price for certain forms of tourism. These problems will persist if economic benefit is the only target, leading to economic gains that eventually become ruinous. It is also a grave error to disregard the fact that visitors nowadays are increasingly demanding in cultural and environmental terms. The ‘Global Change’ is a set of natural environmental changes that are strongly affected by technological and social developments. Natural changes are inherent in the Earth’s ecosystem (the ‘ecosphere’). Also, technological and social changes are inherent to mankind (the ‘noosphere’), and are now becoming widespread. Cities are growing rapidly and industry requires increasingly larger areas. Many traditional rural areas are being abandoned. Tourism should also play an important role in this context. Thus, interestingly, many historic agricultural districts have maintained, or even recovered, their local population numbers through intelligent strategies of tourism focused on nature and rural culture. Natural landscapes and biodiversity are becoming increasingly appreciated. The tourism industry must be able to respond to these aspirations.