In 1950 the pier tram was sold for £ 12 10s because it could not pass the Bailey bridges , and replaced by a narrow-gauge steam railway which was gone by 1959 . On 1 March 1949 the pier entrance suffered sea-storm damage , and again between 31 January and 1 February in the North Sea flood of 1953 , when a twenty-foot storm surge swept past the old pier-master 's house , Richmond Villa , and as far as the High Street . As a result , in 1953 the stone balustrade from London Bridge , set at the entrance in 1833 , was taken down and replaced with railings . The present whereabouts of the balustrade is unknown . In January 1963 the surface of the sea froze for weeks in the curved shapes of sea spray as far as a mile offshore . The tide continued to go in and out under its white crust , leaving the pier surrounded by ice . Rapid thaw then caused stress to the piles , exacerbated by previous storm damage and neglect . The summer of that year saw the last visit by '' PS Medway Queen '' . By 1968 the seaward end of the pier had been closed and abandoned . In September the same year insurance was withdrawn for the deep sea part of the pier beyond the pavilion , and the public excluded . The Grand Pier Pavilion was refurbished at a cost of £ 158,000 but was destroyed by fire possibly caused by a spark from a welding torch during pier entrance reconstruction in June 1970 . The building burned down within hours , to the distress of Herne Bay . As replacement , the Pier Pavilion was designed in 1971 by John C. Clague , opened by Edward Heath on 5 September 1976 , and called '' The Cowshed '' by the public . Meanwhile , ownership of the pier was transferred to Canterbury City Council on 1 April 1974 merger
North Sea flood of 1953
North Sea flood of 1953
Herne Bay Pier