Education

As well as being a tourist attraction and a place of interest, Clevedon Pier is also a very good site for educational purposes. Subjects include history, geography, geology, art, physics, to name just a few.

School & College Visits

We welcome visits from school and college students from all over the country, even the world!! A guided tour of the pier and the Toll House can be given, by prior arrangement.

Special rates are available for groups of students and teachers/helpers. Please contact Linda Strong at the Toll House on 01275 878846, or via enquiries@clevedonpier.com to book your visit and discuss further details. There will be a Health & Safety Briefing to all visitors on the pier, prior to the commencement of any tour.

We encourage children/students to go back home and tell their parents/relatives about their visit to Clevedon Pier and persuade them to come back again, this time with a member of their family!!

Teachers Information

We have a number of pieces of information that may be useful for teachers/lecturers prior to attending the pier, if perhaps, the visit is to be incorporated into a specific project.
The following three sections are also available in PDF format for printing as work sheets.

For other resources, see 'Further Reading' at the bottom of this page.

If you require any specific information, please do not hesitate to contact us prior to your visit and we will endeavor to do our best to help you out.

Clevedon Pier - Some Facts and Figures

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Some interesting facts and figures on Clevedon Pier:

The deck is made from Opepe, an African hardwood.
Some of the fish caught from the pier are; Bass, Cod, Conger, Dab, Flounder, Lesser Spotted Dogfish, Pouting, Rocking, Silver Eel, Sole, Tub, Gurnard, Thornback Ray, Turbot and Whiting.
Ships which dock at the pier are; PS Waverley, MV Balmoral and MS Oldenburg. These ships take on water and supplies, as well as passengers.
The pier was designed by R.J. Ward and J.W. Grover. Ironwork was by Hamiltons of Liverpool.
The Toll House was designed by Hans Price.
The pier is 312 metres long, from the gates to the rails at the end.
It is constructed of cast iron, wrought iron, steel, wood and glass.
Average rise and fall of the tide, ordinary spring tide – 14 metres (47 feet), the second highest tide in the world.
Depth of water at high tide, ordinary spring tide – 16 metres.
Depth of water at low tide, ordinary spring tide – 2 metres.
Distance to Cardiff from the pier head – 21 kilometres.
Distance to Severn Crossing – 18 kilometres.
It took 60 men, 18 months to build the pier.
0 tons of wrought iron was used in the building of the pier.

Clevedon Pier - Fact Sheet

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1847	Railway reaches Clevedon offering possible link to South Wales by steamer
1863	Application for the construction of a pier at Clevedon
1866	Clevedon Pier Company formed with Sir Arthur Elton as Chairman
1867	Construction of the pier started, by Hamilton’s Windsor Ironworks of Liverpool. Total cost: £10,000.
1868	The official opening of Clevedon Pier, on Easter Monday 29th March
1892-3	Original wrought iron pier head was replaced. Rebuilt in cast iron and reopened on 3rd April. New timber landing stage added. Regular steamer traffic began at the pier.
1894	Two storey pavilion and two shelters were completed.
1913	Pre-cast concrete landing stage was built, to replace original timber one, which was in poor condition
1950	Introduction of weight testing to obtain insurance cover
1970	The furthest two spans of the pier collapsed during loading test for insurance purposes – estimate for repairs £75,000
1971	Clevedon Pier Preservation Trust is established on 6th September
1979	Application made to demolish. Estimate for restoration£379,000
1980	A public enquiry saves the pier from demolition. Fundraising starts
1981	Clevedon Pier Trust Ltd. Is formed
1982	The pier head buildings were dismantled and taken to a local car park for storage and to await restoration.
1983	The restored Toll House is opened
1984	Monies raised by English Heritage, the Public and other sources enables the trust to begin repair work. To dismantle and repair off site, the promenade and provide new deck, also repair the concrete landing stage
1985	The pier is dismantled and taken to Portishead for restoration
1988	The pier is reconstructed
1989	The pier reopened, without the pier head on 27th May. Sailings return. Further fundraising and a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, a contract for the final phase of restoration – costing £2,500,00, bringing the total cost to £3,600,000
1998	The pier is fully restored and opened on 23rd May
1999	Awarded ‘Pier of the Year
2002	Awarded Grade 1 Listed status, one of only two piers in the country

Clevedon Pier - A Question of History

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What Grade listing is Clevedon Pier?
When was Clevedon Pier opened?
What happened in 1970?
When was the promenade restored and reopened?
1973 1989 1995
Who owns the pier?
How high can spring tides rise from low water?
Who sponsored the pier gates?
On 23rd May 1998 Sir Charles Elton Bt unveiled a plaque. What did it commemorate?
What is the name of the paddle steamer that sails from the pier?
How many men did it take to build the pier, and how long did it take them?
How much wrought iron was used in the building of the pier?
What is the pier mainly built of?
What was the role of the Toll House?

Heritage Centre

A visit to Clevedon's Heritage Centre, at No. 4 The Beach, Clevedon (only two minutes walk from the Toll House), is well worth a look. It houses a large display and exhibition on the history of Clevedon, as well as information on the various paddle steamers that visited the pier, and the Weston, Clevedon & Portishead Railway.

Entrance to the Heritage Centre is free, but it is not open all the time. Contact the Toll House on 01275 878846 prior to visiting, to arrange an appointment.