Beside The Seaside: The Architecture Of British Coastal Resorts
Wed 2 June 2010
Mike Higginbottom
Mike Higginbottom was formerly a part-time lecturer in architectural and social history for the Nottingham University Centre for Continuing Education, and also at several of the Midlands Universities. He lectures on WEA courses and local societies in Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, and is also a local BBC Radio Broadcaster across the region.
The lecture surveyed the history of seaside holiday towns associated with the newly-established railway system of Victorian times, enabling ordinary people to spend time away from home to enjoy themselves. It highlighted the rich architectural heritage of the heyday of the British holiday industry and included such major resorts as Blackpool, Brighton and Scarborough, showing the unique quality of seaside structures such as piers, winter gardens and fairgrounds.
Suggested Reading
England’s Seaside Resorts by Allan Brodie and Gary Winter, English Heritage (2007)
Piers and Other Seaside Architecture by Lynn F. Pearson, Shire Publications Ltd (2008)
Modernism on Sea: Art and Culture at the British Seaside, by Lara Feigel & Alexandra Harris (eds), Peter Lang Ltd (2009)
