England has a long & involved relationship with the sea. It has provided a final line of defence against invasion, the route over which the country`s global trade has travelled, the source of a bountiful harvest of fish & seafood that has sustained the population, the essential links in the empire that saw Britain emerge as the world`s first ` Great Power`, &, more recently, it has fostered the leisure industry. For many, the sea was to provide their final view of their homeland as emigration took them to far-flung corners of the world, while for others, perhaps fleeing religious or political persecution, the sea offered them a route to safety. For almost a century the photographers from the Aerofilms company recorded Britain from the air. Alongside the photographs taken of the great castles & abbeys of the country, the views also recorded industrial & commercial activity
- including the docks & ports that were an essential part in maintaining Britain`s place in the world. In this book, Peter Waller has delved through the collection of Aerofilms photographs held by Historic England to explore the country`s maritime heritage. Selecting 150 images, the author looks at how the docks & ports have evolved since the years immediately after World War I, how traditional patterns of trade have changed, how the Royal Navy has shrunk & how the leisure industry has come to dominate.
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England`s great cathedrals are widely considered to be the country`s finest & most beautiful possessions. Few people realise, however, that in addition to these famous buildings there are many others that share, or once shared, some of that greatness. These `other cathedrals` have very varied origins. There were cathedrals established in Anglo-Saxon times that subsequently lost that status. Further cathedrals founded after the Norman Conquest also later ceased. Henry VIII had plans to elevate many great monastic churches to cathedral status, but most were unfulfilled. From the nineteenth century onwards, many new cathedrals have been created, both by the Church of England & by other Churches. Altogether eight groups are discussed, containing in total well over a hundred buildings. Most are fine, & many are or were in their size & magnificence fully comparable with the great cathedrals themselves. Some today stand complete & glorious. Others are now mutilated or in ruin. Some have been completely destroyed, but even these may stir us by their lost glories. Paul Jeffery explores the often fascinating episodes of history that lie behind these groups of magnificent & frequently forgotten buildings. The spotlight is then turned on each one, revealing many architectural & historical treasures. ...

England`s Post-War Listed Buildings is a comprehensive & stylish guide to over 500 of the country`s most striking & historically relevant architectural gems, from private houses to schools, churches, military buildings, monuments & parks. Listed buildings include traditional works by Raymond Erith & Donald Mc Morran & many of the `pop icons` of the 1960s (including Centre Point). Also featured are internationally outstanding modern works like Stirling & Gowan`s Leicester Engineering Building & Foster Associates` offices for Willis Faber Dumas in Ipswich. This fully updated & expanded edition contains numerous new entries arranged in an accessible, regional structure, as well as features on telephone boxes, landscapes, memorials & sculptures. Each entry is illustrated with photographs &

Includes:: information on architect, date of construction & listing grade date, as well as a detailed description of the site & what makes it unique.

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What do characters as diverse as Alfred the Great, the architect Sir Christopher Wren, diarist Samuel Pepys & the Victorian poet Gerard Manley Hopkins have in common? All had some involvement in shipwrecks: in causing, recording or salvaging them. This book examines a variety of wrecks from logboats, Roman galleys & medieval cogs to East Indiamen, grand ocean liners, fishing boats & warships
- all are woven into the history of shipwrecks along the coastline of England & in her territorial waters. Wrecks are not just physically embedded in this marine landscape
- they are also an intrinsic part of a domestic cultural landscape with links that go beyond the navy, mercantile marine & fishing trade. Evidence of shipwrecks is widespread: in literature, in domestic architecture & as a major component of industrial archaeology. Shipwrecks also transcend national boundaries, forming tangible monuments to the movement of goods & people between nations in war & peace. In peacetime they link the architecture & monuments of different countries, from shipyards to factories, warehouses to processing plants; in time of war wrecks have formed a landscape scattered across the oceans, linking friend & foe in common heritage. England`s Shipwreck Heritage explores the type of evidence we have for shipwrecks & their causes, including the often devastating effects fo the natural environment & human-led disaster. Ships at war, global trade & the movement of people
- such as passengers, convict transports & the slave trade
- are also investigated. Along the way we meet the white elephant who perished in 1730, the medieval merchant who pursued a claim for compensation for nearly 20 years, the most famous privateer for the American revolutionary wars & the men who held their nerve in the minesweeper trawls of the First World War. Highly illustrated & based on extensive new research, this book will appeal to anyone with an interest in England`s maritime heritage.



