Southwold Photo Diary - 4th December 2009

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	Southwold 4th/5th December 2009 Each image links to a larger copy which opens in a new window/tab
	We spent a night at the Adnam's swan Hotel in Southwold on 4th/5th December. On the 5th December we called at the isolated village of Shingle Street on our journey home.

The Coast Development Company, who operated the Belle Steamers fleet between London and East Anglian resorts, built Southwold Pier (along with Lowestoft and Felixstowe). Construction was authorised in 1899, and a design from W Jeffrey was accepted. Opened in the summer of 1900, the wooden pier extended to a length of 810ft (245m), and had a T-shaped landing stage at the head. A wooden pavilion with refreshment rooms was later erected at the shoreward end. Despite offering these basic facilities, Southwold Pier (and the other Coast Development Company piers) were always designed with the functional purpose of bringing visitors from London to disembark at various places along the East Coast on route to Great Yarmouth. The Amusement Equipment Company took control of Southwold Pier in 1906 when the Coast Development Company was succeeded by the Coast Development Corporation Ltd. Belle Steamers continued to operate the London to Great Yarmouth service until the early 1930s. The T-shaped landing stage at the head was swept away in a violent storm in 1934 and was never replaced. In 1936 the timber buildings at the shoreward end were replaced with the two-storey modernist pavilion that remains today.

In common with the majority of piers on the east and south coasts of England, Southwold Pier was sectioned in 1940 for fear of invasion. A drifting sea mine subsequently struck the pier, destroying a further section. Southwold Pier was repaired in 1948, at a cost of £30,000. In October 1955 a storm isolated the seaward end, and a further gale in February 1979 reduced the piers length to only 150ft (45.4m).

The pavilion building has performed many roles during its time - in the 1960s it was a public house. Purchased by the Iredale family in 1987, the pavilion's first floor theatre and function rooms were completely restored, the former cafeteria re-opened as Flippers Diner, and a fitness studio replaced the old Neptune bar. Part of the ground floor remained as an amusement arcade, with a bar to the rear. Access to the surviving section of the pier neck was from the bar, and served as a beer terrace. A fund raising campaign, started in 1999, secured sufficient money to extend Southwold Pier to its former length. This was officially opened on 3rd July 2001. The T-shaped head has also been restored, and when the Balmoral pulled alongside in June 2002 it was the first ship to do so in nearly half a century. In 2005, the pier was bought by Stephen Bournes and remains a family-run business.

Southwold Lighthouse is a coastal mark for passing shipping and guides vessels into Southwold Harbour. The lighthouse is situated near the centre of the seaside resort of Southwold.

Construction of Southwold Lighthouse began in 1887 under the supervision of Sir James Douglass, Engineer in Chief to Trinity House. The lighthouse replaced three local lighthouses which were under threat from severe coastal erosion at Orfordness to the South. While the masonry tower was built a temporary light was shown from a wooden structure which was first lit on 19th February 1889.

The present lighthouse came into operation on 3rd September 1890. The light was originally provided by an Argand burner, this was replaced by a Matthews incandescent oil burner in 1906. A Hood 100mm petroleum vapour burner was installed in 1923 and remained until the station was electrified and demanned in 1938. Two red sectors mark shoals to the north and the Sizewell Bank to the south, the main navigation light is white.

Shingle Street is a small coastal hamlet in Suffolk, England, at the mouth of Orford Ness, situated between Orford and Bawdsey. This part of the coast is also known as Hollesley Bay. Shingle Street is at risk from the sea and could disappear if sea defences are not erected. The shingle shoreline is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

Shingle Street was originally a home for fishermen and river pilots for the River Ore/Alde. Early in the 19th century four Martello towers was built between Shingle Street and Bawdsey, the most northerly example later the home for coastguards. Many of the original buildings date from this period, and the village became a small centre for fishing boats. The four Martello towers survive, along with more recent wartime defences.

The hamlet was evacuated in the Second World War, and the local pub, the Lifeboat Inn, was destroyed in a Porton Down experiment, never to be replaced. There have been many rumours relating to the wartime history of the area. There have been suggestions that there was a small German invasion in the area, but evidence is lacking from both sides of the channel. The only fully documented bodies recovered on the beach were four German airmen from a crashed He111. Other suggestions are that a pipeline defence system was laid along the beach, which could release a flammable liquid to 'set the sea on fire'. Whilst such devices were tested in the UK, there are no records that they were used north of Shoeburyness. Several other buildings were destroyed during World War 2, and minefields laid on the beach were not cleared for some time after the war. The village never regained its fishing industry, although it is still popular with fishing enthusiasts.

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