Central Pier is one of the three piers in Blackpool, England, and it was built in 1868. It is called “Central” because it is situated between the other two piers, and it was near the old Blackpool Central railway station, about 550 yards south of Blackpool Tower. The pier extends straight out from the flat coastline, running perpendicular to the sea front and level with the promenade. The success of the North Pier led to the creation of Central Pier, with the Blackpool South Jetty Company being set up in 1864. They hired the same builder, Richard Laidlaw and Son from Glasgow, who had worked on the North Pier. This time, they used designs by Lieutenant-Colonel John Isaac Mawson instead of Eugenius Birch. When Central Pier opened on May 30, 1868, it was 503 yards long, including a 131-yard landing jetty for low tide. The first manager was Robert Bickerstaffe, who was also the coxswain of Blackpool’s first lifeboat. The lifeboat station is next to Central Pier.
From the start, Central Pier focused on fun rather than the more relaxed atmosphere of North Pier. Early on, it offered dancing facilities, and later, in the 20th century, roller skating, fairground rides, and amusement machines were added. Steamboat excursions also left from the jetty. After World War II, the dance halls became less popular, and by the 1970s, the pier had been transformed into a theatre, bars, and amusement arcades. In 1986, the pierhead theatre was updated and renamed “Peggy Sue’s Showboat”. A significant addition came in 1990 with a 33-metre-high (108 ft) Ferris wheel, which was a modern version of a Victorian attraction that had once been part of the Winter Gardens.
Central Pier is mainly made of cast iron with wooden decking. It was built using the screw pile method, where cast iron piles with screw tips were twisted down through the sand until they reached bedrock. The construction was similar to North Pier but with a slightly more delicate appearance. Over the years, Central Pier has experienced some damage, including fires in 1964 and 1973 that destroyed parts of the theatre. Major changes include the removal of the 131-yard jetty in 1975 and the addition of the Ferris wheel in 1990, which required strengthening the midsection of the pier. In July 2020, a fire caused damage to a fairground ride and an engineering shed halfway along the pier.
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