The original Bournemouth Pier was a 100-foot wooden jetty built in 1856 but was redesigned in 1861 by George Rennie to increase the length to a 1,000-feet. Metal was added to the structure when the supports were replaced with iron in 1866, however, this did not protect the pier from harsh weather conditions. A storm in 1876 damaged the pier, which then became unsafe for public use. It wasn’t until 1880, Eugenius Birch constructed a new 838-foot iron pier, which extended to 1,000-feet by 1905.

Birch’s pier stood for 40 years, before it was reconstructed between 1946-1950 as a concrete structure. The iron pier had suffered damage during World War Two, when it was used as an anti-invasion measure. The new pier was safer for the public and was better at with-standing harsh weather conditions.

That was until 1979, when the pier had to be refurbished due to reports of corrosion in the pier’s supports. The corrosion was fixed and it was reopened for the public with new on pier entertainment, including shops, kiosks, a bar and an arcade.

The pier operations were taken over from Bournemouth Council by OpenWide Ltd in 2006. They worked with the council throughout the 2010’s to develop new attractions that would entice tourists to Bournemouth. These attractions included demolishing the IMAX Cinema in 2013, the pier zipline in 2014, the big wheel in 2016 and mini golf in 2019.