Beside the Georgian Seaside

The development of seaside resorts and villas along the south coast accelerated after the arrival of the railways but was already well established by then.

Inward investment from the 1740s onwards fuelled building and reached a peak in the 1820s, when London capital financed several grand schemes that enabled resorts to continue to offer opportunities to display wealth, exhibit yachting skills and socialise.

But from the later 1820s recession started to bite; in this talk, Sue Berry explores how the resorts adapted in order to stay attractive to wealthy visitors and gives us a visual tour of surviving buildings of the period, some of which are neglected.