Chapter 24 in Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë describes the morning preparations on a beach in a bathing town, including the mention bathing machines. Outside, wander among flower-filled gardens, discover the quirky museum in the Swiss Cottage and relax on the beach where the royal children learnt to swim. Changing circumstances in Queen Victoria’s life prompted alterations to her accommodation too. In 1880 a private chapel was built and in 1887 the male dormitory was extended to accommodate the Indian servants who made up part of the royal household during the later years of her reign.

During the Victorian era, it was much less common to be able to swim compared to today, and women in particular were generally inexperienced swimmers, especially given the often extensive and billowing swimwear that was the fashion at the time. Device used for sea bathing during the 19th century Women posing near a bathing machine in 1902 Horse drawn bathing machines in Wyk auf Föhr, Germany, 1895 According to some sources, the bathing machine was developed in 1750 in Margate, Kent. That version was probably intended to conceal the user until they were mostly submerged in the water because, at the time, bathing costumes were not yet common and most people bathed nude. "Mr. Benjamin Beale, a Quaker, was the inventor of the Bath Machine. Their structure is simple, but quite convenient; and by means of the umbrella, the pleasures of bathing may be enjoyed in so private a manner, as to be consistent with the strictest delicacy." [7] In the Scarborough Public Library, there is an engraving by John Setterington dated 1736 which shows people bathing and is popularly believed to be first evidence for bathing machines; however Devon claims this was a year earlier in 1735. [8] Woman in bathing suit, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, 1893 Oulton, W. C. (1805). The Traveller's Guide; or, English Itinerary. Vol.II. Ivy-Lane, London: James Cundee. p.245. To support your child's learning you could ask them to explain how to brush their teeth, how to make make their bed or how to get dressed.

Bathing machines would often be equipped with a small flag which could be raised by the bather as a signal to the driver that they were ready to return to shore.

Kidwell, Claudia. Women’s Bathing and Swimming Costume in the United States. Smithsonian Institution Press, 1968. Osborne was very much his creation, and the estate lost its principal creative force when he died in 1861.

Neighbouring Barton Manor was thoroughly ‘restored’ by Cubitt and its outbuildings were organised as a model farm. Other building projects included estate cottages and lodges, a dormitory for male servants, and a landing house for the coastguard, with a sea wall along the coastal edge of the estate. Prince Albert’s energetic remodelling of Osborne is all the more remarkable when it is remembered that he was fully occupied with public duties as well as overseeing alterations at Balmoral in Scotland and the improvement of the home farm at Frogmore, Windsor.

The interior is all done in snow-white enamel paint, and one-half of the floor is pierced with many holes, to allow of free drainage from wet flannels. The other half of the little room is covered with a pretty green Japanese rug. In one corner is a big-mouthed green silk bag lined with rubber. Into this, the wet bathing-togs are tossed out of the way. Byrde, Penelope (2013). " 'That Frightful Unbecoming Dress' Clothes for Spa Bathing at Bath". Costume. 21 (1): 44–56. doi: 10.1179/cos.1987.21.1.44. ISSN 0590-8876. Mystery Of The Large Ancient Boulders In Ireland And Britain – Possible Connection To The City Of Troy? The machine would be wheeled or slid into the water. The most common machines had large wide wheels and were propelled in and out of the surf by a horse, or a pair of horses, with a driver. Less common were machines pushed in and out of the water by human power. Some resorts had wooden rails into the water for the wheels to roll on, and a few had bathing machines pulled in and out of the sea using cables propelled by a steam engine.The bathing machines in use in Margate, Kent, were described by Walley Chamberlain Oulton in 1805 as:

Lara Feigel, Alexandra Harris, Modernism on Sea: Art and Culture at the British Seaside (2009), p. 212 Explore fascinating objects on loan from the Royal Collection Trust on display in the house and the Swiss Cottage Museum

The State Rooms: The rooms where the queen entertained dignitaries and celebrities and conducted state business include a Council Room where she met with members of her Privy Council; a dining room set for a formal dinner in 1850; an opulent drawing room, decorated with yellow satin, mirrors and cut glass, and a billiards room where the queen and ladies of her court sometimes played. a b "Bathing - Jane Austen at the seaside". Jane Austen Society of Australia. 2007-03-26. Archived from the original on 2013-05-14 . Retrieved 2017-10-11. Tobias Smollett in The Expedition of Humphrey Clinker. ... on each side a little window above ... 1789: ... over all their windows ... Diary and Letters of Madame d'Arblay, vol 5, pp. 35-6 ... men ... were able to bathe naked. ... make use of the bathing machines for changing ... Prudery did not win out until the 1860s.