While the lido was described as bringing “modernism to the masses” on the British coast it was just the latest example of a trend that had been developing since Victorian times – transforming seaside towns into resorts for leisure and entertainment. In the latter half of the nineteenth century, the fashion was for local authorities to build great piers stretching from the promenade out into the sea. The Eastbourne Pier, pictured here in May 1931, was erected between 1866 and 1870 to an ingenious design by Eugenius Birch, which saw the structure sitting on special cups allowing the supporting struts to “move” in bad weather. Arranged on the pier's 1,000-foot length were kiosks, a theatre, a ballroom and a camera obscura. 1931. (Photo by Aerofilms Collection via “A History of Britain From Above”)

Police detain demonstrators during an action against Russia's attack on Ukraine in St. Petersburg, Russia, Monday, February 28, 2022. Protests against the Russian invasion of Ukraine resumed on Monday, with people taking to the streets of Moscow and St. Petersburg and other Russian towns despite mass arrests. (Photo by Dmitri Lovetsky/AP Photo)

Chinelos (traditional costumed dancers) perform in front of San Andres Ocotlan church as part of continuing festivities to welcome the new year in Calimaya, Mexico on January 4, 2016. (Photo by Arturo Hernandez/Demotix/Corbis)

People in face masks cross a near-empty street after the government announced a state of emergency for the capital and some prefectures following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Tokyo, Japan on April 16, 2020. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)

A PSE&G utility worker watches the Navy's Blue Angels and the Air Force's Thunderbirds conduct “a collaborative salute” to honor those battling the COVID-19 pandemic with a flyover of New York and New Jersey, Tuesday, April 28, 2020, in this view from Jersey City, N.J. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP Photo)

Black Live Matter march from Clapham Common (led by Iman, the Forever Family Force and the Slow Boys, on motorbikes) to join the Stop the Maangamizi: Afrikan Emancipation Day Reparations Rebellion in London, UK on August 1, 2020. They aim to lock-down Brixton because “WE/they are not being HEARD” in their demand for the UK Government to establish the All-Party Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry for Truth & Reparatory Justice. (Photo by Guy Bell/Alamy Live News)

Prime Minister Theresa May meets Russian President Vladimir Putin during the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan on June 28, 2019. (Photo by Stefan Rousseau/PA Images via Getty Images)

Migrants try to board a truck at Ouistreham ferry port in the hope of reaching the UK on September 12, 2018 in Ouistreham, France. After the clamp down at Calais many young migrants are seeking out new routes to the United Kingdom as stowaways on vehicles making the channel crossing by ferry from French ports. The migrants, of mostly African origin, camp out on the roadside and woodland areas as the authorities prevent the setting up of any camps. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)