The seaside has always held a special position in British history as a place of rest, relaxation and recuperation. Over the last 200 years many have made their way to the coast, attracted by the long sunshine hours, the clean ozone-charged air and the opportunities for bathing in and even drinking sea-water. Although the early health resort ideal began to give way to more pleasure orientated themes in the nineteenth century, the seaside holiday was still regarded by many as a wholesome and invigorating break from inland urban life well into the twentieth century. Yet with ever increasing...

Few technologies have had as profound an impact upon the urban environment as the railway. Allowing the rapid and inexpensive transportation of people, goods and ideas, by the end of the nineteenth century the rail networks had a dramatic influence upon the shape size and architecture of virtually every city and large town in Europe and beyond. In order to further understanding of the complex and dynamic inter-relationship between city and rail, this volume provides a selection of essays that address a variety of themes from a broad international perspective.

Building upon...