Steve Wallis - Böcker

Much of Dorset's charm comes from features that can seem changeless. The modern photographs in this book are taken from as close as possible to the locations of the older ones with which they are paired, allowing the reader to see what has and has not changed. Few of the old views are unrecognisable today, but some of the differences in detail can be surprising. Individual chapters cover towns, villages, the coast, life in Dorset and tourism. Subjects vary from familiar locations and landmarks such as the Cerne Giant, the Cobb at Lyme Regis, Weymouth seafront and Gold Hill in Shaftesbury, to some of the less well-known villages of the county and even some views that have been 'lost' over the past century. Dorset Through Time takes the reader on a tour of the many places that make Dorset special.

Thomas Hardy celebrated the glorious county of Dorset through his writings. Today our vision of Dorset is very much that fixed by Hardy in novels ranging from Far From the Madding Crowd and The Mayor of Casterbridge to Tess of the d'Urbervilles and Jude the Obscure. Hurriedly produced in instalments for magazines, they were then reworked by Hardy with care and finesse, and turned into world classics. Steve Wallis revisits the Dorset heartland of Hardy's Wessex, and illustrates the changes that have taken place using old and new images. He charts Thomas Hardy's life and work through the places he knew and the locations he immortalised, from his birthplace at Stinsford, to his old age at Max Gate, with Swanage, Sturminster Newton, Weymouth and Wimborne in between. Join the author on this unique and nostalgic tour through time.

Swanage lies in a particularly attractive corner of Dorset, in a sheltered bay overlooked by the Purbeck Hills, with chalk cliffs along the coast and views across to the Isle of Wight. Until late Victorian times it was a fishing village and transfer point where locally quarried Purbeck stone was loaded onto ships that took it to London and the wider world. Many of the old images in this book capture the expansion of Swanage around a century ago when it was evolving into the thriving holiday resort that it remains today. Swanage & Around Through Time also looks at some of the surrounding parts of the Isle of Purbeck. There are views of Corfe Castle, which guards a strategic gap in the Purbeck Hills, together with the picturesque villages of Studland and Worth Matravers. The spectacular local coastline, now part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site, also features.

Lyme Regis is Dorset’s most westerly town, lying hard by the Devon border. It is famous as one of the main attractions of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site, and also has important literary connections with Jane Austen and is the setting for John Fowles’ novel The French Lieutenant’s Woman.Historically, Lyme Regis was a port and fishing town, and its centre extends up a steep hill from the coast. Lyme Regis Through Time looks at the old part of the town in particular, together with its wider setting in the spectacular local landscape, and some of the surrounding villages. This book is beautifully illustrated with century-old photographs and postcards paired with modern images.

Bridport is a thriving market town in western Dorset. It lies a short distance inland of a spectacular section of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site, and is surrounded by some equally attractive hilly countryside. Although the town originated in Saxon times, it expanded a great deal in the Middle Ages, partly due to the success of the local rope industry. Many of its products were used in the local fishing and shipbuilding industries, which were concentrated around Bridport Harbour.At one time, Bridport Harbour was the second largest producer of ships in the country. In an early example of marketing, when the railway reached here in the 1880s, its name was changed to West Bay in the hope that this would sound more attractive to tourists. Comprising a magnificent range of images old and new, this book explores the historical development of this fascinating town and its attractive surrounding area.

The Bristol Avon rises as a number of streams around the Gloucestershire-Wiltshire border in the southern Cotswolds. The crow needs only twenty miles to fly from some of these to the sea just beyond Bristol, but the river itself covers almost four times that distance. It flows in a great loop that takes it past the historic Wiltshire towns of Malmesbury, Chippenham, Melksham and Trowbridge, then into Somerset where it enhances the historic city of Bath. Further downstream is the great city of Bristol, which owes its great success as a trading port to the river’s navigability and access to the sea, and finally the river reaches the Bristol Channel at Avonmouth.This book follows the river’s course. The historic towns and cities it serves are featured, together with villages such as Lacock, famed for its abbey and as the home of the inventor of photography, and historic features such as the Dundas and Avoncliff aqueducts. Author Steve Wallis explores the river’s past as an important transport route, linked to the Thames by the Kennet and Avon Canal, and the varied and often stunning landscape through which it flows.

In these days of ubiquitous, non-stop media and information you would think that there were few secrets anywhere left to reveal. However, when it comes to the grand old city of Portsmouth, there remain a surprising number of facts and idiosyncrasies which, over the years, have remained obscure, to say the least. Secret Portsmouth is an historical journey through one of England’s oldest sea ports, unearthing nuggets of its early history and revealing many hidden secrets and little-known details to fascinate and inform residents and visitors alike.

The Thames is justifiably known as ‘London’s river’. It flows through the heart of the capital and has played a pivotal role in the city’s expansion and success. The river’s bridges are among London’s most iconic features and many other major landmarks (the Houses of Parliament and the Tower of London to name but two) lie beside it. Throughout the city, numerous other historic sites and features along the river remind us of its historic importance. But the Thames belongs not just to London.It is the longest river that flows entirely within England and its course of over 200 miles takes it from the Cotswolds in the West Country all the way to the Thames Estuary between Essex and Kent. On the way, it passes Oxford, Reading, over a dozen other historic towns and even more villages, together with lots of fine countryside. This book follows the whole course of the river, looking at many of the iconic and less well-known features of the river and its valley.

Brothels and taverns, alehouses and inns, Portsmouth has seen it all. Many of the old port’s drinking establishments have historic and literary associations, as well as stories of their own to tell. Most of the older ones can be found in and around Old Portsmouth, including the survivors of the numerous pubs that once clustered around the dockyards, providing food and drink for naval personnel and other seafarers. Others date from the expansion of the city beyond the old defences and became focal points for new communities. Even the newest have characters of their own and those on the waterside, such as at Spice Island and Langstone Harbour, allow the pleasure of enjoying a drink while taking in views of everyday port life. Author Steve Wallis takes a unique and affectionate ‘pub-crawl’ through the watering holes of Portsmouth, looking at those that have survived town planning, management companies, and economic downturn, and the changing and evolving use of the much loved ‘local’. As they turn each page, readers can mingle with the locals, encounter the odd ghost, gasp at grisly tales and generally enjoy the rich tapestry of Pompey’s drinking life.