At a time when seaside resorts are receiving particular attention from government, the media and heritage bodies, the role of cultural recreation in the history and future development of the English seaside needs serious consideration.
During the 19th century the primary motivation for travelling to the seaside shifted from the pursuit of health to the receipt of entertainment. While the health tourism that once dominated England's coastal resorts has disappeared, the desire for passive entertainment and active thrill-seeking continues to motivate us to head for the coast.
The Blackpool Pleasure Beach, which could be considered on one level as a working museum to the experience and technology of amusement parks, is still the country's most popular tourist attraction.
The codification of the Georgian and Victorian seaside resort experience meant that there was ample time to pursue cultural activities. Excursions to historic monuments became integral to the seaside holiday, as did the collecting and displaying of artefacts relating to the resort's locale, particularly shells and fossils.
The Rotunda Museum in Scarborough, the oldest purpose-built seaside resort museum, was erected by the Scarborough Philosophical Society in 1828-9 for the interpretation of William Smith's geological theory. Its redevelopment is central to Scarborough's renaissance.
The apparent demise of the English seaside resort has led those concerned for their future to consider how resorts can stimulate regeneration by focusing on a unique selling point (USP), while also recognising the need for economic diversity. This message was conveyed in the Communities and Local Government Committee Coastal Towns report published in March this year.
Newquay's USP is surfing, Whitstable's seafood and St Ives' art. Economic impact studies on the effect of the Tate St Ives revealed that 70 per cent of businesses in the town have benefited from of its presence.
Folkestone's proposed creative quarter and Margate's Turner Contemporary are hoping to contribute to the regeneration of two deprived seaside towns. In Margate's case the aim is to make a connection between an art gallery fit for the 21st century and an artist associated with the town.
A survey conducted soon after Tate St Ives' opening revealed 58 per cent of visitors gave it as the reason for visiting Cornwall. Whether Margate's USP will change from the Dreamland amusement park to the Turner Contemporary only time will tell.
What it and other cultural attractions can achieve is the provision of an experience that will motivate people to visit a resort beyond the traditional holiday season, and contribute to making seaside towns better places in which to live.
Gary Winter is an investigator with English Heritage and co-author of England's Seaside Resorts and Margate's Seaside Heritage, published by English Heritage
During the 19th century the primary motivation for travelling to the seaside shifted from the pursuit of health to the receipt of entertainment. While the health tourism that once dominated England's coastal resorts has disappeared, the desire for passive entertainment and active thrill-seeking continues to motivate us to head for the coast.
The Blackpool Pleasure Beach, which could be considered on one level as a working museum to the experience and technology of amusement parks, is still the country's most popular tourist attraction.
The codification of the Georgian and Victorian seaside resort experience meant that there was ample time to pursue cultural activities. Excursions to historic monuments became integral to the seaside holiday, as did the collecting and displaying of artefacts relating to the resort's locale, particularly shells and fossils.
The Rotunda Museum in Scarborough, the oldest purpose-built seaside resort museum, was erected by the Scarborough Philosophical Society in 1828-9 for the interpretation of William Smith's geological theory. Its redevelopment is central to Scarborough's renaissance.
The apparent demise of the English seaside resort has led those concerned for their future to consider how resorts can stimulate regeneration by focusing on a unique selling point (USP), while also recognising the need for economic diversity. This message was conveyed in the Communities and Local Government Committee Coastal Towns report published in March this year.
Newquay's USP is surfing, Whitstable's seafood and St Ives' art. Economic impact studies on the effect of the Tate St Ives revealed that 70 per cent of businesses in the town have benefited from of its presence.
Folkestone's proposed creative quarter and Margate's Turner Contemporary are hoping to contribute to the regeneration of two deprived seaside towns. In Margate's case the aim is to make a connection between an art gallery fit for the 21st century and an artist associated with the town.
A survey conducted soon after Tate St Ives' opening revealed 58 per cent of visitors gave it as the reason for visiting Cornwall. Whether Margate's USP will change from the Dreamland amusement park to the Turner Contemporary only time will tell.
What it and other cultural attractions can achieve is the provision of an experience that will motivate people to visit a resort beyond the traditional holiday season, and contribute to making seaside towns better places in which to live.
Gary Winter is an investigator with English Heritage and co-author of England's Seaside Resorts and Margate's Seaside Heritage, published by English Heritage
