[2] The refreshment and waiting rooms of 1898 were designed by local architect Hans Price and the clocktower and the piermaster's house have been attributed to him.

As a boarding point for steamers plying their trade in the Bristol Channel, it underwent various extensions and modifications over the years.

Alternatively Birnbeck could be from the Old Irish 'berna bec', a 'little gap' because of the narrow channel separating the island from Worlebury Hill.[3].

As a result, further horizontal cross braces were added to the piles, and a law was passed banning marching on the pier.

[20] When the pier opened on 5 June 1867,[21] again by Cecil Hugh Smyth Pigott, many of the people of Weston-super-Mare were given a holiday and a banquet was held in the Town Hall.

[25] Many visitors arriving on the steamers never left the pier and Birnbeck Island which between them housed the cafe, pavilion, amusements and funfair.

The attractions included Mutoscopes, a shooting gallery, merry-go-round, park swings, a theatre of wonders and a licensed bar.

[33] After the withdrawal of their ships it was sold to John Critchley,[34] who redeveloped it as a "Victorian pleasure centre" which even had special permission to issue its own currency to visitors.

[35] There have since been several proposals to make the pier a commercial success again, including converting it into a hotel, casino, residential use, or the centre of a marina.

Their operations were suspended during the Second World War, after which the number of passengers decreased with the availability of cheap foreign holidays and the opening of the Severn Bridge in the 1960s.

[36] The pleasure "steamers" PS Waverley and MV Balmoral still operate in the Bristol Channel, but any calls at Weston are made by a connecting tender from Knightstone Harbour.

[37] The damage was quickly repaired, despite fears that Birnbeck might become like nearby Clevedon Pier, which at the time was severed by a collapsed span.

[39] The new owners and the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) launched a competition in August 2007, inviting people to submit ideas for the regeneration of the pier and island.

[45] In September 2010 Urban Splash placed the pier up for sale, citing a downfall in business caused by the recession as their reason.

[52] In May 2019, Neil and Ryan Andrews were each sentenced at Bristol Crown Court to 18 months imprisonment for the attempted theft of the clock face from the pier's tower.

[55] The council bought the pier in July 2023, with the intention of repairing and restoring it, allowing the lifeboat station to relocate back to Birnbeck island.

A new, larger lifeboat was stationed here in 1889 and a boathouse was built for it on the north-east side of the island with a 100 feet (30 m) slipway beside the pier.

The crews continued to use the 1889 boathouse[60] but the two inshore lifeboats were kept on their launch trolleys in the open air on Birnbeck Island.

[61] In 2015 the RNLI announced that it would seek planning permission for a permanent lifeboat station at Knightstone Harbour along with deep-water anchorage at Anchor Head and the facilities on Birnbeck Pier were closed.

[62] Weston-super-Mare is the busiest RNLI station on the south side of the Bristol Channel; in 2011 its two lifeboats were called out 42 times.

[63] Historically, the largest number of people rescued at one time was on 22 September 1884 when 40 passengers were taken off the SS Welsh Prince which got into difficulties after leaving the pier.