The Origins of the Seaside Town

For as far back as history records, the upper classes of society have always travelled in search of spiritual or physical medication, as it was only the rich that could afford and were allowed to do so. The towns to which they travelled were the ones with the spas.

The spa town with the longest history, Bath, was famous for its hot springs for which people would come to from afar. Baths' citizens realising its potential, exploited the qualities by making its waters the centrepiece of a full-scale entertainment industry. Housing developments were constructed on a grand scale, like the Royal Crescent and The Circus, so that the visitors had somewhere to stay. Hundreds would converge on the town, as it was socially 'in vogue' due to publications by learned physicians which stated that drinking tainted water and bathing in it was beneficial in the treatment of a wide variety of illnesses.

Other towns, such as Tunbridge Wells, realising its own potential, started to build up around the wells, so much so that an Act of Parliament was created to prevent further building, which could threaten the health and safety of the town.

After a while speculators started to build houses not just for visitors but also for permanent residents. The architecture was of the city, but the layouts were of a country town.

Meanwhile the cities were becoming more and more industrialised, dirty, noisy, overcrowded and expensive for their centres to be lived in by the upper classes. The gentry realised the well known spa towns where they went to relax were an ideal retreat from the unhealthy environment of the cities, and many decided to take up permanent residence in the grand housing developments around the spas.

As demand for the old spa towns increased, it became more attractive to go elsewhere to relax, and after the 1750 publication by Dr. Russell promoting the uses of sea water in the treatment of diseases of the Glands, the gentility travelled to the seaside, in search of the new fashion.

Just as the spa towns had developed, the seaside towns did so in the same manner.