Seaside Subjects


Scarborough is Britain’s first seaside resort and there are many special features that make up the traditional seaside holiday experience.  Author, Kathyrn Ferry, has written a book called ‘Seaside 100’ that lists 100 of these features.  Below is a brief overview of some of the most familiar aspects. In the 1700s coastal towns were for fishing or boat building, not leisure. Most people feared the sea. The Victorian era spread prosperity and the railways opened up travel to the coast. Bank Holidays were introduced in 1871 but paid holiday leave did not arrive until 1838.

Cold seawater bathing in Scarborough was encouraged from 1667 as it had ‘medicinal health benefits’ especially for melancholy, gout, worms etc.

Bathing chariots, wagons, carriages or machines were in use in Scarborough from at least 1735. An enclosed concertina awning created a private bathing space at the back of the changing wagon when in the sea. A female attendant, called ‘a dipper’ helped women into the water. Women’s bathing costumes and caps covered their whole bodies. Men often swam naked but by the end of the Victorian era this was not allowed.

Lodging houses and accommodation of all sorts sprung up to house seaside visitors, many families bought their own food that landladies would cook for them. Buildings with bow-fronted bay windows were popular as they gave more panoramic views of the coast. Scarborough’s Grand Hotel was the largest in Europe, when opened in 1867, with 365 rooms over 12 floors. 

The first seaside pier opened in Ryde, in the Isle of Wight in, 1814. Visitors could embark from the landing stage into boats.  The piers became popular of just walking out onto and then later gained benches, amusements and even railways.  There were over 100 piers built but only 60 survive today after storms, fires and ship collisions wrecked them. Southend pier, originally 1.3 miles long, is the longest pier in the world. Paddle steamers started taking passengers along the coast of Britain from 1815. Many public roads were in poor condition and travelling by sea was often easier and faster.

Ornate ironwork is a feature of many Victorian seaside resorts. Many miles of railings, ornate arches and wind shelters were made of this relatively cheap material that was easy to reproduce in large quantities. Bandstands and lighting columns are popular features. Promenades were created along seafronts to accommodate the growing numbers of visitors.

Cliff lifts, funiculars or inclined tramways take visitors up steep cliffs. Scarborough had the first in 1875 and used a counterbalanced system of filling and emptying water tanks beneath the passenger cars.

Miniature railways were introduced into resorts in the 1930s. Scarborough’s North Bay Railway opened in 1931 and is still going strong today.

Beach huts or chalets were originally fishermen’s shacks for storing nets and sails. Old railway carriages were used for accommodation and led on to purpose built bungalows. Holiday camps were built and then in the 1950s came the era of the caravanpark, now with its modern large homes on wheels and all comforts & fittings. Billy Butlin started holiday camps in 1936, the first in Skegness. On site restaurants, ballrooms, entertainment, swimming pools, bars and sports were all staffed by ‘Red Coats’, workers who acted, sang and helped visitors enjoy their stay. Some went on to successful careers in television. The old bathing machines, which were no longer required for changing in were converted into beach huts and often supplied with water and electricity. 

Sunbathing – In the 19th century a fair, pale, complexion was fashionable so visitors carried parasols to keep the sun off their skin. Coco Chanel sunbathed in the South of France in 1923 and showed off her brown complexion. This colour was now seen as healthy and a sign of affordable leisure time. The Bikini was launched in 1946 but did not gain full popularity until the 1960s. Sunoil was invented in 1935 to absorb harmful UVB rays that could burn pale skin.  Sun Protection Factor levels were introduced in the 1960s and we now know too much sun and burning is directly linked to Melanoma skin cancer.

Deckchairs was originally used by the British Army in India and were then used on board ships at sea, hence the name ‘deck chair’. They are easy to store away and take up less space than conventional chairs. They were first used in Margate in 1898 and grew in popularity, some councils having a stock of up to 30,000.

Sandcastles go back to at least 1803 in Scarborough. In the Edwardian era competitions were started and the art of sand sculptures has now developed into an international art form.

Buckets and Spades made of metal became available from the 1860s. The shift to plastic occurred in the mid 1960s and they have now become so cheap that they are often discarded at the end of the day creating more plastic waste in our sea.

Fish & chips was a cheap food for the working classes in big cities as the new trains lines took fresh fish in large quantities into growing industrial towns and cities. Fried fish was a popular dish of Jewish immigrants and fried potatoes were popular in Belgium and France. From the 1900s fish and chip shops were springing up in all resorts. There are over 10,000 in the UK today.

Ice cream or ‘moulded ice puddings’ were made in the Victorian era but it was the arrival of Italian migrants that turned it into a popular street food. By the 1850s a halfpenny, penny or twopenny lick could be purchased. Wafers were added in the 1920s with ice creams sold from cold boxes attached to tricycles. Soft serve machine made ice cream and vans came about in the 1960s.

Sticks of Rock with seaside town names running through them started to be made and sold in 1887. The sugar and glucose mix is made in different colours and rolled together in a short thick roll. It is then fed into a rolling machine to produce the thinner sticks we purchase today.

