Revisit Skegness

Why would anyone want to revisit Skegness?

The popular view of Skegness is perhaps that of a brash, modern holiday resort, it is easy to forget that it was once a rather charming Victorian seaside village. But perhaps more interestingly, it was a Victorian seaside village which was beginning to develop as a Victorian holiday resort.

Although there were amusements during this period of development, by modern standards they were simple amusements. By modern standards, the Victorians were easily amused. But for many visitors, even these simple amusements were superfluous, it was sufficiently satisfying to be at the seaside, to see the sea - perhaps for the first time in their lives, and to breathe the sea air.

An account of Victorian Skegness is an account of Victorian society during its periods of leisure, or rather its periods of leisure at the seaside.

Why should this interest us, why should this make us want to revisit Skegness if we have never been there before?

Well, there is an argument that a society which is aware of its history, its culture,  is also aware of the kind of society that it wants - it knows where it is going. Conversely, a society which isn’t aware of its
history and its culture isn’t aware of the kind of society that it wants - it doesn’t know where it is going.

Isn’t the first kind of society preferable to the second?

By Paul Gooch

Paul Gooch is the editor of Skegness Revisited, a future series of publications which will capture the historical events and the human interest stories which took place in Skegness during the Victorian age and the following decades.

Skegness Revisited is published by Revisit Publishing