Today the West Pier no longer exists except for some skeletal fragments.

By 1816, the legislation was passed authorising the construction of what is now called the "West Pier".

The West Pier occupies a special spot in British affections.

She was taken in tow to Dover, but sank off West Pier.

In 1912 a new West Pier, a little to the east of the old one, was opened.

Part of the line between the (West) Pier and Saline runs through salt beds that flood at high water.

The novel is set in Brighton in 2003, around the time the West Pier was destroyed by fire.

The West Pier had been cut off from the shore (partly deliberately, for safety reasons) since the early 1990s.

The following photos show the major structural developments of West Pier from its opening in 1866 until 1920.

These two boat houses were closed in 1993 when a new purpose-built house was opened at the landward end of West Pier.