Legal segregation of men and women in bathing areas was in force in Britain until 1901 and to ensure there were no sneaky peeks from the shore, wheeled contraptions were used as both changing room and transport into the water,
This sign depicts a traditional bathing machine, as seen on the beach at Margate until the early 1900s. The invention of this machine is often attributed to Benjamin Beale, a local Quaker and a glove and breeches maker, back in 1750. However, it is probably more likely that his invention was actually a hood attachment for the machine, and not the machine itself. Beal’s hood attached to the sea-facing end of the machine and was lowered to provide extra cover as the bather clambered down the steps to enter the sea.
Copyright Debbie Smyth, 13 September 2015
Travel with Intent 
How very interesting. I’d never heard of this. Thank you for sharing this bit of history.
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A strangely British thing!
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Looks a bit like a covered wagon. How interesting and yet strange.
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Yes, there’s a great similarity
On Tue, Sep 15, 2015 at 10:30 PM, Travel with Intent wrote:
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I never knew something like that even existed. 😆 Great info and thanks for sharing Debbie. 😀 ♥
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Thank you for this post. I am currently reading Thackeray’s “Vanity Fair” in which bathing machines are mentioned. I had an idea of what they were, but now I know!
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Completely new for me! Thanks for this interesting info.
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I knew about the little guys but didn’t know about the segregation.
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And the women probably had to wear almost more clothes than when they didn’t go in the water. 🙂 Good one, Debbie.
janet
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Absolutely!
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I didn’t know that. Makes sense though. Wonderful odd ball. Thanks Debbie.
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Always keen to share an oddity 😀
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