Souvenirs were made by the Victorians using ‘transfer printing’ requiring unskilled labour and mechanization rather than artists painting individual scenes and messages. The invention of photography and mass manufacturing of ceramic pottery gave us images of resorts on teapots, cups, plates, vases, jugs and more to take home after our holiday visit.

Amusement machines, including the famous ‘What the butler saw’, were made using a drum of photographic images, each one slightly different to the last. Rotating the drum of images gives the impression of movement, like a film or video. They often showed a ‘mild’ striptease and at a penny a go earned the owners a good sum. Amusement arcades with slot machines expanded in the post war era and boomed in the 1980s when early video game machines were too expensive to have at home.  The earliest roller coaster ride, made of wood, was created in 1907. Great Yarmouth still has a 1932 wooden roller coaster in working order. The tradition of Bingo callers and games came from America in the 1960s. They are now in decline due to online versions and internet gambling.

Winter gardens were inspired by the ornate cast iron and glass house built for the Great Exhibition in Crystal Palace in 1851. With Britain’s unreliable weather, large covered yet light enclosed spaces could be made for watching musical concerts. Scarborough’s ‘Floral Hall’ glazed space was erected in 1912, closed in 1987, and was demolished.

Punch and Judy shows originate in Italian culture. The characters and plot have evolved over time but typically include Mr Punch, Judy his wife, a Policeman, Crocodile and string of sausages. A famous line is ‘That’s the way to do it’. These days the violence exhibited by the puppets is frowned upon!

Pierrots were troupes of entertainers in the 1890s to 1930s. They dressed in white uniforms with conical hats and took over from the older Black and White Minstrel shows. Inspired by French culture they played banjos and performed for tips. The most successful was Will Catlin’s troupe in Scarborough who performed in front of up to 3000 people.

“I do like to be beside the seaside” is a tune that many people are familiar with and conjures up images of seagulls, fresh air and splashing waves. It was written in 1907 by John Glover and performed in music halls by Mark Sheridan and Reginald Dixon. The song was recorded and broadcast on the radio, making Reginald into a best selling artist.

Rock pooling was not  of great interest until the 1850s when awareness of sea creatures became more popular, mainly due to the publication of books on the subject. 

Aquariums were built firstly in Brighton, in 1845 by Eugenius Birch, who built Scarborough’s North Bay Pier and Aquarium in the South Bay. Huge glass sided water tanks held fish and other sea creatures.  Scarborough’s aquarium had ornate ‘Moorish’ style architecture and a ballroom.

Flower gardens started in the mid 19th century and included floral clocks, carpet gardens, rockeries and fountains. Flowers were planted in ornate patterns. Scarborough still often wins the ‘In Bloom’ judged competition.

Parks like Scarborough’s Peasholm Park were built around an exotic theme, in our case Japanese.  The park has a pagoda, waterfall, bridge, bandstand and ornate cast iron lighting. Boating lakes for children’s model boats and then full size rowing boats were introduced between the two world wars giving work to unemployed men in digging the lakes. Pedaloes and small motorboats came in about 1950. Crazy golf started in the early 1900s.

Illuminations were created to extend the short summer season and attract visitors to see the electric lighting. Blackpool excelled in this and millions still flock to see the changing illuminations there every year.

Trams ran in Scarborough from 1904 to 1931. Blackpool ran the first electric trams in 1885 and they are still running today. Charabancs were open top long wheel base vehicles that had rows of benches and could take more than a dozen people on sightseeing trips. They were an early version of our modern day tourist coaches bringing visitors from other towns.

Postcards with photographs were holiday souvenirs before everyone had their own cameras. The postal system could deliver them often within the same day so they acted as quick messages to say you had arrived safely and were having a good time. Comic scenes, often with sexual innuendo, became popular in the Edwardian era. E T W Dennis in Scarborough was one of the first seaside postcard printers. Since the advent of the smartphone, postcard sales have dropped as people can send instant photographs and messages to their friends and family.

Relatively well-off visitors bought their own telescopes but by the 1930s fixed seaside telescopes that operated by putting in a penny coin were available.

Seaside donkeys carried visitors around as early as 1805. There are currently over 900 donkeys still working in the UK but with weight limits on riders, set working hours, days off and annual inspections.

‘Kiss me quick hats’ evolved from Lone Ranger cowboy hats in the 1950s.

Surf boards originated in Hawaii but were made popular by the Beach Boys band and the California lifestyle in the 1960s.

Flip-flops have been in use since ancient Egyptian times 6000 years ago and were made of papyrus. Our modern synthetic flip-flops became popular in California in the 1960s as they are water and sand proof and easy to put on and take off. 

Outdoor swimming pools, known as Lidos were built in the 1930s. Over 180 sprang up, many with an art deco theme. Scarborough’s South Bay pool provided a safe swimming place whatever the tide.  Diving competitions were held and the actor Johnny Weissmuller, who played Tarzan, dived here.  Synchronized swimming and music bands also performed here. Sadly as flying off on foreign holidays became cheaper the outdoor pools became run down and closed. Scarborough’s North and South Bay pools were filled in in the early 2000s. Lifeguards and their safety flags were inspired by the Australians as used on surf beaches. Lifebelts where introduced here in the 1950s. Scarborough’s lifeguards are supplied by the RNLI.


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