Remembering the glory days when St Leonards Pier was big attraction

It is being given by local author and historian Steve Peak, who wrote the recently published book on the history of the two piers. It takes place at Hastings Museum and Art Gallery, Bohemia Road, on Sunday February 26 at 2pm. The illustrated talk will feature many rare images of St Leonards Pier. St Leonards Pier was a popular attraction in the years after the First World War and its facilities attracted many new visitors to the town. The pier was re-launched as ‘The New palace Pier’ in 1934 and boasted a striking new Art Deco style frontage as well as dances and bands every day. In 1935 the pier was home to Chipperfields Wonder Zoo, which has lions, tigers, bears, monkeys and kangaroos and claimed to be ‘the greatest collection of wild and rare animals, birds and reptiles ever seen on the South Coast’. St Leonards Pier came to the end of its life as a public amenity in September 1939 at the outbreak of the Second World War, despite 44,000 people packing onto it on the August bank holiday weekend. The Pier was requisitioned by the military and a section of it removed as a defence measure. It was eventually damaged by a major fire at the shore-end on March 7 1944. It was eventually demolished and moved entirely by 1951. Admission is £5 and £3 for Museum Association members. Steve’s book is on sale at the museum. Don’t miss out on all the latest breaking news where you live. Here are four ways you can be sure you’ll be amongst the first to know what’s going on. 1 Make our website your homepage at www.hastingsobserver.co.uk 2 Like our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/hastingsobserver 3 Follow us on Twitter @HastingsObs 4 Register with us by clicking on ‘sign in’ (top right corner). You can then receive our daily newsletter AND add your point of view to stories that you read here. And do share with your family and friends - so they don’t miss out! The Hastings Observer - always the first with your local news. Be part of it.