By Tim Lambert
The Seaside in the 19th Century
At the end of the 18th century, wealthy people began to spend time at the seaside. They believed that bathing in seawater was good for your health. Seaside resorts like Brighton, Worthing, Margate, and Eastbourne boomed. A man named Richard Hotham deliberately created a new seaside resort for the wealthy at Bognor. In the mid-19th century, railways made it easier for people to travel to the seaside.
In the late 19th century, some skilled workers began to have a week’s paid holiday. In 1871, bank holidays were introduced. Trips to the seaside became popular. As a result, seaside towns like Bognor Regis and Morecambe boomed. Blackpool also flourished. Blackpool is famous for its tower. Blackpool Tower was built between 1891 and 1894.
Meanwhile, the first pleasure pier was built at Brighton in 1823, and soon they appeared at seaside resorts across Britain. In many seaside towns, promenades were also built.
In the late 19th century, the modern seaside holiday began. Plain seaside rock was sold in the early 19th century, but lettered rock was invented in 1887 by Ben Bullock. Fish and chips became common in the late 19th century. Candy floss was invented in 1897. It’s not certain who invented the ice cream cone, but it became popular at the beginning of the 20th century.
Punch and Judy shows came from Italy. They were first recorded in Britain in the late 17th century. In the early 19th century, Punch and Judy shows were performed in the street, but in the late 19th century, they became common at the seaside. Donkey rides also became popular in the late 19th century.
In 1886, Thomas Moore patented the modern deck chair. Then, in 1895, an American called Charles Fey invented the one-armed bandit. In 1894, Herman Casler invented the mutoscope. It showed a quick succession of images giving the illusion of moving pictures. Mutoscopes became known as what the butler saw machines. You put a coin in a slot to watch a film. What the butler saw machines became popular in seaside towns.
In the 19th century, many people changed into their swimming costumes in a bathing machine. It was a wooden cart with walls and a roof. It was pulled into the water by a horse. The swimmer would then emerge and go for a dip. Swimming costumes, of course, covered most of the body. In the 20th century, costumes became much more practical. The bikini was invented in 1946.
The Seaside in the 20th Century
Fairgrounds are, of course, common in seaside towns. The Ferris Wheel was invented in the USA in 1893. Blackpool gained one in 1896. The first captive flying machine was built in Blackpool in 1904. The first recorded helter skelter was in Blackpool in 1906. The first recorded helter skelter was in Blackpool in 1906.
Dogems were invented in the USA in 1920. The first ones in Britain were installed in 1928. Joseph Emberton designed the first ghost train. It opened in Blackpool in 1930.
The first amusement arcade opened in Great Yarmouth in 1902. They soon became common in seaside towns.
The famous song I Do Like To Be Beside the Seaside was written by John H. Glover-Kind in 1907.
The first holiday camp opened in 1906 in Caister-on-Sea, Norfolk. The first Butlins holiday camp opened in Skegness in 1936.
Paddling pools were built at many seaside towns in the 1920s. Joseph Emberton designed the first ghost train. It opened in Blackpool in 1930. In the 1920s and 1930s, crazy golf became popular in Britain. The beachball was invented in 1938 by Jonathon DeLonge.
In 1939, all workers were by law allowed 1 week’s holiday a year. For many people, it was the first time they could have a holiday by the seaside.
After 1945, many seaside towns held beauty contests. Morecambe began having a beauty contest in 1945. Originally, it was called the Bathing Beauty Queen. Between 1956 and 1989, the Miss Great Britain competition was held in Morecambe.
The British seaside town reached its peak in the 1950s and 1960s. However, in the late 20th century, foreign holidays became common. The result was a decline in the British seaside holiday.
Last revised 2025