The first folding chair to be discovered was in the tombs of the Ancient Egyptians. Roman magistrates and nobles used them, too. But deckchairs have since become a very British icon, and the design was patented by Macclesfield businessman, John Moore in 1886.

By the 19th century, deckchairs had become common throughout parks, promenades and the early generations of cruise ship.

The Titanic boasted 600 deckchairs - only six of them survived the sinking and one of these, believed to have been used as a makeshift liferaft, was sold at auction in 2001 for £35,000.

More recently, deckchairs have been the subject of David Hockney paintings and Spitting Image song lyrics.

Blackpool Council has a "deckchair hospital" for deckchair repairs and rented out 68,000 deckchairs during 2003 before successfully fighting off a move made by local tourism chiefs to ditch the chairs altogether.

Well-known former deckchair attendants include novelist Lord Archer and former England goalkeeper Ray Clemence. More fun facts...