The Battle for Beachlands: Hayling Island and the Development of Coastal Leisure in Britain 1820–1960

Abstract

William Padwick, the successful entrepreneur, once envisaged Hayling, .a flat rural island off the south coast of Hampshire, as a resort that would rival Brighton in popularity and amenities. In 1823 he successfully lobbied Parliament to build a bridge connecting the island to the mainland. 1 The bridge opened in 1824, and within two years, Padwick began building on the island's sandy southern shore. Norfolk Crescent, an imposing curved construction of sixteen luxury town homes similar to buildings in Brighton and Bath, was flanked by the Royal Hotel, a bathhouse for sea-bathing, and an ionic-columned library, all deemed essential leisure amenities for a fashionable spa resort in the nineteenth century.