The way to the sea : the forgotten histories of the Thames Estuary / Caroline Crampton.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Crampton, Caroline, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Crampton, Caroline--Homes and haunts--England--Thames River Estuary.

Crampton, Caroline.

Thames River Estuary (England)--History.

Thames River Estuary (England).

Thames River (England)--History.

Thames River (England).

London (England)--History.

London (England).

Homes.

England--Thames River Estuary.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

xv, 315 pages : illustrations, maps, portraits ; 23 cm

regular print

Place of Publication:

London, England : Granta Books, 2019.

Summary:

Caroline Crampton was born on the Thames Estuary to parents who had sailed there from South Africa in the early 1980s. Having grown up with seafaring legs and a desire to explore, Caroline is both a knowledgeable guide to the most hidden-away parts of this overlooked and unfashionable part of the country, and a persuasive advocate for its significance, both historically and culturally. As one of the key entrances and exits to England, the estuary has been pivotal to London's economic fortunes and in defining its place in the world. It has also been the entry point for immigrants for generations, yet it has an ambivalent relationship with newcomers, and UKIP's popularity in the area is on the rise. As Caroline navigates the waters of the estuary, she also seeks out its stories: empty warehouses and arsenals; the Thames barrier, which guards the safety of Londoners more precariously than we might; ship wrecks still inhabited by the ghosts of the drowned; vast Victorian pumping stations which continue to carry away the capital's sewage; the river banks, layered with archaeological Anglo-Saxon treasures; literature inspired by its landscape; beacons used for centuries to guide boats through the dark and murky waterways of the estuary; the eerie Maunsell army forts - 24 metre high towers of concrete and steel which were built on concealed sandbanks at the far reaches of the estuary during the Second World War and designed to spot (and shoot) at incoming enemy planes; and the estuary's wildlife and shifting tidal moods.

Contents:

Maps

List of illustrations

Introduction

1. Thames Head to Tower Bridge

2. Upper Pool to Cuckold's Point

3. Woolwich Reach to Silvertown

4. Gallions Reach to Frog Island

5. Crayford Ness to Coalhouse Point

6. Mucking No. 5 to Lower Hope

7. Cliffe Fleet to the Medway

8. Deadman's Island to the Note

Epilogue

Select bibliography

Acknowledgements

Permissions

Illustration credits

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [289]-297) and index.

ISBN:

9781783784134

178378413X

OCLC:

1041766837