Volenti non fit injuria
The beautiful Clevedon Pier has not always looked as beautiful as it does now. For most of the 70's, 80's and 90's it was a pier head and pavilion with a large gap!
On 16 October 1970, spans 7 and 8 of the pier collapsed during stress testing, which had been introduced in the 1950s as a requirement for obtaining insurance cover. The tests involved the placement of polythene tanks 50 ft (15.2 m) long, 5 ft (1.5 m) wide and 2 ft (0.6 m) deep filled to a depth of 10 in (25.4 cm), which created a pressure of 50 psf (2 kPa) This simulated the required load agreed with the Ministry of Transport.
Six tanks were used for each span and left in place for three hours; the 18 tanks used in total allowed three spans to be tested simultaneously. At the end of the three hours the tanks were emptied and dragged along the deck to test further spans. The first six spans passed without problems, but under load the seventh span collapsed, bringing down the eighth and final span, leaving the pier head and pavilion standing.
The story goes... that for the final test the workmen retired to the local pub whist the water was pumped into the tanks...
Volenti non fit injuria
The beautiful Clevedon Pier has not always looked as beautiful as it does now. For most of the 70's, 80's and 90's it was a pier head and pavilion with a large gap!
On 16 October 1970, spans 7 and 8 of the pier collapsed during stress testing, which had been introduced in the 1950s as a requirement for obtaining insurance cover. The tests involved the placement of polythene tanks 50 ft (15.2 m) long, 5 ft (1.5 m) wide and 2 ft (0.6 m) deep filled to a depth of 10 in (25.4 cm), which created a pressure of 50 psf (2 kPa) This simulated the required load agreed with the Ministry of Transport.
Six tanks were used for each span and left in place for three hours; the 18 tanks used in total allowed three spans to be tested simultaneously. At the end of the three hours the tanks were emptied and dragged along the deck to test further spans. The first six spans passed without problems, but under load the seventh span collapsed, bringing down the eighth and final span, leaving the pier head and pavilion standing.
The story goes... that for the final test the workmen retired to the local pub whist the water was pumped into the tanks...