Welcome to,
The Ever Changing Life - Of Going To The Beach
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| My cousins, Gesine and Jorg at the beach in Denmark sometime around the end of the 1950's |
I like how they dressed for the beach!
But, going to the beach wasn't always this easy.......
There were the days it was hard to achieve a full and complete tan .........
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| How would you fancy wearing this swimwear from one of the early images of swimwear for coastal life in Georgian Britain in about 1813. |
Recently, I purchased the book, "Glorious Britain, Place of legends," and the subject of "bathing houses" from Brighton, England caught my attention. After investigating bathing houses, I learned about how wonderful and important they were, besides required!
So I'm skipping Alan's theme From Sepia Saturday this week (although the group of boys he pictured are covered as well as those found in my post)
Ladies Swimwear and the Bathing Houses they used!
I'm excited sharing this marvel of bathing at the beach just for you. Surely this is "old business" to many of you, especially those of you across the great blue pond. But it may be new for some of you here.
Let me present these...... photos below from The Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington are here for all of us to enjoy!
At the beach....
without a care in the world....
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| This is my most favorite photo from the collection of "bathing houses" at the Library of Congress on file from the Prints & Photographs Division - Washington. Is the use of umbrellas always catching my attention? Blankenberghe, Belgium. I wonder what that one idle man sitting all by himself was thinking? You see back in the good old days women weren't to be seen in their swimwear by men, and they actually were driven out to the sea in these bath houses and lowered into the water. |
One more from Blankenberghe, Belgium...
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| The beach and the sea....Blankenberghe, Belgium, also between 1890 Ca. and 199 ca. from the Library of Congress collection of Prints & Photographs Division Washington. Honestly, the bath houses used up a lot of valuable beach....and views..... In 1861 when Captain Kenny's Brighton Beach Baths opened, bathing during the open daylight hours was strictly prohibited, as was mixed men/women bathing together. They created separate sections on the beach which designated areas strictly for men and women to swim separately. |
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| Teignmouth, England ...while at the beach Between 1890 ca. and 1900 ca. ...amazing goings on at the beach back then, wouldn't you agree? |
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| Beach and ladies Between about about 1890 ca. and 1900 ca. at Margate, England |
If you feel the urge to post a Sepia Saturday theme or just an old photo, Sepia or not, or care to see more
go here
http://sepiasaturday.blogspot.com/2011/10/sepia-saturday-97-saturday-22-october.html
30 comments:
It’s amazing just how crowded Margate was. Hardly any room to call your own I should think. This a lovely collection of pictures, but it just goes to show what a silly idea it was - all that prudery.
I've viewed the pictures on that site and was amazed at how things have changed. This is a great post!
I have never known of bathing houses. It is so interesting that they were rolled down to the waterfront. Such modesty.
Sepia Saturday is always my favorite. The photos are terrific. Memories!
Little Nell I totally agree with you. Imagine going as a family to the beach then and you couldn't actually swim together, dad would have to swim in another area!
JJ. Thanks! I really enjoy this SS too, I learn and see so much here!
Mary I know, could you imagine having that in this day and age! Of course on the other hand perhaps it might tidy up a few things for human kind!
Vicki/Jake, I know it's amazing to view things today from most everything that gets posted on SS blog, the world she is a changing everyday!
The Children's Corner, as seen on Dakotaboo's post, makes more sense if they also had separate sections for men and women.
England being England, They Were Also Handing for sheltering from The Rain!
That's interesting. I never thought about how hard it would be for women in the 1800's to go swimming with all those clothes on. : )
This was indeed new info for me. I had no idea of the bathing houses. I can see how it would be. Most movies I see about early England is about a lot of hanky panky behind closed doors. Well in a lot of countries, that is. Great post.
QMM
Nice article, I am from Belgium. You should see Blankeberge now.
Greetings,
Filip
At least mixed paddling in the sea was allowed for children in Belgium it seems. Now people pay thousands of pounds for fixed beach huts in many UK seaside towns.
I live not very far from Margate. The sad thing is that the town has gone steadily downhill since the days of popularity during Victorian times. They are trying so hard to rejuvenate the area but it's proving an uphill struggle. The beach is still popular on sunny days but it looks smaller somehow.
That's a great collection of postcards, Karen, thank you. I've never thought of English beaches as particularly alluring, so perhaps I might need a bathing machine to tempt me into the water too.
A few others shared photos of bath houses a year or so ago. I remember being surprised to see them and learn about them -- I'd never heard of them before. With your photos, I'm surprised to see horses pulling them in the last photo. I don't think I'd want to share the ocean in close proximity to horses.
Think of the women being wheeled down to the water so they wouldn't be seen in their voluminous bathing outfits. Then picture the bathing beauties on the beaches of rio now. We've sure come a long way!
Nancy Javier
Ladies of the grove
Okay, Karen, you've taught me something! I've never seen these little wheeled houses that protected one's modestly while allowing one to frolic in the waves. They couldn't have gone very far from shore, so the dip in the ocean would have been nominal, a token splash, at best. Way too much fuss for getting your feet wet! Thanks for sharing with us!!
I'm fascinated by those bathing houses too. I've also seen them referred to as bathing machines. What a concept. At least ladies were able to get in the water.
Patty F. thanks for stopping by, and I'm glad you liked them and now know they existed!
Christine - I know they really peaked my interest and I have to find everything there is about them!..imagine though the ones with horses, how did they catch the droppings?
That was a thoroughly enjoyable trip to the beach. A bucket full of images and an ice-bream cornet brimming with memories. Thanks for inviting me along.
Such a fun slice of bathing magic. I wonder if perhaps they weren't on to something ... no worries of skin cancer back then!
these look so alien to me and yet, so amusing, from my perspective!!
oh my!!
how things have changed...
:D~
HUGZ
Things have certainly changed. You needn't wear anything at all on certain sections of Brighton beach these days!
Martin L. Really?! I believe it these days! I truly enjoyed seeing how these beaches were, but even better is hearing everyone's comments about how they are now! I'm really sad about those that have lost touch with people, how can we ignore our water destinations! Long live our beaches!
Ticklebear- I know what you mean, but don't they look like the best thing ever to spend your time at way back then!
they're certainly intriguing, but since I'd rather go skinny dipping, I belong definitely to a more modern era...
but it definitely got my attention!!!
:D~
HUGZ
Ticklebear- You might like the Brighton Beach that Martin L mentioned...sounds like your kind of beach....I'll have to check these places out for what they are today! This next week I'll be hitting some beaches in California! ;)
not fair!!
here,
we are closer to hitting a snow bank than a beach...
:/~
enjoy it though!!
:)~
HUGZ
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