Our leisure time is precious. Away from work and study, our leisure activities contribute to our happiness and wellbeing.
Historic religious festivals and the right to paid holidays have given us opportunities for fun, relaxation and the pursuit of hobbies.
When did people start to go on holidays?
Fixed holidays and regular leave from work were rare in the first decades following the invention of photography. It was not until 1871 that Bank Holidays were introduced in England, and only in the 20th century that the majority of workers could enjoy paid leave and weekends off.
Free time and disposable income supported the growth of the leisure industry. More people could now take part in the kinds of pursuits previously only available to the leisured classes.
As travel became more extensive, more significant numbers could travel further afield to enjoy the many beauty spots and places to have fun that England could offer. From local municipal parks to distant natural wonders, from simple pastimes to expensive hobbies, leisure activities have been a popular subject for amateur and professional photographers alike.
Socialising at Henley Royal Regatta
The Royal Regatta at Henley-on-Thames was established in 1839, gaining royal patronage in 1851.
Originally a local fair with amusements for the public, it evolved into a competitive rowing regatta and became one of several sporting events on the ‘social season’ calendar.
Cycling in Hyde Park
The bicycle’s invention in the early 19th century allowed new opportunities for travel, exercise and sport.
The arrival of what became known as the ‘safety bicycle’ in the 1880s led to a cycling craze, and the bicycle became a symbol of female emancipation.
Exploring the countryside by bike
Tandem bicycles first appeared on the roads in the later years of the 19th century. They were popular up until the Second World War and made a revival in the 1960s.
Founded in 1971, the Tandem Club was set up to source replacement parts and advise on the upkeep of old tandems. It now has a worldwide membership of over 5,000.
Caravanning in Shropshire
The first purpose-built leisure caravan was made in 1885. Pulled by a pair of horses, it enabled the traveller to take their accommodation with them.
Leisure caravans towed by motor cars first appeared on the roads in 1919. After the Second World War, mass production techniques opened up caravanning to the masses, and around 1.5 million people now make regular caravan trips annually in the UK.
Bell ringing in Gloucestershire
The English parish church has for centuries been the focus of village life. Bells have been rung in churches since the Middle Ages, and associations of ringers can be traced to the early 17th century.
At one time fashionable with the aristocracy, bell-ringing later became a popular leisure pursuit, and a means for locals to earn additional income.
Bell ringing was a male preserve for a long time, but the Ladies Guild of Change Ringers was formed in 1912. A revival occurred in the 1950s following enforced silence during the Second World War.
Fishing in the Lake District
Considered a sport and a pastime, angling, or fishing with a rod and line, goes back many centuries.
The earliest text in England on recreational fishing dates to the late 15th century. Its popularity grew in the 17th century after the Civil War. A whole industry for rods and tackle evolved in the following century.
Like many leisure pursuits, mass manufacturing and cheaper travel opened up river, lake and coastal fishing to greater numbers of enthusiasts.
Rambling in the Peak District
This photograph of three boys in the Peak District was probably taken in Dove Dale (or Dovedale).
A guidebook of 1891 described Dove Dale as ‘simply the most beautiful and harmonious blending of rock, wood and water within the limits of the four seas’.
Picnicking at Alexandra Palace
In 1873 the Alexandra Palace opened as ‘The Peoples’ Palace’, a recreation centre and visitor attraction for the people of north London. Unfortunately, this rival to the Crystal Palace was virtually destroyed by fire just two weeks later.
A replacement building opened two years after the fire, offering a theatre, music hall and later, a cinema.
From 1935 the BBC occupied part of the building. From here on 2 November 1936, the BBC introduced the first regular, high-definition, 405-line television service in the world.
Beating the bounds at Botley
This view across the Seacourt stream shows a group of behatted men and youths taking refreshment outside the George Inn in the Oxfordshire village of Botley.
The group has been Beating the Bounds, a traditional ceremony that evolved during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I and involves beating parish boundary stones with willow sticks.
Note the policeman peering through one of the pub’s windows!
