Birnbeck Pier 4K Cinematic, Weston-super-Mare, Mini 3 .

The origin of the name Birnbeck is unknown but may take the 'beck' from the Scandinavian word 'bekk', a bench in literary Old Norse. Alternatively Birnbeck could be from the Old Irish 'berna bec', a 'little gap' because of the narrow channel separating the island from Worlebury Hill. The rock is limestone, giving rise to the geological term "Birnbeck Limestone Formation". Prior to the construction of the pier, Birnbeck Island could be accessed by a natural causeway at low tide. A proposal was made in 1845 to connect Birnbeck Island to the mainland at the western end of Worlebury Hill. Work commenced on a suspension bridge two years later under a design by James Dredge, architect of the Victoria Bridge in Bath. He patented the taper principle based on using chains rather than cables, as is more common in suspension bridges. Dredge's bridge design was considered "a very significant yet relatively short-lived phase in suspension bridge development". During a strike by stonemasons, what little had been built was damaged during a storm, bringing about the end to the suspension bridge scheme. Thunder Unison by  Keys of Moon |   / keysofmoon   Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/ Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...