Sea bathing in the eighteenth and early nineteenth century did not mean swimming. Few people knew how to swim; indeed modern swimming strokes had not yet been invented. The practice of sea bathing involved being immersed or 'dipped' into the sea. The bathing machine was devised in the eighteenth century to afford persons of quality some modesty and protection from prying eyes as they negotiated their way into the water. The prospective bather would wait for a machine to be drawn up the beach, usually by a pony. He or she would enter the machine and dress down to a simple gown while the attendant wheeled them into the shallows. They would then help the bather down the steps and into the water for perhaps half a dozen short spells before driving them back up the beach. The process was highly ritualised and would probably be followed by further ablutions inside the public baths.
Picture - Bournemouth Libraries. Text - Andrew Emery
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