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
