The queen of ’em, ‘Old Martha Gunn’

Martha Gunn, the most famous of Brighton’s dippers, died 210 years ago today. It’s impossible not to read about the town’s history without coming across Martha, and it’s clear that she was something of a celebrity, despite her relatively humble work. Today the so-called Queen of the Dippers can be found in many much-reproduced images, on postcards and in local histories, and she even features in popular rhymes. 

Martha Killick was born in Brighton in 1726. She married fisherman Stephen Gunn, and they had eight children, though only some survived into adulthood. She gained prominence during the town’s transformation into a fashionable seaside resort, as one of the most famous seawater dippers of her time, known for her robust physique, commanding presence, and no-nonsense attitude. Her work involved physically lifting clients - often wealthy or aristocratic visitors - into and out of the cold sea, using bathing machines. This demanding occupation required strength and confidence, qualities she seems to have possessed in abundance.

Gunn’s fame grew in part due to her association with the royal family, particularly the Prince of Wales (later George IV), who frequented Brighton and is said to have been on friendly terms with her. Gunn’s image appeared on various prints, satirical cartoons, and souvenirs, often showing her in a striped dress and bonnet, sometimes defending the prince or warding off critics of sea bathing. She remained a local celebrity throughout her life and is remembered as a symbol of Brighton’s early days as a health resort. She died in 1815 and was buried in St Nicholas’ Churchyard in Brighton, where her grave can still be seen today.

There’s more information about Martha Gunn at Wikipedia, in John Ackerson Erredge’s History of Brighthelmston (readily available online, at Project Gutenberg for example), and in John George Bishop’s ‘A peep into the past’: Brighton in the olden time, with a glance at the present (available at Internet Archive). Also, the Sussex PhotoHistory website (run by David Simkin) has good details and a selection of images.

Here’s a slightly saucy (but anonymous) rhyme about Martha (as quoted by Erredge).

There’s plenty of dippers and jokers,
And salt-water rigs for your fun;
The king of them all is diary ‘Old Smoaker,’
The queen of ’em, ‘Old Martha Gunn.’

The ladies walk out in the morn,
To taste of the salt-water breeze;
They ask if the water is warm,
Says Martha, ‘Yes, Ma’am, if you please.’

Then away to the machines they run,
’Tis surprising how soon they get stript;
I oft wish myself Martha Gunn,
Just to see the young ladies get dipt.

And Erredge also quotes this diary-like extract from The Morning Herald 28 August 1806: ‘The Beach this morning was thronged with ladies, all anxious to make interest for a dip. The machines, of course, were in very great request, though none could be run into the ocean in consequence of the heavy swell, but remained stationary at the water’s edge, from which Martha Gunn and her robust female assistants took their fair charges, closely enveloped in their partly coloured dresses, and gently held them to the breakers, which not quite so gently passed over them.’

Giant green monsters

Monsters. Monsters on the beach yesterday. Giant green monsters! Monsters because they’re giants, green hulks no less, colonising the pebbles. And monsters too because they are laying down event flooring - metal plates - allowing their army of other engined monsters to swarm onto the pebbles bringing fencing and more fencing (closing down acres of beach), and building infrastructure for food, drink and music.

I believe The Great Escape must be coming - the festival for new music. The organisers say: ‘We’re proud to present an incredible wave of local artists taking to our stages this May, spanning genres, scenes and generations of sound. Whether you’re into fuzzy guitars, punk energy, experimental electronics or dreamy indie pop, Brighton is serving it up.’ This year’s lineup boasts over 450 emerging artists from around the globe, performing across 30+ venues throughout the city, notably including the pop-up festival site on Brighton Beach. 

The monsters are, in fact, two Scania trucks operated by Sunbelt Rentals, which claims to be the UK’s largest and greenest rental provider. Both trucks are painted in Sunbelt’s signature bright green livery and are fitted with crane arms, indicating that they are hiab (loader crane) trucks, commonly used for transporting and unloading heavy materials. They’ll get a few days rest when the music fills the beach, and then they’ll be back to dismantle it all. 

Fantasy, history and rhythm collide

Not that Brighton Beach needs much brightening up, but Dan Lish’s two murals do exactly that, one a whimsical hip-hop reimagining of Alice in Wonderland, and the other a wanderer’s dreamscape with floating turntables, cosmic clouds, and futuristic urban beats. Both murals fill up the frontage of Gallery 242, just west of the Palace Pier, and they can also be viewed online on the gallery’s website.

Lish describes himself as ‘a multi-disciplined artist . . . specialising in illustration, Video Game concept Art and Wall art’. Now living in Brighton, he spent seven years in New York City, freelancing as an illustrator and concept artist for clients including Sony, Lucas Arts and Rockstar Games. Within the video game industry he has been working on ‘numerous flagship titles for major developers’.

Lish also lists ‘comic and book illustrations, album cover art, and toy design’ among his artistic outputs. Through his celebrated Egostrip project, Lish says he has reimagined music legends like J Dilla, MF DOOM, and De La Soul ‘placing them in psychedelic, otherworldly settings where fantasy, history, and rhythm collide’. Egostrip Book 1 was published in 2020 and Egostrip Book 2 in 2023. See Lish’s Instagram account for more pics.

Deck chair history!

For how long have there been deck chairs on Palace Pier and Brighton Beach, or anywhere for that matter? Although folding chairs have ancient origins - they were known to have been used by Roman magistrates and to have been found in Egyptian tombs - the deck chair we know and love today only goes back to around the turn of the 19th/20th centuries - see Wikipedia. The earliest photograph/image I can find online dates back only to 1901.

