Is it plausible that a young lady in the Regency era would even know how to swim? Some say yes, others say no. Let’s have some fun and investigate this controversy. Hearsay won’t do, let’s look at the evidence. Did Regency era ladies know how to swim? Sea Bathing was common practice, but does that constitute swimming? Letters, engravings, and paintings offer interesting insights, including letters between Lord Byron and his school chum Scrope Beardmore Davies.