Victorian Bray : A Town Adapts to Changing Times

The character image of Victorian Bray, an image of fashionable ladies strolling on the promenade, is grossly superficial.

Victorian Bray was a town struggling to cope with a rapidly expanding population, a great influx of tourists and 'excursionists', the impact of new technologies and the influence of the evolving Victorian value system.

This work studies the various constraints within which the local administration operated and examines both the various hidden agendas and the interaction between the players, as individuals in groups.

Additionally, Clare discusses the manner in which the local authority and others, provided for the town's perceived needs; such as the construction of the Victorian terraces, the development of the resort as the "Brighton of Ireland", the provision of a harbour and of other engineering services.

The tidying up of the old milieu -- the commons, the fairs, the markets, even the fishermen's boats drawn up on the strand -- is also observed.

Finally, that great concern of the Victorian age, Public Health, and the way it was handled by the Town Commissioners is explored at some length.