Page 74 - All About History 55 - 2017 UK

Sun, Sea and Social Breakdown

Bathing machines line the
Entertainment for All beach front at Hastings, East
Sussex, circa 1900
Typical scenes from the Victorian seaside
The promenade Ice cream
A combination of exercise and showing off, ‘promenading’ Just one example of how the social
was a chance to take in the sea air, meet friends and make a taboos of eating outdoors was broken.
fashion statement. Unattached or unmarried young ladies and A famous Victorian cook, Agnes
girls were chaperoned Marshall, claimed to have invented
at first, but it was later her own freezer equipment, patented
common for groups an ice cream maker and created the
of both working class first ice cream cone. Ice cream sellers
men and women on would push carts up and down the
organised trips to use a beach all day. Other street foods of
stroll along ‘the prom’ the day were cockles, mussels and the
to meet and flirt. very first fish and chips.
Punch and Judy Donkey rides
While this slapstick puppet show about Rising in popularity in the latter part of the 19th century,
an anarchic clown and his family is from these rides possibly evolved from the working donkeys that
16th-century Italy, it became a British originally carried baskets of cockles and other shellfish as
seaside attraction in the early 1800s. part of the local industry
This was partly thanks to new mobile that supplied street vendors,
booths that the operator could quickly hotels and boarding houses.
dismantle to search for new audiences. Primarily for children, it was
To suit Victorian tastes, Punch’s old nevertheless enjoyed equally Bathing machines were necessary
adversary, the devil, was replaced with a by adults, and in some areas, for women who wished to take a
crocodile and his mistress, Pretty Polly, carts pulled by goats were dip in the sea
ceased to be included at all. also popular.

Bandstand Building sandcastles
Victorians were well used to listening to bands playing in the As a means of keeping children
open air at one of the many public parks that had sprung up entertained on the beach, buckets
around the country, and spades were mass-produced
and this outdoor from thin sheet metal and often
entertainment brightly painted with decorations
was adopted to depicting the resort or scenes of
give an uplifting a beach. Once purchased, they
and invigorating would be used year after year
atmosphere and and were a popular and relatively
entertainment to a cheap entertainment along with
day out by the sea. nets for exploring rock pools.
Pleasure palaces Deckchairs
The pier was both an extension of the promenade and a focal The concept of sunbathing was foreign to the Victorians, but
point for entertainment. This could be simply a selection of they did recognise the benefits of sitting out in the open air,
machines (later slot machines so it’s no surprise that folding
or ‘one armed bandits’) and a deckchairs were patented in the
hall of mirrors so that crowds US in 1855. Originally used on
could experience being away ocean liners and steamships —
from the shore and keeping hence the reference to a ‘deck’
their feet dry. The larger piers — the transition to using the
developed live music halls and lightweight, highly portable chairs
concerts — and some even on beaches in port towns must
had their own train. have been a natural one.

Pier pressure Seaside towns sought to attract tourists by building ever longer piers

North Pier, Blackpool Brighton Llandudno Ryde
Designed by Eugenius Birch, work began in A relatively late construction, work began in Designed by James Brunlees, The very first of its kind in the country,
1862 and was completed in 1863. The pier was 1891 and was completed in 1899. A tramway construction began in 1876 and was its location on the Isle of Wight close to
damaged in 1867 by Lord Nelson’s former flagship, had been built to help with construction, completed in 1877. A number of additions Queen Victoria’s summer retreat made
Foudroyant, which was moored alongside the but this was dismantled upon completion followed, including a bandstand at the it a popular destination. First opened in
pier as part of an exhibition. In the 1870s, the of the project. A 1,500-seat theatre was pier head in 1877 and a pavilion at the 1814, it underwent various extensions
pierhead was enlarged and the Indian Pavilion and incorporated into the pierhead in 1901 shore end in 1884 that also incorporated to its length and to the size of the
bandstand were built. There were further collisions along with various other smaller pavilions at a swimming pool. Further construction in pierhead, including the addition of a
1884 took it to its final length.
with the pier from shipping in 1892 and 1897. various points along the construction. 1884 took it to its final length. tramway alongside the pedestrian pier.
various points along the construction.various points along the construction.

500 536.5 699.5 702.6
metres metres metres metres
74