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Leigh-on-Sea - A History (Paperback, Uk Ed.)
Loot Price: R390
Discovery Miles 3 900
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Leigh-on-Sea - A History (Paperback, Uk Ed.)
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List price R473
Loot Price R390
Discovery Miles 3 900
You Save R83 (18%)
Expected to ship within 12 - 17 working days
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Total price: R410
Discovery Miles: 4 100
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Leigh-on-Sea was described in 1565 as 'a very proper town,
well-furnished with good mariners, where commonly tall ships do
ride'; during its heyday it had close associations with the Royal
Navy. Following the decline of shipbuilding the town became known
for oysters and smuggling, and was dismissed by an 1804 traveller
as 'small and very dirty, principally inhabited by fishermen'. Its
entry into the modern age was assisted by Lady Olivia Sparrow and
the Rev Robert Eden, who implemented improvements that made
possible the rapid development that followed the arrival of the
railway, initially so destructive of the town's physical fabric, in
1854. The old inns and cockle sheds which survived nowadays provide
a tourist attraction in the 'Old Town', but fishing and sea-faring
do not tell the whole story of the town's past. This welcome new
account is the first book to give equal consideration to the north
of Leigh, where the farmsteads, woodlands and urban development are
no less a part of its history than the fishermen's cottages. In a
very readable narrative the author traces the changing fortunes of
the town from the earliest times to the present day. With sea
battles, tax disputes, royal visits and cholera the townsfolk had
diversions enough, as well as their regular pastimes, to add spice
to the daily grind of farming or fishing. The town had its share of
interesting personalities; some wicked, like smuggler John Dowsett
and highwayman Cutter Lynch, and some good, such as Samuel Moyer,
the Rev. Robert Stuart King and William Brand, whose tablet in
Leigh church marks his heroism on the Revenge at Trafalgar. They
all form part of the tapestry of Leigh's past, so carefully woven
and splendidly illustrated by the author. As well as providing the
facts, she succeeds in conveying a sense of the strong community
spirit that has shaped the town and continues as one of its
attractions today.
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