Back to a fall from grace III

3 of 12 in the ‘About Brighton’ series

I found it on the high tide line
after a night of fire
the grand old lady of the sea
destroyed by spite and ire
Never proved but always known
her final hours presumed
the work of arsonists with flame
the pier now lost, consumed

Yet carried on an ebbing tide
along the coast to me
a memory of those boards I trod
now rescued from the sea
And though her grandeur now has gone
complete her fall from grace
Brighton’s West Pier always will
in history have a place

©Jemverse

Series photo is from the front cover of a First Edition of a book by Antony Dale from 1951

On 28 March 2003 the pavilion at the end of the derelict West Pier in Brighton caught fire. Always presumed to have been the work of arsonists, yet never proven, it was still the final death knell for the grand old lady. Opened back in 1866 and surviving two world wars, the pier was sadly closed to the public in 1975. However, I still have fond memories of walking its promenade decks back in the 60s and early 70s. Who knows, I could have trodden the very board fragment I rescued and which now has pride of place in my back garden.

[‘A fall from grace III‘ was first published in October 2016]

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