18th century illustration showing horse-drawn bathing machines at Brighthelmstone (Brighton), England, UK. A group of people are shown descending down a cliff to use them. Bathing machines were wooden huts used from the 18th to 20th century. They allowed people to change out of their clothes into swimwear and enter the sea or ocean whilst maintaining modesty. This 1790 artwork by English artist and caricaturist Thomas Rowlandson (1757-1827) is one of eight aquatints showing a journey from London to the seaside resort of Brighthelmstone.