What Caused the Rise of British Seaside Resorts?
What were the crucial factors in the rise of British seaside resorts such as Blackpool?
Samantha Taylor | Metropolis | 18/07/2017
Fig.3 GB Women’s Team.
1912 Summer Olympics, Stockholm. The first time women could compete in swimming. [55]
However, what did change for the swimming costumes, seen in fig.3, was the removal or phasing out of the cumbersome woollen bathing dress, for the more revealing and functional swimming costumes, this left a costume for women, much like the men’s. Although the woman who was conscious of her figure still had a two-piece option. [56]
The corset had been around for some time, with many women bathing in them; however, the Edwardian period introduced an S-shaped corset. This corset made the women look as though their upper body was leaning forward, making the women look like stiff pigeons, and emphasised by their highly embellished blouses. However, by 1912, these corsets were phasing out of fashion, for lighter clothing that was easier to promenade along the seaside. Hats were favoured, over the bonnet, by the Edwardians; as the period progressed the women’s hat became larger and became adorned with lace or feathers. [57]
Fig.4 Christmas cup, swimmer [58]
Men’s swimwear also changed by 1914, seen in fig.4, men could now be seen wearing better fitting legless swimming trunks. However, trunks tended to be more boy’s swimwear. [59]
In the Victorian age, men injected a nautical or exotic theme into their seaside fashion. This was carried through to the Edwardian period, although the blazers were far brighter and gaily striped. Beards in this period were seen to be for the older generation whilst the younger tended to be moustached or shaven. [60]
Town Improvement
Despite the advancement in science by the Edwardian age and the obsession with sewerage disposal, this ideal did not extend to the treatment of it. Brighton’s medical officer was quoted in 1903 to have said that with the advancement in the purification of sewerage there was no excuse in contaminating the sea water. [61]
John Walton contradicts John Hassan (see pg. 10), saying that even though the local government controlled the sewerage, they cut costs that impacted on the environment, health and wellbeing by carrying on disposing of it into the sea, well after 1914. [62]
The Victorian, or South Pier at Blackpool having been built in the Victorian period offered a different ambience to that at the Central Pier. By 1911 the areas taste had changed and the Victorian pavilion was built to provide concerts for audiences of up to 900 people. Despite its distance from the other Blackpool piers, Victoria Piers popularity remained consistent. Visitors to the nearby Pleasure Beach Amusement park, which in the Edwardian period was the biggest and most modern amusement park in the country, also extended their visit to Victoria Pier. [63]
In 1908 Blackpool’s Central Pier made a feature of its electric railway. Roller-skating became a craze in 1909 and in 1911, in order to cater for the visitors to the resort, the owners of the Central Pier built a rink. [64]
British coastal defences have been evolving since the Roman period and as a result, Britain tended to be the forerunners of sea defence. The most distinctive are the sea walls; these defences arose from the late 19th century and into the early 20th century. Where most local authorities constructed them as multipurpose promenades. [65]
Holiday
During the 1800s, Britain had strict gender segregation. Whilst visiting the continent, where segregation was non-existent, British families became familiar with these customs and insisted on relaxed rules in order to interact with their own family on British beaches. [66]
It wasn’t until 1901 however, when Bexhill in East Sussex, introduced mixed bathing that the rules truly became relaxed, and by 1914 a majority of the beaches had mixed bathing, leading to the decline of the bathing machines. [67]
The postcard had been introduced in Britain around 1870, but the split back postcard was not accepted by the Post Office until 1902. Many artisans sold prints of their photographs or art in postcard form, becoming the first generation of postcards sent back home. [68]
Continental travel rose, to over 660,000 by the 1900’s, whilst it is believed that the British seaside resort in that era was barely breaking even.[69]
This popularisation of continental travel to a wider variety of social class gained criticism from the likes of John Ruskin and other prominent Victorians who thought the well-educated would benefit far more from continental travel. [70]
During the Edwardian period, Blackpool, despite her late start, outdid her rivals with the attractions offered, with nearly four million holidaymakers per year visiting by the outbreak of World War One. [71]
Britain’s seaside resorts had become unique and distinctive, using a verity of techniques to compete for guests. Torquay marketed itself as a holiday town by flaunting Ruskin’s words, who had called Torquay ‘the Italy of England’, this was due to a large number of Italians that had settled in the resort as ice cream vendors. Although places like Newquay, a popular resort today, was a mere village in 1911. [72]
The Polytechnic Touring Association (PTA) was a travelling by-product of the Polytechnic, a classroom club for those who wanted to better themselves. Due to the outbreak of war seaside activities and travel either stopped, as seen in the south and east of England where troops embarked for the conflict on the Continent, or slowed to a quieter pace as in the north. [73]
Women Travellers & Hoteliers.
The Landlady.
Many landladies depended on an extra income due to the seasonality of their work; this came predominantly from her husband’s work if he did not work in the hotel industry. A majority of the landladies were not wil
