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”)

A boy runs with a burning barrel soaked in tar at the annual Ottery St Mary tar barrel festival on November 5, 2015 in Ottery St. Mary, England. The tradition, which is over 400 years old, sees competitors (who must have been born in the town to take part) running with burning barrels on their backs through the village, until the heat becomes too unbearable or the barrel breaks down, starting with junior barrels carried by children and continuing all evening with ever larger and larger barrels. The event, which has been threatened with closure on previous years due to increasing public liability insurance costs, raises thousands of pounds for charity and attracts spectators from around the world. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

A Buddhist monk catches an aerial view of Kathmandu from the damaged Swayambhunath Stupa premises in Kathmandu, Nepal, Wednesday, May 6, 2015. The April 25 earthquake killed thousands and injured many more as it flattened mountain villages and destroyed buildings and archaeological sites in Kathmandu. (Photo by Niranjan Shrestha/AP Photo)

The New World porcupine, family Erethizontidae, 1280 Gram born at 11 April 2015 Inventory in Zoo. Counting trade Fairs Weighing the Zoo is at 7 May 2015 too the 108 Birthday Zoo Hagenbeck Hamburg, Germany. (Photo by Imago/ZUMA Wire)

Labourers work at the installation site of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) pipeline on May Day or Labour Day in Chandigarh, India, May 1, 2015. (Photo by Ajay Verma/Reuters)

Nick Krist makes a funny face as he and his son, Noah, 8, take a selfie before a baseball game between the Los Angeles Angels and the Minnesota Twins, Wednesday, July 22, 2015, in Anaheim, Calif. (Photo by Jae C. Hong/AP Photo)

An Afghan man works at a traditional yarn factory in Heart province, Afghanistan July 28, 2015. (Photo by Mohammad Shoib/Reuters)

Pfc. Remy Bouchard swaps a cigarette for an egg with a French Orphan near La Haye Du Puits, France on July 18, 1944, which was captured by American forces. The boy is only twelve years old. (Photo by Hugh Broderick/AP Photo)