3-096-564 - Ware in the World/Heritage Images

The beach at Bognor, Sussex, c1955. Bognor was developed as a seaside resort by Sir Richard Hotham in the late 18th century on what was a sand and gravel, undeveloped coastline. It has been claimed that Hotham and his new resort are portrayed in Jane Austen's unfinished novel "Sanditon". The resort grew rapidly following the coming of the railway in 1864. In 1929 King George V spent three months in the area recuperating, and later that year the town's name was changed to "Bognor Regis" by royal consent.