Dr Kathryn Ferry
@seasideferry.bsky.social
Historian specialising in seaside, architecture & design. I write books, give talks and do a bit of telly.
Founder member @seasidenetwork.bsky.social
Fellow @royalhistsoc.bsky.social Rep'd by @pastpreservers.bsky.social
https://linktr.ee/kathrynferry
Founder member @seasidenetwork.bsky.social
Fellow @royalhistsoc.bsky.social Rep'd by @pastpreservers.bsky.social
https://linktr.ee/kathrynferry
So many examples of living heritage at the seaside!
All the things in this image and much, much more.
Please do show your support via the quick and easy form
Thank you 😊
All the things in this image and much, much more.
Please do show your support via the quick and easy form
Thank you 😊
Have you shown your support for the Seaside Holiday as Living Heritage? Encompassing everything from a stroll on the pier to the tang of vinegar on your fish & chips this initiative seeks to recognise cultural heritage as it is practised.
Here's the quick form 🏖️🌊🍦
forms.office.com/pages/respon...
Here's the quick form 🏖️🌊🍦
forms.office.com/pages/respon...
February 13, 2026 at 5:44 PM
So many examples of living heritage at the seaside!
All the things in this image and much, much more.
Please do show your support via the quick and easy form
Thank you 😊
All the things in this image and much, much more.
Please do show your support via the quick and easy form
Thank you 😊
Reposted by Dr Kathryn Ferry
Would you like a space to write, with sea views? Dan Thompson Studio are offering a desk at Marine Studios to a writer. You'll have your own desk, 24 hour access, seven days a week. Views over Main Sands, the studio is a five minute walk from the station, Turner Contemporary, and the Old Town.
February 12, 2026 at 2:41 PM
Would you like a space to write, with sea views? Dan Thompson Studio are offering a desk at Marine Studios to a writer. You'll have your own desk, 24 hour access, seven days a week. Views over Main Sands, the studio is a five minute walk from the station, Turner Contemporary, and the Old Town.
February 10, 2026 at 5:56 PM
Very Olde-Worlde, seaside hotel interior designed to look like a historic country house
February 10, 2026 at 5:53 PM
Very Olde-Worlde, seaside hotel interior designed to look like a historic country house
Reposted by Dr Kathryn Ferry
BREAKING NEWS: We’re absolutely thrilled to announce that the Southbank Centre - the Hayward Gallery, Purcell Room, Queen Elizabeth Hall and skaters undercroft - has finally been Grade II listed by DCMS after a 35 year long campaign.
➡️ c20society.org.uk/news/southba...
➡️ c20society.org.uk/news/southba...
February 10, 2026 at 7:03 AM
BREAKING NEWS: We’re absolutely thrilled to announce that the Southbank Centre - the Hayward Gallery, Purcell Room, Queen Elizabeth Hall and skaters undercroft - has finally been Grade II listed by DCMS after a 35 year long campaign.
➡️ c20society.org.uk/news/southba...
➡️ c20society.org.uk/news/southba...
🥁 Drum roll please... My next book will be about the Victorian pier engineer and architect EUGENIUS BIRCH so I took the opportunity yesterday to visit the Scarborough Art Gallery exhibition about his 1877 Aquarium. Demolished in 1968 the building was an amazing Indo-Moorish fantasy - with fish!!
February 6, 2026 at 4:23 PM
🥁 Drum roll please... My next book will be about the Victorian pier engineer and architect EUGENIUS BIRCH so I took the opportunity yesterday to visit the Scarborough Art Gallery exhibition about his 1877 Aquarium. Demolished in 1968 the building was an amazing Indo-Moorish fantasy - with fish!!
The 3 #victorian incarnations of #Scarborough Spa as seen in paintings on display at Scarborough Art Gallery. First the Gothic Saloon by Henry Wyatt of 1839, then the music hall & observation tower of 1858 by Joseph Paxton & George Stokes, finally the current building by Verity and Hunt opened 1878
February 6, 2026 at 10:50 AM
The 3 #victorian incarnations of #Scarborough Spa as seen in paintings on display at Scarborough Art Gallery. First the Gothic Saloon by Henry Wyatt of 1839, then the music hall & observation tower of 1858 by Joseph Paxton & George Stokes, finally the current building by Verity and Hunt opened 1878
Had an enjoyable afternoon filming inside #ScarboroughSpa - just too cold to film outside 🥶
It meant I got to have a look around which was most fortuitous as I'm currently researching an article on the Spa's architectural history
It meant I got to have a look around which was most fortuitous as I'm currently researching an article on the Spa's architectural history
February 5, 2026 at 8:34 PM
Had an enjoyable afternoon filming inside #ScarboroughSpa - just too cold to film outside 🥶
It meant I got to have a look around which was most fortuitous as I'm currently researching an article on the Spa's architectural history
It meant I got to have a look around which was most fortuitous as I'm currently researching an article on the Spa's architectural history
Reposted by Dr Kathryn Ferry
Discover the surprising story behind Britain’s Victorian drinking fountains with historian @seasideferry.bsky.social Learn how they transformed public health, the designs that sprung up, and the people they memorialise.
