Spas and seaside resorts in Kent, 1660-1820
This thesis offers a new approach to the study of long eighteenth-century watering places that combines the precise study of locality with a careful consideration of motivation. Looking at spas and seaside resorts in Kent between 1660 and 1820, the county hierarchy of watering places will be used to argue for the complexity and diversity of the visitor experience. The aim, therefore, will not be to offer a traditional narrative of resort development. Instead, it will explore the use of spas and seaside resorts across a wide range of intersecting axes, focusing on the social, cultural and medical aspects of resort life and considering in particular Margate and Tunbridge Wells as urban and leisure centres. Comparing resorts with national, regional and local catchment areas and exploring the development of watering places across time and between resort typologies, this thesis will look at Kentâs spas and seaside resorts as marriage markets, feminine arenas, centres for polite society, and places in which to be seen indulging in fashionable leisure and pleasure, showing how they reacted to and actively influenced a changing social order. Challenging portrayals of the water cure as an excuse used to justify the
Johnson, Rachael May
Spas and seaside resorts in Kent, 1660-1820. This thesis offers a new approach to the study of long eighteenth-century watering places that combines the precise study of locality with a careful consideration of motivation. Looking at spas and seaside resorts in Kent between 1660 and 1820, the county hierarchy of watering places will be used to argue for the complexity and diversity of the visitor experience. The aim, therefore, will not be to offer a traditional narrative of resort development. Instead, it will explore the use of spas and seaside resorts across a wide range of intersecting axes, focusing on the social, cultural and medical aspects of resort life and considering in particular Margate and Tunbridge Wells as urban and leisure centres. Comparing resorts with national, regional and local catchment areas and exploring the development of watering places across time and between resort typologies, this thesis will look at Kentâs spas and seaside resorts as marriage markets, feminine arenas, centres for polite society, and places in which to be seen indulging in fashionable leisure and pleasure, showing how they reacted to and actively influenced a changing social order. Challenging portrayals of the water cure as an excuse used to justify the
resort kent offer_new study long eighteenth_century place combine precise study locality careful_consideration motivation looking resort kent county hierarchy water place use argue complexity diversity visitor_experience aim_therefore offer traditional_narrative resort development instead explore use resort across_wide range intersect focus social_cultural medical aspect resort life consider particular wells urban leisure centre comparing resort national_regional local catchment_area explore development water place across_time resort typology look kent spa resort marriage market feminine arena centre polite society place see fashionable leisure pleasure show react actively influenced change social_order challenging portrayal water cure use justify