The Cleethorpes Promenade Pier Act, 1867.

This rare, 10 page Parliamentary publication is the official Act that gave legal force to the construction of Cleethorpes Pier. Receiving Royal Assent on 15 July 1867, it confirmed a Board of Trade Provisional Order and incorporated The Cleethorpes Promenade Pier Company, empowering it to finance, build, maintain and operate the new pier.

The Act established every aspect of the undertaking. It created the company, appointed its first directors, authorised the raising of £10,000 in share capital, enabled land to be acquired, and set out the company’s powers and responsibilities. It also gave a detailed legal description of the proposed pier, authorising a structure extending approximately 1,200 feet into the Humber Estuary from the cliff opposite the eastern end of Albert Street.

Far more than permission to build a promenade, the Act reveals the ambitious vision behind Victorian Cleethorpes. It authorised a pier designed to serve both as a popular seaside attraction and as a working landing stage for passengers, fishing vessels and commercial trade. Detailed schedules of maximum charges were laid down for ships, passengers, promenaders, luggage and an extraordinary range of goods, from herrings, oysters and shrimps to timber, machinery, guano, tea and tobacco, providing a fascinating insight into the commerce expected to pass through the growing resort.

Construction began shortly afterwards, and the completed pier opened to the public in 1873, becoming one of Cleethorpes’ defining landmarks. More than simply authorising a structure, this Act established the legal, financial and administrative foundations upon which one of Lincolnshire’s most iconic Victorian piers was built.