52 C O N T E X T 1 1 3 : M A R C H 2 0 1 0 Books received Weymouth’s Seaside Heritage Alan Brodie, Colin Ellis, David Stuart and GaryWinter, English Heritage, 2008, 80pp, many illustrations, full colour paperback, ISBN 978 1 848020 08 5, £7.99 Berwick upon Tweed: three places, two nations, one town Adam Menuge and Catherine Dewar, English Heritage, 2009, 124pp, many illustrations, full colour paperback, ISBN 978 1 848020 29 0, £7.99 These two slim but attractive publications are the latest in English Heritage’s excellent Informed Conservation series, aimed at demonstrating how a good understanding of historic places can lead to successful conservation.Weymouth is one of England’s oldest seaside resorts (George III, who conferred royal patronage on the town, famously bathed in the sea in 1789 accompanied by a band) and retains much of its Georgian andVictorian character. It has been selected as the venue for the 2012 Olympic Games sailing events, which brings the opportunity for its rich seaside heritage to gain wider appreciation. Berwick is a different kind of coastal settlement, a border town ‘forged in the enmity of two warlike nations’. Pevsner described it as ‘one of the most exciting towns in England’, and this book explains in a concise and readable fashion why that is indeed so. Northumberland Strongholds Ed Geldard, Frances Lincoln, 2009, 128pp, many illustrations, full colour hardback, ISBN 978 0 7112 2985 3, £16.99 Cheltenham Stephen Morris, Frances Lincoln, 2009, 112pp, many illustrations, full colour hardback, ISBN 978 0 7112 2903 7, £16.99 Both these good value books are produced by commercial photographers, and the photos speak more eloquently than the words. Northumberland’s border castles, ranging from Alnwick and Dunstanburgh to remote fortified farmhouses, deserve to be better known. Cheltenham is a polite place by contrast, and Morris’s photos show its creamy stucco and verdant gardens resplendent under ever sunny skies. Silesia: the land of dying country houses Marcus Binney, Kit Martin,Wojciech Wagner, SAVE Europe’s Heritage, 2009, 117pp, many illustrations, full colour paperback, ISBN 978 0 905978 60 4, £15 In this worrying report, SAVE draws attention to the desperate state of country houses in Silesia, of which a majority are empty and disused.When Poland gained independence from the Soviet bloc, many of the houses fell into the hands of speculators, who have done nothing to secure their future.The book provides a gazetteer of the properties and practical ideas for their rescue and reuse. Bridges Explained TrevorYorke, Countryside Books, 2008, 160pp, many b&w illustrations, paperback, ISBN 978 1 84674 079 4, £9.99 In this useful addition to the Britain’s Living History Series,TrevorYorke explains the principles of viaduct and aqueduct design from the Romans to the present day.The book is well illustrated with photos and diagrams of bridges from across the UK, and a gazetteer of bridges worth visiting. The Toll houses of Suffolk Patrick Taylor, Polystar Press, 2009, 84pp, b&w illustrations, ISBN 978 1 907154 00 3, £7.95 The Toll houses of South Devon Tim Jenkinson and Patrick Taylor, Polystar Press, 2009, 120pp, b&w illustrations, paperback, ISBN 978 1 907154 01 0, £8.95 These two pocket sized books by conservation architect and IHBC member PatrickTaylor tell the story of the turnpike roads in Suffolk and South Devon.They also provide a gazetteer of surviving toll houses. Other publications in the same worthwhile series cover Norfolk and Cornwall. Christ’s Church: a DIY guide to detecting antiquity Eric Cockain, Natula Publications, 2008, 80pp, b&w and colour illustrations, ISBN 978 1 897887 65 3, £9.95 In this small book, architect and IHBC member Eric Cockain makes a case for the Priory Church at Christchurch being the biggest and best preserved pre Conquest church in the British Isles. By analysis of the stonework, and by comparison with the great church at St Etienne in Caen, which was completed in 1087 to take the body of William the Conqueror, he finds evidence to suggest that the old Saxon church was not rebuilt by the Norman Baron Ranulf Flambard, as generally accepted, but merely heightened and embellished.
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