Skegness through the years

Dene Bebbington looks back at the fascinating history behind one of the county’s most popular tourist resorts.

When I walk along the Skegness seafront and see youngsters swimming in the cold shallow waters of the North Sea, I wonder if any of those hardy souls are aware that a few miles out, disintegrating beneath the waves, lies the original Skegness.

Rising sea levels and storms finally swallowed the ancient settlement and its port in the 1520s, washing away the headland that it’s named after. So how did the surviving yet sparsely populated farming and fishing area later become Lincolnshire’s enduring tourist magnet? Money is the answer.

Richard Lumley, the 9th Earl of Scarborough, owned much of the land in the area, but faced with a decline of agriculture in the 19th century he needed new ideas to offset reduced revenue.

Along with his estate agent, Henry Tippet, he drew up a “Grand Plan” for a new town to attract visitors for the popular Victorian recreation of sea bathing. Their vision worked. Initially well-to-do people made it to Skegness, then the railway branch line opened in 1873, bringing hordes of working people from the Midlands. Previously travellers caught a train to nearby Burgh le Marsh and were then brought by horse-drawn omnibus to Skegness.

Until then, Roman Bank and the narrow High Street were the two main streets – meandering High Street got the nickname “chip pan alley”, due to the number of chippies along it. Some can be found today, and the street is exclusively for pedestrians during tourist season.

The influx of visitors led Lumley to draw up expansion plans, with several new roads and avenues. Lumley Road is a centrepiece for shopping and banks, with its focal point at the eastern end being a clock tower commemorating Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. It was completed in 1899.

An elegant and eye-catching structure with a weather vane atop and a clock reminiscent of London’s Big Ben, it lies at the junction of three roads and a path to the beach once comically known as ‘Jenkin’s pier’.

Horses and carts were a more common sight than cars on those roads at least until the early 20th century. Old photographs show pleasantly quieter and less congested roads. At the western end of Lumley Road on the corner of Roman Bank stood the Lion Hotel, notable for a stone lion on its roof! Today the building continues a legacy of hospitality as a Wetherspoons pub.

Unfortunately the lion is long gone, at one time it was brought down to the pavement due to safety concerns, then was taken away.

Golden sands
Undoubtedly the main attraction of Skegness – ‘Skeg’ or ‘Skeggy’ to locals and regular visitors – has always been the sea and golden sands. In the 19th century Britain experienced a pier building mania which this seaside resort wanted to be part of.

Opened in 1881, Skegness Pier originally stretched a little over one-third of a mile and boasted an attractive Victorian style entrance. A year later paddle-steamers ran services from a landing stage at the pier head across the Wash to Hunstanton in Norfolk. Sadly, in 1978 a storm cut the pier in two, leaving the theatre section stranded. The truncated pier now just reaches over the beach.

Of course, not everything has changed and many early buildings remain. Some were repurposed or renamed, like the grand Royal Hotel a few hundred yards south of the clock tower. Opened in 1900 as the Seacroft Hydro, later the Seacroft Hotel, it’s in a pleasing location overlooking the sea and within easy walking distance of shops and eateries.

The oldest hotel wasn’t part of the earl’s plans. Dating back to 1770, it can be found near the Seacroft Golf Club. Called the Skegness Inn back then, it was sited almost in the middle of nowhere yet close to the sea, which the landlord described as “standing on as clean a shore as any in England”. The development of Drummond Road eventually left the renamed Vine Hotel situated in a residential area.

A walk around Skegness will bring you to an amenity which avoided the fate of being built over. On the Grand Plan lay the Pleasure Gardens, a little oasis set back from the seafront’s hurly-burly. A stroll through the gardens (currently the Tower Gardens) would have taken you past lawns, flowers, trees and water features. The pavilion offered refreshments, entertainments in the concert hall and a ballroom for dancing. Outside, in good weather, a brass band or orchestra sometimes played in the bandstand.

Visitor attractions
The more adventurous seeking a rush of adrenaline instead of sedate activities could head off to the Figure 8 railway on North Parade. Similar to a rollercoaster, it had cars pulled up by a chain, then gravity flung them downwards. This dominating fun ride survived until 1970. In recent decades the Pleasure Beach adjacent to the pier has been Skegness’ beating heart for thrills on its various rides and Ferris wheel.

Though the Figure 8 railway is a thing of the past, many buildings on North Parade remain. A casino opened in 1922 was later replaced by a bingo hall’s modern frontage, making the parade an incongruous mix of past and present.

To someone from the Victorian era, much of the parade would be unrecognisable, except classic buildings on the western side that are fused with modernity. The Pier View Hotel on Grand Parade and its lovely corner tower is recognisable on old photographs, while today it’s home to Oasis Bingo’s colourful ground floor enticements.

If past generations enjoyed the same kind of timeless fun, they were probably less concerned about animal welfare, such as seals found on Lincolnshire’s coast.

As a sign of changing times, Natureland Seal Sanctuary opened in 1965. Besides a small zoo their highlight is seals, often orphaned pups, which have been rescued and are being looked after until they can be released. Very occasionally it’s not a seal. In 1981 they unexpectedly rescued a walrus – these marine mammals rarely make it as far south as Britain, and typically only to Scotland.

It’s not just seals that need rescuing. A long-term Skegness presence has been the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, on call to assist distressed swimmers and sailors since 1825. Before the days of motorised vehicles, horses would pull the lifeboat on its carriage into the sea.

Skegness’ population swells massively during tourist season, so where they stay has expanded too. Many guest houses were turned into businesses or put to other uses, though several hotels continue to welcome guests. But it’s the sprawling caravan parks ranging from Skegness up to Sutton on Sea which boost visitor numbers even further.

Not all arrive by car, thanks to the railway escaping the 1960s Beeching cuts. Close to the town centre, the station is a handy alternative to avoid problems of limited car parking.

Like everywhere else in England, the town will surely continue to alter and grow. A sight that previous generations never witnessed is the numerous wind turbines in the sea. Likewise, the Skegness Gateway project of houses, a college, plus retail and industrial units is the most recent major expansion.

In a couple of centuries maybe Skegness will have changed nearly as much as in the past two, but hopefully the historic clock tower will still stand as a reminder of its Victorian roots.

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