The South West Film and Television Archive (SWFTA) is the regional film archive for the South West of England. Established in 1993, SWFTA's core collection comprises of the combined programme libraries of Westward Television and TSW (Television South West). The archive also cares for a significant number of donated film collections, both amateur and professional, dating back to the early 1900s.
This film is part of Free
Weymouth
A family holiday to the popular summer retreat on the coast of Dorset.
From the collection of:
Overview
The Lynex family go on holiday to Weymouth and the popular summer retreat of the Dorset coast. The town beach is a large expanse of sand offering the usual seaside activities of rides and ice cream parlours. The swimwear is undoubtably knitted by a family member from a pattern and in the days before lycra this is wool, see how the boys’ swimmers are holding up just fine. Leisurewear for 1950s children even on the beach is Sunday best shirts, shorts and bow tie.
The resort became fashionable in the Georgian era from around 1760 and King George III regularly sea bathed to cure ailments. Victorians continued to develop Weymouth by extending and renovating the 1812 pier in 1860 adding to the seafront known as The Esplanade. In Edwardian times the Pavilion Theatre was added to the pier and by the 1930s was operating as a picture house. The Pavilion was renovated as the Ritz Theatre in 1949 but was destroyed by fire in 1954 and a few years later rebuilt and used when the 2012 London Olympic Games held the sailing events at Weymouth. Weymouth had a new lease of life after statutory paid holidays were introduced in 1938 and became a popular resort for ordinary families.