The spa town of Shanklin on the Isle of Wight as it developed into a tourist destination is examined in a new book, complete with 147 delightful black and white illustrations.

Arthur W. J. G. Ord-Hume's latest book, Old Shanklin: Spa Resort of the Nobility, is being stocked by Nigh the wholesaler who is supplying it to local shops around the Island.

The book can also be ordered direct, post free, at www.stenlake.co.uk

Scroll through the photos above to see Shanklin in days gone by.

Shanklin was mostly associated with agriculture and fishing into the early 19th century until the poet John Keats wrote about it warmly enough that it was deemed worthy of visiting.

Charles Darwin and others followed.

Then the discovery of a health-giving chalybeate well ticked the spa town box and development picked up with illumination by electric light in 1904.

Arthur’s illustrated history is laid out in sections comprising the Esplanade, the pier, the headland, Newnes’ Hydraulic Lift, the Queen Victoria Jubilee Clock, the town, Luccombe village, the Chine and finally transport.

Isle of Wight County Press: The cover of the book, Old Shanklin: Spa Resort of the Nobility.The cover of the book, Old Shanklin: Spa Resort of the Nobility. (Image: Old Shanklin: Spa Resort of the Nobility)