Felixstowe owes its existence to the 19th-century fashion for seaside holidays when the gentry and businessmen chose to build their summer residences in the parishes of Walton and Felixstowe. In earlier centuries Walton had been the more significant settlement, with a manor and a castle. Even the later fort guarding the Suffolk side of Harwich harbour was often considered to be part of Essex. When the Dutch landed on the Common in 1667 and were defeated by Land guard Fort's garrison, all E...

Soham is a proud town. It is proud of its history and written in the old buildings is a story of its people. Hard working, hard living and independent, they survived on the nearby Fenland or in work associated with it. Along the long ridge that carries the road half way between the racing town of Newmarket and the cathedral city of Ely, a line of windmills creaked and groaned in the wind. You could get anything in Soham from black boots to a black eye. It used to be said of Wicken, 'one wa...

Soham and Wicken Through Time is a unique insight into the illustrious history of this part of Cambridgeshire. Reproduced in full colour, this is an exciting examination of the well-known streets and famous faces, and what they meant to the people of this area throughout the 19th and into the 20th Century. Looking beyond the exquisite exterior of these well-kept photos, readers can see the historical context in which they are set, and through the author's factual captions for every picture...

This is a photographic journey along the North Norfolk coast from the shingle banks at Weybourne to the crumbling cliffs at Mundesley. It's a dramatic tour that includes breathtaking cliff top walks and miles of beautiful sea-washed beaches. At the heart are Sheringham and Cromer, once small fishing villages, reinvented by powerful landowners in the nineteenth century as seaside resorts with vast Victorian hotels, now sadly mostly lost. There are West and East Runton, so popular with carav...

Michael Rouse's photographic tour of the West Norfolk coast takes us from the Victorian vision of Hunstanton - with its spectacular coloured cliffs - to the salt marshes of Stiffkey and Cley-nextthe- Sea. It's a journey back in time to the small ports of Burnham Overy Staithe, Brancaster Staithe and Blakeney, now so popular with weekend sailors, and then onward to the wonderful beaches and bustling quayside of Wells-next-the-Sea. A century's worth of images tells the story of the holiday i...

Ely and its magnificent cathedral have dominated this area of Cambridgeshire for centuries, and today it is a thriving and rapidly growing city. Much has been written about Ely’s rich historical past but in this book local historian Michael Rouse explores the lesser-known episodes of the city’s history, covering its beginnings as a collection of houses surrounding the medieval abbey and cathedral on an island in the Fens; its local economy, which was also based on the River Ouse and the su...

Ely was built around its cathedral, the first abbey founded by theAnglo-Saxons on an island in the Fens. Ely was a centre of resistance against the Norman invaders including the legendary Hereward the Wake, but when Ely was retaken by the Normans they built the magnificent cathedral that dominates the landscape today. The monastery was one of the richest in the country and brought prosperity to the region, and the city was also the centre of the traditional Fenland economy. The area went i...

Michael Rouse’s photographic tour of the West Norfolk coast takes us from the Victorian vision of Hunstanton – with its spectacular coloured cliffs – to the salt marshes of Stiffkey and Cley-next-the-Sea. It’s a journey back in time to the small ports of Burnham Overy Staithe, Brancaster Staithe and Blakeney, now so popular with weekend sailors, and then onward to the wonderful beaches and bustling quayside of Wells-next-the-Sea. This updated and fully revised edition of Hunstanton & Wells...

The county of Norfolk in East Anglia has a long and rich history. A settlement for thousands of years, the county has seen numerous battles and fortifications. Many Norfolk market towns still exist, a nod to its former importance in the woollen and agricultural industries. It is home to the Broads, a well-known network of rivers, waterways and lakes, which have been reshaped and transformed by generations of Norfolk inhabitants. Historical sites, such as those in the centre of Norwich, and...

Situated on the 'Sunshine Coast' of Essex, the seaside towns of Walton-on-the- Naze and Frinton-on-Sea have a rich history. Beginning as just a small cluster of farms and cottages, by the mid-twentieth century, Frinton had grown to become a high-class seaside resort, with upmarket shopping and grand hotels. The Victorian era was similarly fruitful for the nearby town of Walton, which grew from humble Anglo-Saxon beginnings to become a popular tourist destination. Today, Frinton and Walton'...

The part of the Suffolk coast that embraces Southwold and Aldeburgh has a rich history in its relationship between its inhabitants and the North Sea. This is a paradise for writers, artists, walkers, bird watchers and all those who want a holiday away from some of the excesses of the typical seaside resorts. There are golden sands, shinglebanks, crumbling cliffs, lost towns, heathland walks and all the time the restless sea rolling in. 'There is no sea like the Aldeburgh sea, it speaks to ...

Harwich is one of the Haven Ports. Its position on the estuaries of the River Stour and River Orwell has played a defining role in the history of the town, as it was one of the only safe havens on the East Coast between the Thames and Humber. As a result, Harwich has played a key maritime role through the centuries. The town became a significant naval base in 1657, and soon major batteries were developed including the Harwich Redoubt, Beacon Hill Battery and Bath Side Battery. Dovercourt i...