📅 7 Feb, 2-3pm Online via Zoom
Book now:
📅 7 Feb, 2-3pm Online via Zoom
Book now:
February 5, 2026 at 7:52 PM
Discover the surprising story behind Britain’s Victorian drinking fountains with historian @seasideferry.bsky.social Learn how they transformed public health, the designs that sprung up, and the people they memorialise.
📅 7 Feb, 2-3pm Online via Zoom
Book now:
📅 7 Feb, 2-3pm Online via Zoom
Book now:
They had to get more chairs out for my U3A talk this afternoon - always a good sign! Now on the train heading for #Scarborough...
February 4, 2026 at 5:01 PM
They had to get more chairs out for my U3A talk this afternoon - always a good sign! Now on the train heading for #Scarborough...
My next talk is all about the #Victorian drinking fountain movement. Sounds niche now but it captured the nation from the 1850s and saved thousands of lives by the provision of free, filtered water.
Online THIS Saturday 7 FEB, book via the link
@thevicsoc.bsky.social
Online THIS Saturday 7 FEB, book via the link
@thevicsoc.bsky.social
Discover your Victorian ancestors this February with our programme of talks & events.
Explore crime, hospitals, social reform, everyday life and practical research skills: from Jack the Ripper and Victorian detectives to tithe records and public health.
See what’s on and book:
www.sog.org.uk/events
Explore crime, hospitals, social reform, everyday life and practical research skills: from Jack the Ripper and Victorian detectives to tithe records and public health.
See what’s on and book:
www.sog.org.uk/events
February 3, 2026 at 12:26 PM
My next talk is all about the #Victorian drinking fountain movement. Sounds niche now but it captured the nation from the 1850s and saved thousands of lives by the provision of free, filtered water.
Online THIS Saturday 7 FEB, book via the link
@thevicsoc.bsky.social
Online THIS Saturday 7 FEB, book via the link
@thevicsoc.bsky.social
So, if you vote for Reform you're voting to get the old Tories back in again?
Hardly much of a reform is it?
Just waiting for Liz Truss to sign up now...
Hardly much of a reform is it?
Just waiting for Liz Truss to sign up now...
NEW: Suella Braverman has defected to Reform UK, shocking the many people who were sure that she had already.
January 26, 2026 at 1:33 PM
So, if you vote for Reform you're voting to get the old Tories back in again?
Hardly much of a reform is it?
Just waiting for Liz Truss to sign up now...
Hardly much of a reform is it?
Just waiting for Liz Truss to sign up now...
Reposted by Dr Kathryn Ferry
One for @seasidenetwork.bsky.social and @seasideferry.bsky.social: the end of the Victorian Teignmouth Pier has gone.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Pier washes away and railway sea wall crumbles as storm lashes South West
Part of a historic pier washes away and a sea wall next to a railway line crumbles as Storm Ingrid lashes Devon and Cornwall.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 24, 2026 at 12:37 PM
One for @seasidenetwork.bsky.social and @seasideferry.bsky.social: the end of the Victorian Teignmouth Pier has gone.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
If you love the seaside please consider supporting this proposal to have it added to the UK's first inventory of #LivingHeritage 🏖️🌊⚓
We're supporting the nomination by @allanbrodie.bsky.social to include the #Seaside #Holiday on the UK's #LivingHeritage Inventory. If you believe holidays at the seaside should be recognised as part of our shared heritage please complete this short form:
forms.office.com/pages/respon...
forms.office.com/pages/respon...
Microsoft Forms
forms.office.com
January 23, 2026 at 11:19 AM
If you love the seaside please consider supporting this proposal to have it added to the UK's first inventory of #LivingHeritage 🏖️🌊⚓
Really enjoyed taking part in @seasidenetwork.bsky.social seminar on 'Wonders of the Deep' yesterday. 102 people tuned in for talks on fisheries, fearsome interwar sea monsters (linked to geopolitics, maybe?) and my own paper on architectural seahorses. A recording will be available soon...
January 22, 2026 at 4:06 PM
Really enjoyed taking part in @seasidenetwork.bsky.social seminar on 'Wonders of the Deep' yesterday. 102 people tuned in for talks on fisheries, fearsome interwar sea monsters (linked to geopolitics, maybe?) and my own paper on architectural seahorses. A recording will be available soon...
The Government's new Town of Culture initiative has already got 2 potential seaside bidders - #Folkestone, Kent and #Scarborough, North Yorkshire. Both have loads to offer. Will any other seaside towns try and win the prize?
www.kentonline.co.uk/folkestone/n...
www.kentonline.co.uk/folkestone/n...
Kent seaside town tipped to bid for UK Town of Culture 2028
Council chiefs say a Kent seaside town’s bid for UK Town of Culture is “very tempting”.
www.kentonline.co.uk
January 21, 2026 at 3:21 PM
The Government's new Town of Culture initiative has already got 2 potential seaside bidders - #Folkestone, Kent and #Scarborough, North Yorkshire. Both have loads to offer. Will any other seaside towns try and win the prize?
www.kentonline.co.uk/folkestone/n...
www.kentonline.co.uk/folkestone/n...
