The 1870s witnessed a fashion for Winter Gardens at the British seaside and Great Yarmouth’s example is a unique survivor of that Victorian trend. As an iron and glass structure it took its cue from the 1851 Crystal Palace but failed to make a profit when it was first erected in the Devon resort of Torquay. This viewpoint uncovers the background to its creation and tells the story of its remarkable move to Norfolk in 1903.

The Yorkshire seaside resort of Withernsea came into being as a result of Victorian railway expansion, with a pier being built as one of the first visitor attractions. The sorry tale of that North Sea pier is a short and disastrous one. But its story is not over yet.

Margate’s 1926 train station was one of architect Edwin Maxwell Fry’s first jobs. Fry went on to become a leading figure in International Modernism so this viewpoint explores the background to the station’s design, its importance for Margate and its place in the wider context of 1920s seaside architecture.

Once capable of making up to 20 million bricks a year they are the only steam driven brickworks left in the country.