These are the shots Lucy was after the day she persuaded her BF Mark to help her with a school history project. Like me, Lucy knew that simply re-hashing the history of the pier would not nail her the A*. After all, everyone knows:

• It started life as a 300 foot (ft) wooden pier which opened in 1830
• It got into financial difficulties and was sold in 1846 for £17000
• By 1848 it was the longest pier in Europe (7,000 ft)
• The iron replacement pier was designed by Scots engineer Sir James Brunless.
• Although not completed until 1889, the new pier actually opened to the public in the summer of 1887
• The first extension opened in 1898 as a response to the increased number of steam boats visiting the pier.
• The upper deck opened in 1908 (one year after the opening of the doomed Aldwych Strand Station)
• Further extensions opened…