A free Birnbeck Pier exhibition opens at Weston Museum on Friday 6 November, with unseen restoration photos and original pier metalwork. It runs to 27 February.
You still cannot walk out to Birnbeck Pier, but from next month you can see what is happening behind the fencing. A free exhibition, Restoring Birnbeck Pier, opens at Weston Museum on Friday 6 November.
It is expected to run until Saturday 27 February 2027, in the museum’s Community Gallery on the ground floor. North Somerset Council announced it on 12 October.
What is on show
The council says the exhibition includes:
- previously unseen photographs of the work so far, on the pier structure by the contractor Mackley and on the landside by Smith and Brenson
- pictures taken mostly by members of the A1 Camera Club, the council’s official photographic partner for the project
- a display cabinet of metalwork from the original pier
- “interesting and unusual finds” uncovered during the restoration
It is the second Birnbeck exhibition at the museum. Both are part of the council’s activity plan for the project, which is paid for by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Councillor Mark Canniford, the cabinet member responsible for the pier, said it was “a great way for people to discover what’s happening behind the construction site fencing”.
Opening times and entry
Weston Museum is on Burlington Street in Weston-super-Mare town centre. The council says it is open Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm, so it is closed on Sundays and Mondays.
Entry to the museum and the exhibition is free, and you do not need to book.
The Community Gallery is busy until then. The museum’s current exhibition there, run with the National Trust, is listed until Saturday 31 October.
Where the restoration has got to
The pier opened in 1867 and has been closed to the public since 1994. The council bought it in July 2023.
At the end of September a quarter of the new deck was in place: four of its 16 spans. We reported the first steps on the new deck on 28 September.
The council’s project timeline, updated in September 2026, now puts dates on every phase:
| Phase | Council’s timing |
|---|---|
| Island sea wall, 1888 boat house, clock tower pavilion, cliff face | Autumn to winter 2024 (complete) |
| Landside buildings, services and infrastructure | Autumn 2025 to autumn 2026 (in progress) |
| Restoring the pier structure | Winter 2025 to summer 2027 (in progress) |
| New landside café and toilets | Autumn 2026 to summer 2027 |
| Restoring the North Jetty | Summer 2027 to spring 2028 |
| Restoring the island | Spring 2028 to spring 2029 |
That is a change worth noting. When we set out the funding and programme in August, the council had given no dates for the North Jetty or the island buildings. It still aims to reopen the pier to the public in summer 2027, so the island would remain a work site for some time after that.
What it means for you
- The pier and island are still closed. It is an active construction site, so the exhibition is the closest look most people will get this winter.
- Go from 6 November, any Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm. It is free.
- Check before a late visit. The council says the exhibition is “expected” to run until 27 February, so the end date could move.
- Parking: the museum is in the town centre. Our parking page has the council car parks and their charges.
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