Hi DB,
Thanks for adding those two fantastic pictures , remarkably good quality considering their age and of course informative of what was going on for that particular year. The Pier has never stood still when it comes to trying to bring something new to entertain, nearly each year there is a change of some sort and back in its earliest years was no exception.
Although the old Pier has changed beyond recognition, a few of the original timber piles still poke out from the sand and there are still some of the original beam timbers that support the decking joists still in place today, some look as good as the day they were first installed.
From the Kingsman collection I have attached two vintage photographs showing the Pier a few years later on, those piling rigs make an appearance again in 1891 with quite a few people at the end of the Pier, possibly waiting for a boat. 1893 shows Pier Gap with its parade of shops leading down to the Pier.
CE