When the Georgians invented the concept of the seaside holiday, the tiny village of Weston-super-Mare was perfectly situated to develop into one of the earliest resorts – close enough to the cities of Bristol and Bath for travellers to reach by horse or stage coach, yet far enough away to present a pleasant mix of rural idyll (for wealthy townsfolk that is), coastal walks and sea bathing. When the railway was built in 1841 the town’s expansion was guaranteed. Further social changes, such as the introduction of Bank Holidays, brought ever-increasing numbers of people to the town and with it the associated infrastructure to feed, entertain and house them. From small beginnings as a village whose tiny population relied largely on fishing and farming to earn a living, Weston-super-Mare had become the tourism capital of Somerset by the middle of the nineteenth century. Of course this growth brought continual changes and there must have been times when the town looked like a building site, much as parts of it do today. I suppose the only difference nowadays is the seeming pace of change. Most noticeable over the last few years have been the improvements to the promenade and seafront. With the necessity to provide more robust flood defences, the opportunity was taken to add artistic touches at the same time, such as innovative seating and colour-changing lights. Together with the new pedestrianized area around the Coalbrookdale fountain it has certainly changed the face of this prime site for the better.
Old photographs both record the appearance of a place at any one point in time, whilst also serving to illustrate the changes to the streetscape over the years. As a seaside resort, Weston has perhaps been luckier than many places in that cameras have been used to document the town almost since they were invented in the early nineteenth century. I love to pour over the old scenes, whether streets of artisan housing, avenues of elegant villas or buildings such as schools and churches. In particular I love shops – interiors and exteriors; I have no idea why they fascinate me so. Perhaps it is because I am of an age where I can just remember the old-style grocery stores with glass-fronted boxes of biscuits along the bottom of the counter, and shelves of colourful tins and packets behind; or the open-fronted fishmonger’s with its marble slabs of glistening fish and seafood amongst the ice and decorative greenery. One particular favourite of mine was Coulstings Bazaar, a very long narrow shop in Weston High Street. At the closing down sale, they had obviously dug out all manner of obsolete stock and it was a veritable Aladdin’s Cave. Sadly these shops are all now gone, existing only in photographs and postcards and people’s memory. That is why I feel it is important to allow these images to be seen by the wider world, to let everyone know what places used to look like so they can better understand how they grew to be what they are today. To contrast old and new images together is to not only step back into a bygone era but to almost unpick layers of history.
