Taking the Air
- fiona flint
- Jan 13
- 2 min read
The Victorians were right about the benefits of sea air. We now know that the fine mist of saline it contains has a soothing effect on the lining of the respiratory system, helping reduce inflammation, clear mucus and alleviate symptoms of asthma, sinusitis, and bronchitis. Sea air is cleaner and more oxygenated, so improves sleep, and trace elements like iodine, magnesium, and salt stimulate the immune system to fight infection. Magnesium also helps alleviate skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis.
When a character in one of Wilkie Collins' novels is looking pale, her mother insists she is "pining for fresh air" and tells her husband "I have heard Ramsgate recommended".
The writer himself spent many summers in Ramsgate on the recommendation of his doctor, to escape the oppressive heat of London and benefit his health. Apparently it worked. He wrote in his letters that he felt "better and better every day" during his stay and that "Ramsgate cured me". Although a week's stay was long enough to do 'wonders for him', he would stay for five weeks 'to get strong again'.
The quality of the air responsible for such cures is highlighted when Collins describes a walk along East Cliff for us in his 1872 novel 'Poor Miss Finch':
"What a delight it was to move through the fresh briny air, and see the lovely sights on every side of me!"
Elsewhere in this book he refers to 'the bracing air of Ramsgate', 'the moist air of the seaside' and the 'balmy sea air' and he refers in letters to 'breathing the pure sea air' and 'getting better in the brisk sea air'.
The moist and briny quality which effected a cure for the lungs are highlighted, as well as its purity. The stand-out feature, though, is this idea of the air being brisk or bracing. This is repeated in novels he wrote later in the 1870s, which refer to a 'brisk breeze' and a 'fresh westerly breeze'.
In 'The Law and the Lady', written in 1875, he describes the effect as 'exhilarating' and his description of the Ramsgate air as 'fragrant' in 'The Fallen Leaves', written in 1879, reminds us, of its salinity.
Collins spent a lot of time sailing while he was staying in Ramsgate, seemingly with a view to coming into even closer direct contact with its bracing curative air:
"The last breezy days have soaked me in salt water – and the wind seems to have blown my brains out of my head."
Ramsgate had convalescent homes for people to benefit from its sea air for healing. These were set up to cater for various groups, such as boys or marginalized women, so that all could benefit. Some charged residents according to their ability to pay with a philanthropic fund to support those who couldn’t pay at all.
Read more about Convalescent Homes:
and the Seaside Life of Wilkie Collins:
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