Before then, the deck chair traces its origins to campaign furniture - i.e. portable, collapsible furniture used by military officers in the 18th and 19th centuries. These early designs were lightweight and designed for travel, often featuring wooden frames and fabric or leather seats. By the mid-19th century, shipbuilders adapted the concept for ocean liners and naval vessels, creating a sturdy yet collapsible wooden chair with a fabric sling. These chairs were used on the decks of passenger ships, hence the name ‘deck chair’. They allowed travellers to recline comfortably while enjoying the sea breeze.

But, it was the British inventor John Thomas Moore who, in 1886, patented an adjustable and portable folding chair and began producing them in Macclesfield from 1887. Photographs of Brighton Beach (as this one) from 1880-1890 (found in Victorian and Edwardian Brighton from old photographs by John Betjeman and J. S. Gray) show ordinary house chairs on the beach (rentable for 1p) but no sign of deck chairs. Indeed, the earliest photograph I can find online with deck chairs on a beach is at the Francis Frith website (a 1901 postcard of Filey sands and another from 1906 of Margate).

By this period, deck chairs were becoming a staple of leisure culture, not only on beaches but also in parks, gardens, and cruise ships. The famous Titanic had deck chairs available for first-class passengers. The striped fabric commonly associated with deck chairs became fashionable during this time. With the rise of plastic furniture in the 1960s and 70s, though, the traditional wooden deck chair saw a decline. However, in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, there was a revival of vintage seaside aesthetics, bringing back classic deck chairs to beaches, festivals, and garden settings. Today, deck chairs are not just nostalgic beach accessories but are also popular for outdoor events, garden furniture, and even art installations.

Although deck chairs on Brighton’s pebbles have long cost an arm and a leg to rent (look at today’s prices!), they have been free to use on Palace Pier for a long time, since 1984 in fact, when the pier was bought by the Noble Organisation. Under the then new management, entry fees to the pier were abolished, and complimentary deckchairs were introduced to encourage visitors.

The scuttle and the shuffle

LOBSTER: [snapping claws, looking out to sea]

Ah, the tang of salt in the air! The world is a buffet, and yet-so many pebbles, so little seaweed.

GORILLA: [rumbling voice, scratching belly]

You complain of pebbles? Try finding a banana among these stones. My kingdom for a palm tree.

LOBSTER: [clicking claws, sidling closer]

You land-dwellers never appreciate the subtlety of the tide. Each wave brings a new adventure! Or at least a lost chip wrapper.

GORILLA: [laughs, deep and rolling]

Adventure? I see only humans, ice cream, and the occasional stray dog. Where’s the thrill in that?

LOBSTER: [raising one claw, grandly]

Have you ever danced sideways under the moonlight, dodging buckets and spades? The thrill is in the scuttle, my friend.

GORILLA: [leans forward, curious]

Teach me your dance, Lobster. My feet are made for pounding, not prancing.

LOBSTER: 

With pleasure! But beware, the sideways shuffle is not for the faint of heart - or the heavy of foot.

GORILLA: [grins, attempts a sideways shuffle, pebbles flying]

How’s this for a gorilla groove?

LOBSTER: [applauds with claws]

Magnificent! You move like a tidal wave - unstoppable, slightly alarming.

GORILLA: 

And you, Lobster, are as nimble as a pebble in a storm. Perhaps we are both out of place here, yet perfectly at home.

LOBSTER: 

On Brighton Beach, everyone is a little out of place. That’s the magic.

GORILLA: [leans back, content]

Let’s watch the tide together. Maybe it will bring bananas. Or seaweed. Or something entirely unexpected.

LOBSTER:

Whatever comes, we’ll face it - with a scuttle and a shuffle.

Brighton Kidical Mass!

What a great day for the Brighton Kidical Mass! Sunshine, warmth, seaside, kids of all ages with their parents and friends, all cycling through Brighton in an exotic assemblage - a kaleidoscope - of cycles and other light pedal-powered vehicles. This is  a relatively new event, having started in 2023, and joins many sporty and family friendly annual gatherings that parade along the seafront - coming up next Saturday, for example, is the Brighton Festival Children’s Parade.

Kidical Mass is an international movement inspired by Critical Mass (which itself first emerged in San Francisco in 1992), aiming to create safer streets for children and families to cycle. The Brighton Kidical Mass began its local chapter with a first major ride in September 2023, attracting over 300 participants. The events are organised by Brighton Bike Hub, Bricycles and OSR Bike Train, with support from other local cycling groups and funding from Cycling UK’s Big Bike Revival. The rides are fully marshalled, free to join, and open to all ages, with a special focus on enabling children and families to cycle safely on city streets..

The event today featured ‘feeder rides’ starting from various parks and locations across Brighton & Hove (Wish Park, Hove Park, The Level, Black Rock and Preston Park). After congregating at the Peace Statue in Hove, they all rode together in a loop around town before finishing again at the Peace Statue. Participants were encouraged to decorate their bikes, dress up, and bring noise-makers, to create ‘a festive and inclusive atmosphere’. 

It certainly was just that when they passed me and my camera on Grand Junction Parade, opposite the Doughnut Groyne.

After last April’s ride (2024), Brighton and Hove News reported that it was ‘by far the biggest Kidical Mass ride we’ve yet seen’; and the article noted that local councillors and prospective MPs from the Labour and Green parties had taken part in the ride.

A godly spell

Golden liquor drizzled through the sky

Drizzled over all the pier, and the sands

Must be from the feast of gods, we sigh

With too much nectar on their hands

Lucky Bacchus at the table, Odin too

Chinking vessels, slurping mead

Sniggering at the glitter goo

That dazzles us, and feeds our need

What of the myths and sagas that they tell?

Should we rap on sequinned pebbles

Emblazoned as they are in glistening swell  

Or simply take a photo of such a godly spell.