Corse - Doctor Nason circa 1880 (General)

by Jefff , West London, Middlesex, Sunday, November 29, 2015, 18:34 (3275 days ago) @ hawkyboy

Hi H, I see Dr Nason had left Corse for Hastings by abt 1898, ref his wife's funeral report. He was only aged abt 50 when he died, from pneumonia. Considering this was on the mild, dry, southcoast, I wonder if he had an underlying health condition ?

That said, I was surprised to find one of my family lines, who I'd only associated with the Forest, also had long family links with West Sussex, with Chalcrafts born in Longhope c1860 resident in Sussex by 1911, albeit leaving some of their kin still in Longhope; hence my Forester Uncle's parents were married in Sussex. I'm unsure why this was, maybe the areas were linked in other ways too, perhaps work/trade, and this may have somehow rubbed-off on the good Doctor ?. Certainly Longhope was seen an attractive area for well-to-do people to retire to, particularly ex-services, and I'm sure Newent would have been equally attractive, so creating links elsewhere ?.

However, in this case it seems likely that Dr Nason saw Hastings as a wise move for both career and health reasons, plus a view towards his own retirement ?. Hastings was one of the earliest of all the South Coast resorts to become popular as a destination for those seeking the heath benefits of bathing etc, so by late Victorian times it was perhaps at it's prosperous peak with plenty of well-heeled older residents & recovering invalids hence a high demand for respectable, mature, experienced Doctors; especially if Dr Nason himself might be looking to benefit from the clean air and mild climate.

"HASTINGS is a large borough, market town, bathing-place, and railway station on the seacoast... The old town of Hastings is situated in a valley between two high hills, and the new part runs along the sea-shore, at the base of a range of steep hills, which protect it in a considerable degree from the north and north-east winds: during the winter as well as in the summer, it is a place of great resort for invalids, and is much frequented by visitors for sea bathing and the beauty of its scenery."
Kelly's Post Office Directory of Essex, Herts, Middlesex, Kent, Surrey and Sussex, 1867.
http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/SSX/Hastings/

"Hastings.. became a popular spot for 'taking the waters' (therapeutic bathing in the sea) in the 1760s, and then, with the coming of the railway, a seaside resort.....the population grew significantly as a result of the construction of railway links and the fashionable growth of seaside holidays during the Victorian era. In 1801, its population was a mere 3,175; by 1831, it had reached over ten thousand; by 1891, it was almost sixty thousand, and the 2001 census reported over 85,000 inhabitants."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hastings