Seaside and circuses
The expansion of the railways in the nineteenth century enabled urban populations to travel to the coast. These visitors liked to take in the sea air, promenading along the sea front and the lengthy piers that stretched ever further into the sea and which were being built in greater numbers from the 1860s.
Several of these commercial enterprises had theatres or variety halls built on them, and became an important element of the local seaside economy. Following the outbreak of World War II, though, many began to be neglected, and by the 1960s changing holiday patterns and rising costs led to many being closed, to be replaced by lucrative amusement arcades.
Hippodromes or circuses, too, were a popular form of entertainment in the Victorian period and developed from the interest in equestrian entertainment in the late-eighteenth century, which took place in circular enclosures. They were built in major cities and seaside resorts in theatre-like buildings to present live animal acts, though their shows would often include human acts.
Some hippodromes could even be flooded for spectacular water shows. Very few remain in use today, most converted to other uses or demolished, but they can often be recognised by the use of animal forms in their decoration.
