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Weston owes its growth and prosperity to the Victorian era boom in seaside holidays. Along with nearby Burnham-on-Sea, it benefited from proximity to Bristol, Bath and South Wales. With the coming of the railways, thousands of visitors came to the town, on works outings and Bank Holidays -- many mining families coming directly by steamer from Wales. To cater for them, Birnbeck Pier was completed in 1867Events January 8 African-American men granted the right to vote in the District of Columbia January 11 Benito Juarez becomes Mexican president again January 30 Emperor Komei of Japan dies. Crown Prince Mutsuhito is expected to become the next Emperor of J, offering in its heyday amusement arcades , tea rooms, funfair rides and a photographic studio.
Local traders, unhappy that visitors were not coming as far as the centre of the town, began the construction of a new pier closer to the main streets. Opened in 19041904 is a leap year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). Events January 7 The distress signal " CQD" is established only to be replaced two years later by " SOS. February 7 A fire in Baltimore, Maryland destroys over 1,500 buildings in 30, and known as the Grand Pier, it was originally planned to be 1.5 miles (2.4km) long. It still stands in truncated form today, although amusements and cafes have replaced the original music-hall theatre it supported. Further development occurred after World War IWorld War I (also known as the First World War , the Great War the War of the Nations and the "War to End All Wars") was a world conflict occurring from 1914 to 1918. No previous conflict had mobilized so many soldiers, or involved so many in the field of, with the Winter Gardens and Pavilion, the Open Air Pool and an airfield all dating from the inter-war period.
During World War IIWorld War II was the most extensive and costly armed conflict in the history of the world, involving the great majority of the world's nations, being fought simultaneously in several major theatres, and costing tens of millions of lives. The war was fough many evacuees were accommodated in the town. Weston suffered several bombing raids, damaging parts of the town centre.
In the post-war period Weston suffered a large decline in popularity, like virtually all British seaside resorts. The advent of cheap foreign holidays and the break-up of large industries like mining contributed, as working communities became less likely to holiday together. The town had become a centre of industries such as aircraftThis article refers to the tool of travel. There is a separate article about the movie Airplane An aircraft is any machine capable of atmospheric flight. Categories and clasification Aircraft fall into two broad categories: Heavier than air Heavier than a production. Road transport links were improved with the M5 motorway running closely by, and the town now supports several light industries and distribution depots, and functions partly as a dormitory town for Bristol.
The tourist traffic has never completely vanished and Weston nowadays could be considered to be weathering hard times moderately well. It has a shopping centre, helicopter museum, a sea life centre and miniature railway.
Well-known former residents of the town include John Cleese, Jeffrey Archer, Rupert Graves and Jill Dando. The writer Bill Bryson has a wet time visiting, recounted in Notes from a Small Island .