Seaside Britain

The British Seaside: Holidays and Resorts in the Twentieth Century (Studies in Popular Culture) The annual seaside holiday became a common experience in Britain in the 1950s and 1960s, and it has a central place in our popular memory. Its recent decline has prompted nostalgia and gloom across the media, with a spate of newspaper features every summer bemoaning its decline. This is a detailed academic cultural study of the rise and fall of the seaside holiday in Britain. John K. Walton offers a broad interpretation of the holidays and resorts, looking at who went, where they went, what they did, and how they were entertained. The study also details the conflicts over employment, access to and use of space, entertainment preferences and environmental issues that resulted from the seaside mixtures of hedonism and respectability. Issues of display and conformity, fun, recreation and retirement, employers, workers and customers are also discussed. Seaside Britain.

Cleethorpes: The Creation of a Seaside Resort Cleethorpes was originally three small farming and fishing hamlets on the Lincolnshire coast. This new book charts the progress that saw them combine, and illustrates the major influences on their eventual development as a thriving seaside resort. The early history of the hamlets is described, and the informative narrative takes the reader on a chronological journey through their years as a quiet bathing place, when transport posed difficulties to potential holidaymakers. The fascinating history of the railway that revolutionised Cleethorpes, making it a favourite venue for the inhabitants of the manufacturing districts of South Yorkshire and the Midlands, is told in detail. The railway company invested heavily in Cleethorpes and became its leading developer, creating a bustling Victorian resort. The first half of the 20th century saw the Cleethorpes municipal authority superseding the railway company as the resort developer and carrying out an enterprising programme of resort expansion, although the development was curtailed twice by the outbreak of the two world wars. The author describes the resort's attractions, which in its heyday lured multitudes of visitors who packed the seafront and local boarding houses. In the later decades of the century, Cleethorpes experienced a roller-coaster ride of fluctuating trade, but there are signs of a promising up-turn in the resort's prospects as it enters the 21st century. Thoroughly researched, and beautifully illustrated, "Cleethorpes: The Creation of a Seaside Resort" is essential reading for residents and visitors alike. Seaside Britain.

The English Seaside in Victorian and Edwardian Times (History in Camera S.) Through a collection of coloured holiday photographs covering all the major, and several minor, resorts around England's coast, linked to selected written commentaries from Charles Dickens and many others, this book celebrates the heyday of the seaside holiday.

Seaside Holidays in the Past This stunning photography book captures the spirit of the now almost lost tradition of the English seaside holiday. The photographs, all taken from English Heritage's unique collection of over ten million images held in the National Monuments Record, show how we used to take our summer holidays before cheap flights and package deals made foreign holidays affordable to all and led to the decline of the English seaside resort. From Victorian bathers to 1950s beach huts, from 19th-century fishermen to long destroyed landmarks such as New Brighton's tower, higher than its more famous rival, Blackpool, and from Punch and Judy shows to donkey rides, the book reminds us how we have changed as a nation and what we have lost forever. The NMR (National Monuments Record) is English Heritage's unique photographic archive. Open to the public, it has a collection of over ten million modern and historic photographs dating back to the 1840s. The collection contains illustrations of the industrial age, social history, architecture and archaeology as well as aerial shots covering the whole of England. It also houses the works of individual photographers, such as Hallam-Ashley and Henry Taunt. Seaside Britain.

Sun, Fun and Crowds: British Seaside Holidays Between the Wars The inter-war period saw the annual holiday become part of the lives of large numbers of people for the first time. In the Edwardian age it had been a privilege enjoyed by the few, but by the end of the thirties, 15 million people were going away to the coast for a week or two. This book explores all the facets of the seaside holiday: where people went, and why; how they got there; where they stayed; what they did; and what they wore. A visit to Blackpool's Golden Mile to leer at its lurid attractions, including the unfrocked Rector of Stiffkey, contrasts sharply with the remote, unspoilt beaches of Cornwall. We take in the first holiday camps, which opened in the thirties, as well as some wonderful modern hotels that were the epitome of sophistication and style. We examine the architecture of pleasure, in the form of cinemas, piers, lidos and pavilions. This intriguing account is richly illustrated throughout with a mixture of contemporary photographs and postcards, publicity material, posters and modern images. For those who remember the seaside holidays of their childhood this fascinating book will conjure up nostalgic memories, while for the modern historian it will be an invaluable chronicle of the period.

Coast Accompanying the BBC series, Coast is not only a superbly illustrated celebration of Britain s coastal areas but a practical guide to all that they have to offer. The first part of the book is divided into the 12 coastal regions as featured in the programme, with lavish photography, maps and evocative essays. The second part is a region-by-region reference of places, people, activities, natural history, historic events and fascinating facts all clearly laid out to help you plan your own trip. Whether destined for the coffee table, your reference library or the car, Coast takes you there with charm and style. Seaside Britain.

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