Another lovely brochure cover from @mikeyashworth.bsky.social PLUS my dog is called Juno! She is currently sporting a cone of shame after she ran at full pelt through barbed wire and had to be stitched up 😔
A fine booklet detailing the seasonal sailings of the Steamer Juno on Clyde Estuary waters in #Scotland for summer 1930. It gives details of a wide range of steamings from the piers around the Clyde then one of the most popular local excursions. @seasideferry.bsky.social
↘️ flic.kr/p/2rS8faU
↘️ flic.kr/p/2rS8faU
January 21, 2026 at 2:41 PM
Another lovely brochure cover from @mikeyashworth.bsky.social PLUS my dog is called Juno! She is currently sporting a cone of shame after she ran at full pelt through barbed wire and had to be stitched up 😔
#scarborough is bidding to become the UK's first Town of Culture so I've been on BBC Radio York this morning to give it my backing. Would be amazing for our first seaside resort - created 400 years ago - to be our first Town of Culture 🤞
January 14, 2026 at 11:19 AM
#scarborough is bidding to become the UK's first Town of Culture so I've been on BBC Radio York this morning to give it my backing. Would be amazing for our first seaside resort - created 400 years ago - to be our first Town of Culture 🤞
I'm currently without mains water which makes me realise how much we take it for granted.
Few Victorian houses had water supplies so public drinking fountains were a revolutionary innovation. To learn more about their history join me online on Sat 7 Feb
portal.sog.org.uk/Event/view/1...
Few Victorian houses had water supplies so public drinking fountains were a revolutionary innovation. To learn more about their history join me online on Sat 7 Feb
portal.sog.org.uk/Event/view/1...
Pure and Free: The surprising history of Britain’s Victorian Drinking Fountains with Kathryn Ferry
Talk on Zoom by Kathryn Ferry, historian, author, lecturer and broadcaster
portal.sog.org.uk
January 11, 2026 at 6:28 PM
I'm currently without mains water which makes me realise how much we take it for granted.
Few Victorian houses had water supplies so public drinking fountains were a revolutionary innovation. To learn more about their history join me online on Sat 7 Feb
portal.sog.org.uk/Event/view/1...
Few Victorian houses had water supplies so public drinking fountains were a revolutionary innovation. To learn more about their history join me online on Sat 7 Feb
portal.sog.org.uk/Event/view/1...
The light was so gorgeous when I visited #Portmeirion last year to research my @countrylifemag.bsky.social article - these pics should help take you away from a grey January day to sunny North Wales 😎 Happy 100th birthday Portmeirion.
January 9, 2026 at 6:33 PM
The light was so gorgeous when I visited #Portmeirion last year to research my @countrylifemag.bsky.social article - these pics should help take you away from a grey January day to sunny North Wales 😎 Happy 100th birthday Portmeirion.
Just been to the supermarket and seen that my article celebrating the centenary of #Portmeirion is the cover feature for this week's @countrylifemag.bsky.social
What a nice start to the year!
What a nice start to the year!
January 7, 2026 at 4:25 PM
Just been to the supermarket and seen that my article celebrating the centenary of #Portmeirion is the cover feature for this week's @countrylifemag.bsky.social
What a nice start to the year!
What a nice start to the year!
@thevicsoc.bsky.socialy My nomination for the next Top Ten endangered buildings list is the former Shapland and Petter factory at #Barnstaple in North Devon. It's been allowed to deteriorate for years so really needs help
December 31, 2025 at 1:20 PM
@thevicsoc.bsky.socialy My nomination for the next Top Ten endangered buildings list is the former Shapland and Petter factory at #Barnstaple in North Devon. It's been allowed to deteriorate for years so really needs help
Reposted by Dr Kathryn Ferry
One of the best '30s tourist guides I've seen in a while. The colourful covers to the Official Guide to Southsea & the City of Portsmouth issued by marvellously named Piers, Beach & Publicity Committee of Portsmouth Corporation. @seasideferry.bsky.social #portsmouth #holidays
↘️ flic.kr/p/2rK8GSQ
↘️ flic.kr/p/2rK8GSQ
December 5, 2025 at 4:53 PM
One of the best '30s tourist guides I've seen in a while. The colourful covers to the Official Guide to Southsea & the City of Portsmouth issued by marvellously named Piers, Beach & Publicity Committee of Portsmouth Corporation. @seasideferry.bsky.social #portsmouth #holidays
↘️ flic.kr/p/2rK8GSQ
↘️ flic.kr/p/2rK8GSQ
Reposted by Dr Kathryn Ferry
@ledbydonkeys.org dunno if you wonderful lot were responsible for this poster spotted apparently in south london before sadly quickly removed…?
Of course it would be terrible if we were to spread it on social media!
Of course it would be terrible if we were to spread it on social media!
December 2, 2025 at 8:12 AM
@ledbydonkeys.org dunno if you wonderful lot were responsible for this poster spotted apparently in south london before sadly quickly removed…?
Of course it would be terrible if we were to spread it on social media!
Of course it would be terrible if we were to spread it on social media!