Rising to popularity in the 17- and 1800s, bathing machines were devices that ostensibly protected the decency of women. Passengers would get into the machine, change from their normal clothes into their bathing suit (which covered much more than present-day suits), then slide into the water from the box shielded by a length of canvas which functioned to protect themselves from being seen by others in their bathing suit. The machines were drawn directly into the water by horses, and Jane Austen reportedly used one at least once.
