Britain’s love of the seaside holiday goes back over two hundred years. In the late 18th century it became fashionable to bathe in the sea as a health cure. By the end of the 19th century holidays at the seaside had become immensely popular with all social classes.
The National Archives’ large collection of photographs and ephemera instantly bring back memories of seaside holidays. Posters published by the railway companies advertise travel to popular resorts. They include the famous 1909 poster ‘Skegness is so bracing’ by John Hassall.
Nostalgic Edwardian posters feature holiday places still popular now: Royal Windsor and Eton, Hampton Court and Bath. The beach at Ilfracombe in 1904 is shown being admired by two fashionable young ladies from the cliff tops.
The National Archives also holds many photographs of the resorts in their heyday before the First World War. The greatest of all resorts, Blackpool, features in a number of photographs, including views of the pier on a blustery day in 1899.
Post-Second World War posters portrayed messages to learn to swim and ease holiday congestion which still resonate so well today. And not forgetting British seaside humour as depicted on cartoon postcards by artists Tom Browne and Rene Bull.
Explore some of our seaside delights below, and access many more by contacting licensing@nationalarchives.gov.uk.
-
GWR poster, St Ives, 1904
/images/imagelibrary/showcase/seaside/copy1-221-(1)-gwr-poster-st-ives-1904.jpgCatalogue reference: COPY1/221 (1)
-gwr-poster-st-ives-1904.jpg)
-
Transport montage - ship, balloon, train and car, 1899
/images/imagelibrary/showcase/seaside/copy1-153-f479-transport-montage-ship-balloon-train-car-1899.jpgCatalogue reference: COPY1/153 f479
-
London and South Western poster, Swanage, 1908
/images/imagelibrary/showcase/seaside/copy1-275-(371)-swanage-1908.jpgCatalogue reference: COPY1/275 (371)
-swanage-1908.jpg)
-
Blackpool, 1899
/images/imagelibrary/showcase/seaside/copy1-440-(240)-blackpool-1899.jpgCatalogue reference: COPY1/440 (240)
-blackpool-1899.jpg)
-
GNR poster, Skegness is so bracing, 1909
/images/imagelibrary/showcase/seaside/copy1-277-f222-skegness-is-so-bracing-1909.jpgCatalogue reference: COPY 1/277 f222
-
Great Yarmouth, Norfolk beach and promenade, 1899
/images/imagelibrary/showcase/seaside/copy1-443-great-yarmouth-norfolk-beach-and-promenade-1899.jpgCatalogue reference: COPY1/443
-
Seaside, artist Rene Bull, 1904
/images/imagelibrary/showcase/seaside/copy1-216-(116f)-seaside-rene-bull-1904.jpgCatalogue reference: COPY1/216 (116f)
-seaside-rene-bull-1904.jpg)
-
London and South Western Railway to Ilfracombe, 1903
/images/imagelibrary/showcase/seaside/copy1-204-f15-london-and-south-western-railway-to-Ilfracombe-1903.jpgCatalogue reference: COPY1/204 f15
-
Cromer beach, 1899
/images/imagelibrary/showcase/seaside/copy1-443-(1)-cromer-beach-1899.jpgCatalogue reference: COPY1/443 (1)
-cromer-beach-1899.jpg)
-
Learn to swim poster, 1960s
/images/imagelibrary/showcase/seaside/ext1-123-pt2-(18)-(inf13-233)-learn-to-swim-poster-1960s.jpgCatalogue reference: EXT1/123 pt2 (18) (inf13/233)
-(inf13-233)-learn-to-swim-poster-1960s.jpg)
-
Whitby lighthouses, H Matthison, 1906
/images/imagelibrary/showcase/seaside/copy1-243(ii)-(141b)-whitby-lightouses-h-matthison-1906.jpgCatalogue reference: COPY1/243 (ii) (141b)
-(141b)-whitby-lightouses-h-matthison-1906.jpg)
-
Stagger your holidays poster, 1950s
/images/imagelibrary/showcase/seaside/ext1-123-pt2-(20)-stagger-your-holidays-poster-1950s.jpgCatalogue reference: EXT1/123 pt2 (20)
-stagger-your-holidays-poster-1950s.jpg)
This is just a selection. Contact licensing@nationalarchives.gov.uk for more image solutions.
-gwr-poster-st-ives-1904.jpg)
-swanage-1908.jpg)
-blackpool-1899.jpg)
-seaside-rene-bull-1904.jpg)
-cromer-beach-1899.jpg)
-(inf13-233)-learn-to-swim-poster-1960s.jpg)
-(141b)-whitby-lightouses-h-matthison-1906.jpg)
-stagger-your-holidays-poster-1950s.jpg)
