Publication today of Wensley Cranchock's definitive history of the now forgotten seaside resort of Threadbourne - Threadbourne: A Most Noble Failure - will excite historians worldwide as at last the untold story is told. Founded by Adolphus T Threadbone as the schoolroom and playground in which the upper middle class could relax whilst polishing their aura of natural superiority, the carefully planned resort predates the more demotic efforts of entrepreneurs Billy Butlin and Fred Ponting by several decades.
Now renamed and catering for a very different clientele, Threadbourne was once the jewel in the crown of the English Riviera and the place to go for the 30s and 40s pre-jet set. Assembling for the first time graphic art images of the resort which offer telling insights into the once fashionable resort's purpose and appeal, this handsomely illustrated account fills a much needed gap in the literature. It features a highly informative running commentary on the many superbly reproduced images as well as a Foreword by Mrs Amanda J Threadbone, Adolphus T Threadbone's great great daughter-in-law.
Publication follows the appearance last year of Professor Brian Thrupiece's Thrupiece Abroad which featured numerous sketches of the natural hinterland of the once glamorous resort including several of the surviving icons of the Threadbourne townscape -most notably its famous Bandstand - the busiest in Great Britain even to this day.
Sample pages are available by clicking on the image below whilst sample "flipped" pages from the new book can be accessed here:
Threadbourne: A Nobel Failure charts for the first time the history of this remarkable experiment in recreational engineering.
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