Even the most devout pedestrians don't often get to walk on water, but Victorian engineering smarts gave us the chance with magnificent iron piers in many British seaside resorts. Now one of the most iconic (dread word, but justified) is up for sale. Brighton Pier, still known to locals by it's original moniker of Palace Pier, has been put on the market by owners Noble Group. "Strong interest" is reported from potential buyers for the pier, which played a starring role in the book and the film Brighton Rock, and featured in a couple of Carry On films. An economist might say that, though formerly part of Brighton's pier duopoly, the Palace Pier has been a monopoly supplier of pier-based services since the demise of the Grade I-listed West Pier - reduced to a marooned island of twisted ironwork after being battered by storms and fires. Whoever buys the pier (assuming that this isn't some kind of publicity stunt), here's hoping that pedestrians are able to carry on walking on water.
Old Brighton is disappearing under a wave of primping and prettification. But a few places still haven’t been gussied up – like under the pier. It might have been re-branded by the Noble Organisation as Brighton Pier, but underneath, it’s still the Palace Pier of Brighton Rock and Quadrophenia: behind these doors, Jimmy unwittingly spends a night with a roomful of rockers. Never mind Under the Boardwalk, under the pier is a dark, dank, edgy place, where Pinkie forever lurks, just beyond the shadows.
