A Tea Room at Bath

Bath is a famous seaside resort, mainly due to Jane Austen's novels. Austen frequented Bath and the town is a favorite destination for Austen fans today. Dolly and Minerva are having a cuppa at a quaint tea room, and while in the midst of one of their eccentric conversations, notice that other women are listening intently to what they have to say. Despite their love of current novels, they have no idea that the three women are, front left to right, Fanny Burney, Jane Austen, and Maria Edgeworth.

A Trip To The Seaside

Mother and the girls have gone to Scarborough, one of the many seaside resorts of the day. As I have posted before, Britain's coast was not a Club Med location, but the Regency concept of beach activity was very different from ours. It was more about the supposed health-giving properties of brisk sea air and a firm saltwater dip than tanning on the beach and sipping tropical drinks. 

Ackermann's print series of Thomas Rowlandson's Poetical Sketches of Scarborough showed a place for the hardy traveler. Despite its rugged coastline and inclement weather, Anne Brontë, the youngest of the Brontë sisters, often visited Scarborough to escape the worse terrain and weather of her home in Haworth. It was in Scarborough that she died in 1849, during a visit which she hoped would benefit her health. It was decided that she should be buried in St. Mary's churchyard rather than have her body returned the 70 miles to her home.

Going For A Dip At Brighton

Brighton was a popular seaside resort for the ton in the extended Regency era, a place where those who could afford extended getaways to take advantage of the fresh sea air and partake in a healthful dip in the waves. A "dip" was more than a short floundering about in the salt water. There were actually professional Dippers. Often they were a husband and wife team who provided a bathing machine and the service of immersing the patron. Bathing machines were wagons topped with enclosed cabins. They would be backed into the shallows and the back door opened to let the bather descend into the water. The cabin gave the bather privacy to dress and a blocked view from the beach. When the bather was ready to go into the water, the dipper would be waiting to help him or her down the steps. Women bathers were always assisted by a burly woman or two who could carry them down and steady them in the waves. Men and older boys were assisted by men called "bathers".

Then came the dip. The dipper would take a firm hold on the bather and force them down into the water for a full immersion. A child's first dip was quite an event. 

One of the most famous dippers was Mrs. Martha Gunn (1726-1815) of Brighton. There was even rhymes about her. The first is most likely about the infant Prince of Wales' first dip by Martha, which was commemorated in a painting:

            To Brighton came he,
            Came George III's son.
            To be bathed in the sea,
            By famed Martha Gunn.

Another rhyme sings the fame of Martha and the bather John "Smoaker" Miles, who taught the young Prince how to swim.

There’s plenty of dippers and jokers,
And salt-water rigs for your fun,
The King of them all is ‘Old Smoaker’
The Queen of ’em “Old Martha Gunn”.

The ladies walk out in the morn,
To taste of the salt-water breeze;
They ask if the water is warm,
Says Martha, “Yes, Ma’am, if you please.” 

Martha began dipping in her 20s and continued into her old age. One hardy woman!

The Prince's Ball at Brighton

What Regency blog is complete without the Prince Regent? Poor George, born with a silver spoon in his mouth, and little else to recommend him. His father, George III, seemed to put a damper on all his prospects. First off, III lived to the ripe old age of 82, meaning that the Prince of Wales would not become king until he was 58. That's a long time to wait around until he was to take the position he was born to. His unfortunate father was afflicted with a terrible disease, assumed today to be acute porphyria. One symptom was recurring bouts of insanity, making it impossible for him to act in his ruling capacity. As a result, his son was appointed Prince Regent, ruling in his father's stead, though not with any actual power. 

George III, for all the negative opinion voiced by American colonists, was quite a nice man. He was a sober and clean-living young man, rejecting any opportunities to be a wild wastrel in his spare time. He agreed to an arranged marriage with Princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, whom he met on their wedding day. Fortunately, they hit it off from the start and had a very happy marriage and 15 children. George III was devoted to his family and never took a mistress.

Young George did not take after his father in that respect, but dove into high-living at an early age. Despite his parents' tight control over the purse strings, Prince George plowed his way through society, racking up huge debts which he believed would be taken care of once he became king. Parliament holds the purse, dear boy.  One of George's greatest extravagances was the building of the Royal Pavilion at Brighton. A huge pleasure palace of fantastic oriental design, it was the party headquarters in the foremost seaside resort of the Georgian era, and a never-ending source of inspiration for the caricature artists of the times. Here's a great one of George and a mistress enjoying their new giraffe.

Dolly and Minerva have managed to be invited to a ball at the Royal Pavilion. Nice escorts, girls!

Acceptable Sports For Females #5: Walking

Who doesn't enjoy a good brisk walk or a leisurely stroll through an interesting landscape? Many of Ackermann's fashion illustrations were of "walking" or "promenade" dresses. Women needed comfortable outfits, suited to the season, in which they could explore some slightly rugged terrain or simply amble through a park, chatting with friends they met along the way or bringing the children out for a bit of fresh air.  Walks along the beach were especially popular, as the more privileged set took holidays at seaside resorts, where the salt air was reputed to strengthen one against the constant threat of lung ailments. Jane Austen thoroughly enjoyed her visits to the sea and incorporated her enthusiasm into her novels.
        
        "Nobody could catch cold by the sea; nobody wanted appetite by the sea; nobody wanted 
        spirits; nobody wanted strength. Sea air was healing, softening, relaxing — fortifying and 
         bracing — seemingly just as was wanted — sometimes one, sometimes the other. If the 
         sea breeze failed, the seabath was the certain corrective; and where bathing disagreed, 
         the sea air alone was evidently designed by nature for the cure.” 
                                                                                       ― Jane Austen, Sanditon

As Britain is an island nation, every scenic cove was transformed into some level of tourist get-away, from the opulence of Brighton with its Royal Pavilion to quaint villages on the coasts of Cornwall, where pirates and smugglers had so recently hidden their illegal cargoes. When I think of women walking along the seashores, my mind always goes to Gilbert and Sullivan's hilarious operetta, The Pirates of Penzance, in which the eight daughters of the Major-General romp over the rocky cliffs and encounter the most absurd pirates ever to terrorize the English coast. The 1983 movie, with Kevin Kline playing the best Pirate King ever, is one of my favorite films, and I am glad to see that it is now out on DVD. Linda Ronstadt's lovely voice won over the purists, Rex Smith is an admirable Frederick, and Angela Lansbury holds her own as the aged Ruth. The "Climbing Over Rocky Mountains" scene is delightful, with its comic posing.

Sources: Some old postcard of Cornwall; girls, Ackermann's Repository.