Bognor Regis

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Originally a fishing port, the dramatic change in 1784 by a man called Hotham turned the town into a social hub for the upper/higher classes to holiday by the sea. This brought money and allowed for a fast rate of development. 

In 1929, King George V gave the town its Regis title, boasting it as a location for the royals to summer in and drive even more tourism and money into the town.

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World War II brought a level of destruction to the town; the pier was decommissioned and turned into an anti-aircraft school. A large section of it was removed to avoid an invasion by Axis forces. 

A fire in 1974 broke out on the pier and, sadly, as a premonition of the Brighton West Pier around 30 years later, the entire pier was destroyed, with no plans to rebuild or restore it.

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More recently Bognor Regis has become somewhat of a punch line in jokes about poor places to visit. The Butlins holiday park being one of the main attractions seems to create this overall stink of low income, run down and somewhat outdated seaside town Bognor now seems to just accept. 

My aim with this short term project was to explore this concept and see the town with my own eyes and perception to determine if Bognor truly lived up to the reputation outsiders have given it or if there is a gem hidden within the aging Victorian designed houses. 

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My final thoughts on this wonderfully weird little town are such that I can’t fully put them into words. Truly the stigma the words Bognor Regis hold are totally unfound. Sure there are definitely prettier places in the world. Definitely a fair few on the surrounding coast line towns within a 25 mile radius. However the people within this town are some of the friendliest in the area and the spirit of the town to simply adapt and continue with life despite the hardship is something many of us could only wish we had. Life continues normally in Bognor yet round every corner a piece of history reminds us of what it once was and will soon be again.

If you would like to purchase any of these as prints or buy the project as a whole please reach out to psam1996@gmail.com.