Tourism Traces - Rothesay

In the old days .... of tourism, that is .... it was Not Done in Britain to be seen removing clothes in order to put on swimming costume. Hiding behind a towel on the beach was not enough. Bathing machines like this one in a display at Rothesay on the Scottish Isle of Bute had to be used. They could be wheeled down to the water so that the ever-so-discrete bather could change inside and step down straight into the sea. Horses would pull the shed-on-wheels back up the beach after being used.

Some women's garments were designed to spread out on the water to act as a kind of umbrella, hiding any fabric clinging to the body in the water. Both sexes wore neck to ankle attire. It was all part of the effort at selling the seaside to the middle classes in Victorian Britain. The Georgian ruling classes of the days before had gained a reputation for immorality savagely criticised in cartoons of the day and Victoria and Albert led a movement aimed at being seen to be clean living. Well, sea bathing would have helped that.

So long as there was no hint of public nudity, of course.