The museum is now open for the summer season - our opening hours are 11am to 5pm on weekends and bank holidays until Christmas.

Whilst we receive no central funding, we are continuing our trial of opening with no admission charge, simply asking for a donation to help us keep the museum open! All children under 16 must be accompanied.

We display the full 130+ year history of pier trains, some previously unseen recovered items from the pier fires and relics from Southend's maritime past. 

School and special interest groups are welcomed during the week for private visits, by prior arrangement.

Running the museum takes a lot of work and we would love to invite volunteers to join us and help create the new experience. The more volunteers we have, the more days we can open! We can offer a variety of roles (no experience needed). Message us here or email us on chairman@southendpiermuseum.co.uk if you are interested. 

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Sir John Betjeman once said, “The Pier is Southend, Southend is the Pier” and it’s as true today as it was when it first welcomed visitors all those years ago.

If you walk along Southend-on-Sea’s High Street, towards the sea, your eye will be drawn in a straight line towards the longest pleasure pier in the world. Standing for over a century it extends 2158 metres (1.341 miles) into the Thames Estuary, and is a well loved and recognised symbol of Southend and the pleasures of the English seaside.

This site provides information about the museum on the pier. For general enquiries about access to the rest of the pier, its opening times, train running, prices, other facilities, etc., please go to www.southendpier.co.uk .

The Museum is located in the the Old Pier Workshops underneath the train station at the shore end. To locate the Museum entrance, you should go into the Pier Reception and then walk to the right of the railway entrance where it is signposted.

The Museum will bring back fond memories for some and will be a brand new experience for younger generations. Remember days gone by. We have an original c.1890 toastrack tram, three original c.1949 train carriages, a working signal box, pictorial displays, some original "just for fun" working penny slot machines, and much much more......

We also have a Souvenir Shop and a Visitors book for your comments.

It’s fun, it’s a great way to learn and it’s out of the rain when we get a traditional English summer!

For our next meeting or to become a member of the Pier Museum please see our Membership page.

***If you would like to help in the Museum please click here to see our Volunteer page.***

The Pier Museum is a not-for-profit organisation and is a registered Charity (Number 802105) and FULLY Accredited with Arts Council England (Number 490).

NB: If you use your mouse and hover over an image and a hand appears, give the left mouse button a click to see a bigger image.

© 2024 Southend Pier Museum