Twentieth Century Seaside Architecture
A nostalgic exploration of Britain’s distinctive and architecturally significant seafront buildings from the 1920s to the new millennium.
British seaside resorts enjoyed phenomenal popularity for much of the twentieth century. Told chronologically, this book is the first look at how resort architecture around the UK coast kept pace with changing fashions and the increasing competition of foreign destinations.
Using vintage postcard images, Kathryn Ferry showcases the inherent playfulness of seaside architecture as it evolved from interwar classicism, through art deco and international modernism, to Festival of Britain-inspired mid-century style, then later to seafront tower blocks and the artificial beaches of 1970s leisure centres. Featuring a wide range of building types, Twentieth Century Seaside Architecture explores everything from beach huts and bandstands to lidos, piers, theatres, hotels and amusement arcades.
As climate change and the soaring cost of living provoke changing attitudes to travel, Britain’s seaside has witnessed renewed popularity, making now the perfect time to champion our architectural legacy of domestic tourism. Offering a compelling reassessment, Twentieth Century Seaside Architecture will appeal to fans of architecture and design who love to be beside the sea.
Kathryn Ferry is an independent historian, author and broadcaster who specialises in the architecture and culture of the British seaside. She has a PhD in architectural history from the University of Cambridge and is a founding member of the Seaside Heritage Network. She lives in East Grinstead.