Figure 1.--Here we see a group at a boarding house in Ilfracombe, we think in the 1950s. Notice the formlity, all the men and the boy are wearing jackets, even at the beach. Ilfracombe is a seaside resort on the North Devon coast, with a small picturesque harbor surrounded by cliffs along the Irish Sea. There was a friendly atmoshere at these boarding houuses, more so than at hotels.

As seaside holiday began to become fashionable, they at first were for the rich and well-to-do. Holiday makers stayed in grand, very expensive hotels. This began just as thee industrual revolution was beginning (mid-18th century). With the industrial revolution creating unpresidented wealth many more people were able to also experience seaside holidays. This began the tradition of a summer holiday. There was a huge expansion of the middle-class. Eventually the working-class also was able to take holidays. The development of a rail system provided rapid, inexpensive ways of reaching the seaside which in England is not very far away from any inlnd city. And boarding houses opened providing modestly priced accomodations. They would not be on the ocean front like the grand hotals, but would not be very far from it. There bording houses for all price ranges, but far less than the grand hotels. The noarding houses also provided meaks, further reducing the cost of these holidays.

Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Sailor suits] [Sailor hats] [Buster Brown suits]
[Eton suits] [Rompers] [Tunics] [Smocks] [Pinafores]

Created: 5:14 AM 4/2/2018
Last updated: 5:14 AM 4/2/2018