Zusammenfassung
Zusammenfassung von Alles über Battersea
Für wen es gedacht ist
Readers who love London history, old maps and street names, Victorian industry, church and parish life, and the small stories of ordinary neighbourhoods. It suits anyone who enjoys finding out who lived where, and why a place looks as it does.
Worum es in diesem Buch geht
All About Battersea is a local history of a London parish on the south bank of the Thames, written by Henry S. Simmonds around 1880 and 1881. It is dedicated to the Vicar of Battersea, Canon John Erskine Clarke, and to the inhabitants in general. It records what the author saw, heard and read about the place, from its fields and mills to its gasworks, bridges, churches and schools.
The book works like a long walk through the parish with a guide who knows every corner. It starts at Nine Elms, moves on to the old manor and its famous lords, and then crosses the bridges to the fields that became Battersea Park. Along the way you meet engineers, vicars, ferrymen and benefactors by name. You also get a clear picture of how a quiet village of market gardens became a crowded industrial district. The first key point takes us to Nine Elms, where the change begins.
In dieser Zusammenfassung
- 1Nine Elms was once open countryFree
- 2Railways and gas reshape the riverside
- 3Water, geology and a long story of London's thirst
- 4The old village, its name and its manor
- 5Lord Bolingbroke and the great houses
- 6Bridges, ferries and the free crossing
- 7From wild fields to Battersea Park
- 8Churches, chapels and missions across the parish
- 9Schools, charities, trades and the last walk
Punkt 1 von 9
Nine Elms was once open country
The book begins at Nine Elms Lane, said to be named for nine elm trees that faced a small manor house. The author recalls that Londoners walking here forty years earlier felt they had left the town behind. There were hedgerows, market gardens, orchards, meadows and fields of corn. Ditches had to be crossed, and at high tide parts of the district flooded so deeply that people rowed small boats along it.
He paints the old scenes with care. There was a tavern with pleasure grounds and tea gardens, a windmill, and a causeway where watermen ferried people over the river. The only regular traffic was the carrier's cart, and the few residents came out to watch it pass. Where Thorne's Brewery now stands there was once a tannery and a hop garden.
He also admits that Battersea had a bad name. It was called the Sink Hole of Surrey, and one street was nicknamed Little Hell. The author answers that every London parish has its dens of vice, even in the shadow of St. Paul's and Westminster. This sets the tone of the whole book, which is loyal to the place yet honest about its rough edges.
This account shows you how fast a landscape can vanish. Fruit trees were felled for railway sheds, and a cool spring well disappeared. The author sees a lesson in this, and he says that a good name is better than riches.
Throughout, he shows that every street name holds a story. The reader learns to look at a modern map and see hedges and orchards behind it.
That’s 1 of 9 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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Questions about Alles über Battersea
What is All About Battersea about?
It is a local history of Battersea, London, around 1880. It covers the parish's fields, industries, bridges, park, churches, schools and charities, and tells stories of the people who lived and worked there.
Who was Lord Bolingbroke in Battersea?
Henry St. John, Viscount Bolingbroke, was a statesman under Queen Anne who lived and died in the family house at Battersea. Pope and Swift admired him, and the book gives praise and criticism of his character.
Who wrote All About Battersea and when?
Henry S. Simmonds wrote it around 1880 and 1881. It is dedicated to the Vicar of Battersea, Canon John Erskine Clarke, and it draws on parish records, newspapers and earlier histories of Surrey.
Why was Battersea Park created?
Battersea Fields had become known for Sunday fairs, gambling and crowds. Reformers pressed for a public park, and an Act of 1846 began the work. The park opened in 1858 and covers 198 acres.
Is All About Battersea easy to read?
Its short sections let you dip in anywhere. Many pages tell vivid stories, such as a talking raven, a royal bridge opening and a sturgeon caught in a mill wheel, so you can follow the parish tale at your own pace.