London's Sailortown 1600-1800, by Derek Morris & Ken Cozens
Subtitled 'A Social History of Shadwell and Ratcliff, an early modern London Riverside Suburb'
Published by the East London History Society in 2014, 207 pages. Large A4 size softback (N5757)
Published by the East London History Society in 2014, 207 pages. Large A4 size softback (N5757)
From the preface: By 1800 London had spawned along its riverside east of the Tower one of the world's great industrial complexes. It built and furnished ships and equipped the men who sailed them to every known and unknown quarter of the earth. The river's north bank in particular was London's Sailortown, a straggling bustling district quite different from any other part of the capital, yet known the world over by seafaring men. For long it was a district buried in obscurity and clouded by myth...
Revelatory is not too strong a term for the work undertaken here. The popular understanding of the East End of London at any time up to the First World War is of a uniformly bleak, often terrible, place of desperate poverty. This monochrome picture has been challenged by historians who have stressed the importance of an indigenous merchant and industrial class, especially in the years before 1800. But we have never before had revealed to us in such immense and convincing detail just how prosperous, diverse and cultured this East End heritage was in fact. And we have never been given such a picture before because no one had undertaken the sheer hard work of uncovering a history long buried in land tax returns, rate books, wills, deeds and insurance policies.
The greatest revelation for the modem reader will be the depth and richness (in all senses) of the cross-class complexity of this district during the period under review. The poor are not ignored, far from it, and the vibrant culture of sailors ashore is much in evidence. Unlike many other studies the lives of women come strongly to the fore - no one is 'hidden from history' here. But most surprising will be the exploration of the lives and connections of the 'middling sort of people'. Laid before us are the merchants, ships' captains, manufacturers, contractors, clergymen, doctors and other professionals who helped make the London riverside such an astonishingly diverse place. It was they who shouldered the burden of supporting their poor neighbours, and of paving, cleansing and lighting the streets and keeping them safe at night. As this book convincingly shows, that was no easy undertaking. Chapters include:
Governing Shadwell and Ratcliff
Living in Shadwell and Ratcliff
The Shadwell and Ratcliff Waterfront and the London Docks
Servicing the Maritime Trades
Servicing London and its Suburbs
International Merchants and Mariners
Literacy and Education
Churches, Chapels and Charity
Crime and Punishment
Conclusions
Several appendices, including Street names in Shadwell and Ratcliff, Some Suppliers to the East Indiaman Edgecote 1764, and Debtors of Joseph Hales, a Russia Merchant
The condition of the book is generally very good. The cover has some minor scuffs and blemishes, but the spine is tight and intact, and all pages are clean, intact, unblemished and tightly bound. Please note their is an old price printed and a small price sticker, both on the rear side cover
| Condition | New |