Members of the Friends of the Museum of Somerset (FOTMOS) enjoyed an insightful talk on the five piers of Somerset at its opening winter gathering.
The meeting, which was held on Zoom in October, saw the group welcome speaker Chris Jessop.
The talk focused on the history and varying fates of Minehead, Burnham on Sea, Clevedon, Weston-super-Mare, and Birnbeck piers.
Piers were initially constructed as landing stages for passenger boats, primarily made of timber and either cast or wrought iron.
The first pier, Ryde, was built on the Isle of Wight in 1814.
In their prime, there were 100 piers around the coast, but only half survive today, with several facing an uncertain future.
Minehead Pier, which opened in 1901, was removed during World War II to give nearby gun batteries a clear line of sight, and plans to rebuild it have been unsuccessful.
Burnham on Sea saw its first pier constructed in 1858 by the Somerset Central Railway, but this had closed by 1888.
The new pier, built just before World War I, is the shortest in the UK.
It was damaged by a fire in August 2021 but quickly reopened and remains a popular venue.
Built using discarded wrought iron railway lines, Clevedon Pier opened in 1869.
After two spans collapsed during testing in 1970, the pier was almost demolished, but a public inquiry and various grants saw it saved and reopened in 1998, now a Grade I-listed structure.
The Grand Pier at Weston-super-Mare, which first opened in 1904, was destroyed by fire twice, in 1930 and 2008, but reopened in 2010 to become one of the UK's premier attractions.
Birnbeck Pier, known as the 'Old Pier', is the only pier in the country to connect the mainland to an island.
It opened in 1867 but closed to the public in 1994.
Part of it collapsed during storms in 2015, and it is currently on the English Heritage At Risk register.
Various plans to obtain grants to restore it so that the lifeboat can return have been unsuccessful, and in the meantime, storms continue to batter the pier.
The next FOTMOS meeting is set for Tuesday, January 20, 2026 at 7.30 pm, when Jonathan Holt will give a talk on Somerset Follies.
FOTMOS is also hosting the West Somerset Brass Band at the Museum of Somerset on Saturday, December 6, for an evening of festive music.