RSSStarting from the Start
May 16
Beside The Seaside Blog Bathing, Beach, Blog, British, Childhood, Coast, English, History, Holiday, Holidays, Industrial Revolution, Ocean, Railway, Sea, Seaside, Steam, Victorian No Comments
When asked to write a blog for Beside The Seaside Holidays because of our love of the British seaside I thought what better place to start than at the beginning. We all have fond memories of childhood holidays beside the sea however, the great British seaside used to be a remarkably different place to how we know it today. The first seaside resort literally sprung up in 1626 when a lady named Mrs Farrow discovered a fresh water spring emitting from the cliff edge. It was quickly hailed that this spring “cleanses the stomach, opens the lungs, cures asthma and scurvy, purifies the blood, cures jaunders both yellow and black, and the leprosy” and by the early 1700′s drinking sea water for its medicinal properties brought the first seaside resort that we all know today as Scarborough. As a result of Dr Richard Russell’s “Dissertation on the use of Sea Water” doctors prescribed trips to the coast as a cure for all manner of ailments and alongside experiencing the fresh coastal air the popularity of sea bathing sky rocketed. Wouldn’t it be amazing to be shipped off to a quaint seaside cottage on strict doctors orders to do nothing all week?!
Bathing machines, like those red and white striped tents used on the gorgeous sandy beach in the classic childhood film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang originated in the mid 1700′s. Initially they had wheels and were dragged up and down the beaches by horses to enable men and women (who bathed separately to preserve a ladies modesty, of course) to be ritualistically submerged into the salty sea, rather like a baptism. The cost of bathing was extortionate and therefore, mostly an upper class past time and due to the expensive accommodation by the sea inevitably the seaside was the place to be. Even royalty spent their summers in grand coastal homes and built royal gardens and grand promenades. The study of botany and collecting sea shells quickly became popular and lavish dance halls were built for exclusive Victorian balls. The first seaside pier was built at Ryde, Isle of Wight in 1813 and was used as a landing strip for excursion boats, much like it is today. With the development of the industrial revolution, by the 1850′s the railway had already transformed 9000 kilometers of British countryside and access to the coast was becoming increasingly easy. A number of seaside resorts were opened up to more and more people and Brighton was emerging as the most popular holiday destination of the time. The great British Holiday was firmly on the British calender.
I have many childhood memories of seaside holidays despite having lived by the sea my whole life and like those at Beside the Seaside Holidays the UK coast is in my heart, I simply could not be without the sea air and sound of the waves in my ears. As a result my entire university degree was centered around the seaside and over the next few weeks I will be giving you a, hopefully, entertaining journey through the history of seaside resorts and all things associated with the seaside.
From sea bathing, the naughty postcard and Punch and Judy, to more modern portrayals of how we know the seaside. In this current economic climate we need to gather the troops and give the seaside holiday a much needed revival!
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