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Simon Jenkins has travelled the length & breadth of England to select his thousand best churches. Organised by county, each church is described
- often with delightful asides
- & given a star-rating from one to five. All of the county sections are prefaced by a map locating each church, & lavishly illustrated with colour photos from the Country Life archive. Jenkins contends that these churches house a gallery of vernacular art without equal in the world. Here, he brings that museum to public attention.

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” Open this book with reverence. It is a hymn to England
- the old Engl&, the England of beach huts & Constable skies.” (Clive
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I took off my belt & moved between the seats to look. We were at the top of a big hill. Below were squares & diamonds of green & brown fields all the way to the sunset. Then I saw the house. It was more perfect than the one I had been dreaming about. A red cube in the middle of the l&, like someone threw a dice. I could not believe that I was going to live there. When Mirka gets a job in a country house in rural Engl&, she has no idea of the struggle she faces to make sense of a very English couple, & a way of life that is entirely alien to her. Richard & Sophie are chaotic, drunken, frequently outrageous but also warm, generous & kind to Mirka, despite their argumentative & turbulent marriage. Mirka is swiftly commandeered by Richard for his latest money-making enterprise, taxidermy, & soon surpasses him in skill. After a traumatic break two years ago with her family in Slovakia, Mirka finds to her surprise that she is happy at Fairmont Hall. But when she tells Sophie that she is gay, everything she values is put in danger & she must learn the hard way what she really believes in. English Animals is a funny, subversive, poignant & beautifully written novel about a doomed love affair, a certain kind of Englishness & prejudice. ...

The English canal network becomes increasingly popular & widely used each year. The main aim of this book is to explain how everything works
- from locks & lifts, to tunnels & towpaths. Stan Yorke, a life-long narrow boat enthusiast, explains in an easy-to-understand manner the story of the canals. In this he is ably assisted by his son Trevor's superb drawings & diagrams. The book is divided into three clear sections. The first describes the history of the canals, the second looks at their structures & features, & the third suggests special sites of interest around the country, which can be visited by foot or by boat.
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” English Canoe Classics” is an illustrated guide to some of the finest tours of northern England`s waterways, from the North Tyne in Northumbria to the Shropshire Union Canal in the West Midlands. Scenic lakes, placid canals & broad rivers, as they can only be seen from a canoe or kayak. Eddie & ` Wilf` have chosen the best inland touring routes. They are described in great detail & illustrated with numerous colour photos & maps. The selected routes are suitable for open canoes, sit-on-tops & touring kayaks. Many of them can be tackled as a single voyage or a series of day trips, with campsites en route. The journeys are all accessible but highly varied, taking place on lakes, sheltered coastline, rivers & canals. A wonderful book for planning voyages & inspiring dreams, or sharing your experiences with others. Eddie Palmer bought his first kayak over 50 years ago. It was a wood & canvas one in which he set out to paddle rivers in his part of middle England & Wales. Since then, he has kayaked & canoed extensively in the UK, Irel&, western & eastern Europe, the USA & Canada & southern Africa. His passion over the past few years has been for long-distance canoe-camping. After a competitive career in slalom & whitewater racing, he still paddles whitewater. Eddie is a Board Director of the SCA & is the co-author of Scottish Canoe Touring, author of Scottish Canoe Classics & co-author of Irish Canoe Classics (all published by Pesda Press). Nigel Wilford has been involved with canoeing for most of his adult life, paddling throughout the UK, mainland Europe, Canada, USA & New Zeal&. Born in northwest Leicestershire, his first canoe experience was on the gentle River Soar. Not long after, he moved to Yorkshire to attend university. The enjoyment he found while paddling the rivers of the northeast firmly established canoeing as his activity of choice. In 1991 he joined the British Canoe Union`s coaching service, helping others to improve their canoeing or to become better coaches. Nigel has held various roles within the BCU including Local Coaching Organiser & English Whitewater Safety Coordinator. He is a BCU Level 5 Coach & member of Team Pyranha. ...

This is an illustrated guide to some of the finest tours of southern England`s waterways, from the Grand Union Canal in the South Midlands to the River Tamar in the South West. Scenic lakes, placid canals & broad rivers, as they can only be seen from a canoe or kayak. Eddie & ` Wilf` have chosen the best inland touring routes. They are described in great detail & illustrated with numerous colour photos & maps. The selected routes are suitable for open canoes, sit-on-tops & touring kayaks. Many of them can be tackled as a single voyage or a series of day trips, with campsites en route. The journeys are all accessible but highly varied, taking place on lakes, sheltered coastline, rivers & canals. It is a wonderful book for planning voyages & inspiring dreams, or sharing your experiences with others. ...