Clevedon Pier, Somerset. © English Heritage
If you have the sea in your soul, and like to celebrate the magnificence, and romanticism, of England’s many historic sites, you will be delighted to learn that over 10% of all maritime and inland designated heritage assets are found within one mile of the coast.
Hardly surprising, then, that English Heritage was flying the flag for England’s seaside architecture and its role in regeneration at a two-day conference in Hastings in October 2007.
1066, as we all know, is when William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy and, as William I, the first Norman King of England, landed in England and established a camp near Hastings. Today the seaside town has huge historical wealth, which made it an ideal place for the conference, which was concerned with issues like whether heritage-led regeneration always works, and whether true regeneration can happen without understanding the architectural assets of a place.
The venue, St Mary in the Castle, is a Grade II listed monument. This Georgian church boasts a unique circular auditorium, designed by architect Joseph Kaye in 1823 for the Earl of Chichester. Restored in 1997, it is now a major arts centre and houses a theatre space with semi-circular seating for 500 people, a cinema screen, a meeting room and an art gallery.
A KFC outlet in Southend-on-Sea, Essex. © English Heritage
Coinciding with the conference was the launch of two books by English Heritage, celebrating the history and the potential of our resorts. The first, England’s Seaside Resorts, is co-authored by Allan Brodie, English Heritage architectural historian and seaside heritage expert, and Gary Winter, an investigator in the research department.
Brodie and Winter seek to demonstrate that the preservation of our seaside resorts is of vital importance, not only because it would preserve our heritage but also enhance our tourist economy.
Speaking after the conference, Winter recalled how after studying visual art and eschewing teaching he became involved in what is a truly enviable job:
“I got involved with the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments, which later merged with English Heritage, and I met Alan Brodie, and helped him with the national prisons project.”
The latter was a study into 50 working prisons and a law courts project for the Courts Service followed. The pair were rewarded for sterling work by a trip to the seaside.
It lasted four years, and the book is testament to the dedication, as well as the pleasure, such a large survey has entailed.
“It is about the places themselves, how they appear and why they have changed,” explained Winter, who is upbeat about the resorts. “Despite the doom and gloom, they have just been going through a phase”. He notes that some are doing better than others – like Brighton and Bournemouth – “which are big working towns that happen to be by the seaside, and with a student population.”
Weymouth Harbour, Dorset. © English Heritage
Winter is keen to stress that English Heritage is about more than monuments like Stonehenge, in Wiltshire, which came top in a nationwide poll for Britain’s best historic sites this year, and stresses that it is a broad church interested in post-war buildings, as well as parks, gardens, and battlefields, as well as the maritime heritage.
As a government-sponsored agency, it is also interested in regeneration, which is integrally linked to the economic prosperity of some towns. The challenge is to use heritage to encourage visitors, in order to boost the local economy, and Winter notes that some seaside towns, like Portsmouth and Margate, have high indices of multiple deprivation, which can have an impact on the buildings, too.
“If you take the seaside resort as an industry, with deprivation linked to buildings, many big terraced houses were built as grand houses, but then went into multiple occupancy.” The building suffers, because it is difficult to put a renovation scheme in place when there is no single owner.
Yet given the will, inspired planning and money, much can be done, and the other book launched at the conference, entitled Margate's Seaside Heritage, focuses on the regeneration of a town with a colourful past, and a bright future.
Its historic assets are being used to good effect in prompting successful regeneration, and the book underlines the synergy between the historic environment and arts and culture, highlighting how Margate has capitalised on its heritage and architecture.
A picturesque view down the church steps at Whitby. © English Heritage
An action plan to restart its historic heart included regeneration of the Old Town and waterfront. The book charts the decline of Margate, and now its revival, demonstrating how a town that was past its sell-by date can end up as an end-of-aisle promotion, with arts-based businesses being drawn there and the new Turner Contemporary building set to be the centre-piece of the historic quarter when it is completed in 2010.
So what can government do to help? “Understand is the main thing,” says Winter. “The work we do is to create an understanding about the significance of the historic environment. With that comes appreciation.”
It certainly does, and those seeking to purchase these books can obtain them from all good bookshops, or through the English Heritage order line.