Swingboats at Hampstead Fair
Hampstead Heath’s elevated position north of London made it a fashionable destination because of its views and fresh air. It was popular with day-trippers, and by the early 19th century, it was considered one of the ‘lungs of the metropolis’.
Informal fairs were held, and in 1865 land was given for a fairground. Hampstead Heath Station and the Bank Holidays Act ensured that Hampstead Heath became a popular destination for working-class Londoners.
Known as ‘Appy Ampstead’, an estimated 200,000 visited on Easter Monday 1910.
‘The High Explosives’ Concert Troupe
Theatrical performances were an important morale booster for troops at home and abroad during the First World War. Works concert parties also gave workers on the ‘home front’ the opportunity to break the monotony of factory work and entertain colleagues.
In 1917 the photography company Bedford Lemere and Co were commissioned to photograph the manufacturing of shells at the Cunard Shell Works in Bootle. It also recorded many other aspects of factory life, including this portrait of the factory concert party in costume.
Fancy dress at Hellidon
Professional photographer Sydney Newton gained permission to photograph the construction of the Great Central Railway.
Newton was also interested in the life of the villages through which the railway passed. He recorded the streets and buildings and villagers at work and at leisure.
At Hellidon in Northamptonshire, he photographed several villagers attending a fancy dress party, including this extraordinary effort by a lady in a costume made of cabbage leaves.
Shooting on the Holkham Hall estate
Hunting game with guns in England dates back to the 16th century. The cost of guns and legal restrictions on who could hunt game meant that it was a pursuit for the few.
Shooting became more popular as shotguns improved, but it remained a pursuit associated with shooting parties held on country estates.
This John Gay photograph records Robert Churchill, gunmaker and author of ‘Game Shooting’, demonstrating how to handle a pair of guns with the assistance of a loader.
Cruising on the Broads
The Broads are a network of rivers and lakes in Norfolk and Suffolk and have a status similar to National Parks.
Many of the lakes are artificial, having been peat extraction sites, some dating from the Middle Ages. They gradually filled as sea levels rose.
By the end of the 19th century, the Broads had become a popular destination for boating holidays, initially using small yachts and, from the 1930s, motor cruisers.
Strict speed restrictions are enforced for safety and help protect the riverbanks from erosion.
Ice skating in Richmond Park
Skating on ice has ancient origins, though ice skating as a leisure pursuit was introduced to England from the Netherlands in the 17th century.
While bodies of frozen water were the obvious places to ice skate, an artificial ice rink, the London Glaciarium, opened in Chelsea in 1876.
The National Skating Association was established in Cambridge in 1879. It was the first national skating body in the world.
Paddling at Tower Beach
Hundreds of tons of sand were used to create Tower Beach on the River Thames foreshore. Sited adjacent to the Tower of London and Tower Bridge, the artificial beach was officially opened in 1934 by the Lieutenant of the Tower of London and King George V.
It was intended for the beach to be a waterside playground for the children of London. It offered safe paddling and even deckchair hire, like a small seaside resort.
Immensely popular before and after the Second World War, Tower Beach was eventually closed in 1971 amid concerns about pollution.
The Odeon Leicester Square
Opening on 2 November 1937 with ‘The Prisoner of Zenda’, the Odeon Leicester Square was built to be Odeon’s flagship cinema.
Faced in black polished granite with its signature tower, the cinema was built in just seven months.
Its significance is still felt today as it continues to be the venue for world premieres and the annual Royal Film Performance.
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Further reading
Great images, I’d like to nominate some of my favourites into a new section called “Camping (& Caravanning) in Crimdon”
https://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/en/image/EAW002148
https://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/en/image/EAW002149
At a first glance the regimented lines of tents would make you think this was a military camp!
But as it was 1946 I’m sure this campsite provided a real escape & contrast to the proceeding war years!
A bit basic for modern family tastes.
Taken from a comment on one of the images…
“Crimdon Dene camp started sometime in 1946 with ex-army tents. The picture also shows round the side of the camp a small number of caravans…. In the 1950s the site was filled with Aluminium Altents. These had a table, four chairs and four bunks… were made of aluminium sheeting which made them hot in summer and cold in the winter.”