Bringing you the news year after year
The Skegness Standard was first published on Wednesday, July 5, 1922, from a premises in Lumley Road.
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A brief history of tourism
The Skegness area has been occupied since Roman times.
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Find out about the Fisherman
The Jolly Fisherman, with his sou'wester, gum boots and broad smile, has become synonymous with Skegness.
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Paddle boats and a pier to be proud of
Skegness’ most famous feature is undoubtedly its pier, which is one of only 50 remaining in the UK.
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Billy Butlin - funfairs and fame
William Heygate Colbourne Butlin was born in Cape Town, South Africa on 29th September 1899 to William, the son of a clergyman, and Bertha, the daughter of a small town baker who had become a travelling showman.
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Carry on camping
Billy Butlin, a travelling fairground worker from Canada, set up his first holiday camp at Skegness in 1936 having identified a need for all-weather recreation for holiday-makers.
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80 years of Skegness yesterdays
After the foreshore became the property of Skegness Urban District Council in 1922, the local authority quickly went ahead with developing it.
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Flying bombs and wartime rations
By 1939 the nation seemed to have almost recovered from the Wall Street disaster of 10 years earlier, and then Hitler marched into Poland and Europe was aflame again.
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The ups and downs of life in a grand old English seaside town
As at the end of the Great War 1914-18, the aftermath of the Second World War found Britain with a huge housing shortage and local authorities’ first priority was solving that crisis.
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A picture of paddlers on the beach at Skegness in the 20s. Photo loaned by Matt Large.

The Skegness area has been occupied since Roman times. Salt was manufactured along much of the low lying coast of Lincolnshire by the Romans and evidence of working sites can still be found today. Roman pottery can also be found on the sea shore, although much has been lost due to coastal erosion.

Surprisingly, until the end of the 19th Century, Skegness was little more than a coastal village. White's Directory for 1842 suggests a population of just 185.

It was not until the railway was extended into Skegness in 1873 that ordinary working class people from the Midlands could afford to visit the area and tourism could become an important part of the growing town’s economy. On the August Bank Holiday of 1882 the railway brought 22,000 day trippers to Skegness and by 1921 the railway was carrying up to 450,000 visitors each day. It was not unusual for up to 60 trains to arrive per day and for them to run late into the night.

During the 1870s and 80s, the town went through a phase of intensive development, with ideas being taken from a town plan created by the ninth Earl of Scarborough in conjunction with estate agent V. Tippet. In addition to a basic tourist infrastructure such as seafront hotels, the work included a pier and parade, gardens on the seafront and a clock tower. The Earl’s plans featured a geometric pattern with wide roads, wide verges and footpaths, which are adequate even for today's traffic.

Very early on amusements of various kinds were thought up to entertain the visitors. Donkey races on the beach in front of the Sea View Hotel attracted thousands of people, and sea water baths were built in 1882 on Scarborough Avenue. These were bombed during the Second World War and have since been demolished.

Improvements to tourist facilities continued into the 20th Century with the laying out of the foreshore with formal gardens, swimming baths and boating lakes.

If any one person has left a lasting impression on Skegness, it is the late Sir Billy Butlin. He first came to Skegness in 1921. A poor travelling showman, he entertained the holidaymakers with his hoopla stall. However, by 1929 he had opened a large amusement park on the south side of the pier, with rides including the first dodgems in Skegness.

By 1935 Billy had built the Butlins Holiday Camp between Skegness and Ingoldmells, but the outbreak of the Second World War interrupted his plans. The camp was acquired by the Royal Navy and renamed H.M.S Royal Arthur until its return to him in 1946.

In many ways the war was the end of the glory days for Skegness. Men were called to war and the beaches were lined with anti invasion defenses. Visitors ceased to arrive and the town settled and prepared for a far different immediate future.

However, the end of the war brought with it a new lease of life. Although the first car number plate was issued in 1903, it wasn’t until the post-war era that car ownership became commonplace and people began to come and stay for longer than a day trip. This resulted in more hotels and lodging houses being built and more and more amusements supplied for the visitors.

It wasn’t until the 1960s that caravanning really took off. Between 1960 and 1974 the number of static caravans in the area almost doubled to 21,000, and Chapel St. Leonards and Ingoldmells became holiday centres to cope with demand.

In 1978 Skegness Pier was severely damaged by storms and a chunk was washed away leaving the pier head isolated and inaccessible. This end section was eventually demolished.

The New Embassy Theatre was built in 1982, with work including the erection of a new auditorium to replace the original Piazza, dressing rooms, and dining facilities. The Tourist Information Centre was also located in the complex.

In the late 1980s major investment by Rank Organisation, the new owners of Butlins Holiday Camp, allowed it to be refurbished and renamed Butlins Funcoast World, and in 1995 the complex underwent huge redevelopment and became Butlins Family Entertainment Centre. In the same year Britain's first indoor themed holiday resort, Fantasy Island, held its grand opening.

Alhthough Skegness was possibly at the height of its popularity in the 1920s and 30s, the town continues to draw huge numbers to its six miles of golden beaches and tree-lined avenues. It also continues to upgrade its facilities – in 2000 the Tower Gardens and Embassy Centre were redeveloped and 2001 saw the launch of an extensive programme intended to improve disabled access throughout the town.