Brighton’s West Pier was once a symbol of luxury. It housed a theatre, a circus and even a concert hall. It opened in 1866, survived both world wars and a great many storms — but it didn’t survive neglect. It was closed in 1975 because it was losing money.
And so it stood, closed, until 2003, when the fires came. After them, all that was left of the pier was its metal frame — the very silhouette captured in the photo.
It belongs to the elements and the seagulls now, and yet it still carries the highest level of heritage protection (Grade I) as one of the country’s most valuable architectural landmarks. On paper it stands alongside Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey.
The real contrast is that some of them are polished and guarded, while others, like this pier in Brighton, are left to time.