The Salubrious Air of Bognor

Abstract

Bognor was built on air. In its early years as a seaside resort, the air, which was its principal attraction, was not simply the health-giving inhalations of convalescent beachgoers. It was also the airiness of the shared spaces of the development; the breadth of the walkways, the expanses between the buildings, the open access to sea views. It was about the distances between people; the reserve maintained by visitors, and the froideur peculiar to the elite society that its founder and developer, the hatter Sir Richard Hotham, was most willing to welcome to his pet speculation. The air of Bognor mingled health with social exclusion and a grandiose sense of space to create a unique and chilly cocktail