Englands Coastal Heritage

England's coastal zone contains an important legacy of historic assets, including a complex array of fragile and irreplaceable archaeological remains. This report documents the recorded coastal archaeological resource and identifies future themes for survey and investigation.

The English Heritage Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey (RCZAS) programme has produced a wealth of new information, with over 45 survey reports now completed. Alongside this, the offshore survey completed as part of the Marine Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund has increased understanding of early prehistoric coastal change, while other researchers have extended back the time scale for a human presence in England to at least 900,000 years. From a wider Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management perspective, there has been increased participation by English Heritage in Defra and Environment Agency initiatives. It is apt, now, to review what has been achieved and learnt from the RCZAS and other recent coastal historic environment studies. The book will include an introduction to the coastal historic environment, a consideration of long-term coastal change, an outline of survey, recording and characterisation methodology, a national review of the coastal historic environment and a separate discussion of regional significance, a set of research priorities for the future, and a final section considering how England's coastal heritage should be managed in the future. The fact that climate change will impact significantly, and mostly adversely, on the coastal historic environment, gives a special urgency to this new publication.

In Coast, natural history journalist Christopher Somerville takes you on a grand tour of the outer limits of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Beautiful photography, clear maps, and evocative essays all illuminate the majesty and variety to be found where Britain meets the sea. This is, after all, the longest coastline in Europe. From the dramatic cliffs of Eastbourne's Beachy Head to the spare beauty of the Norfolk salt marshes; from the storm-wracked Cape Wrath at the edge of the Scottish Highlands to the peaceful wooded creeks of Cornwall's Helford river--whatever kind of coastal area you're drawn to, you'll find it here. For those who want to see it firsthand, Coast also features a detailed gazetteer--a region-by-region reference of places, people, activities, natural history, and historic events.

As an island nation, Britain is quick to celebrate its maritime history and heritage, but for most of us our relationship with the sea is through the seaside resort. We share more or less fond memories of building sand castles, splashing around in the sea and eating fish and chips, sometimes with a light sprinkle of sand as an accompaniment. However, the vast majority of holidaymakers will never have seen a seaside resort from the air, unless they have gone up in the balloon in the centre of Bournemouth or indulged in a pleasure flight over a resort such as Weston-super-Mare. This collection of aerial photographs, produced by Aerofilms Ltd mostly between 1920 and 1953, tells the story of England's seaside resorts as holiday destinations, but also as working towns, blessed with the sea as their backdrop. It also illustrates the type of entertainments available for holidaymakers and highlights how the seaside holiday at some resorts became big business with industrial-scale facilities and infrastructure.

The Reader's Guide to British History is the essential source to secondary material on British history. This resource contains over 1,000 A-Z entries on the history of Britain, from ancient and Roman Britain to the present day. Each entry lists 6-12 of the best-known books on the subject, then discusses those works in an essay of 800 to 1,000 words prepared by an expert in the field. The essays provide advice on the range and depth of coverage as well as the emphasis and point of view espoused in each publication.

Blackpool is Britain's favourite seaside resort. Each year millions of visitors come to walk on its three piers, ride donkeys, enjoy shows at the Winter Gardens, scream on the thrilling rides at the Pleasure Beach and ride the lift to the top of the Tower. Generations of holidaymakers have stayed in its hotels, lodging houses and bed and breakfasts and all have succumbed to its delectable fish and chips. Two centuries of tourism has left behind a rich heritage, but Blackpool has also inherited a legacy of social and economic problems, as well as the need for comprehensive new sea defences to protect the heart of the town. In recent years this has led to the transformation of its seafront and to regeneration programmes to try to improve the town, for its visitors and residents. This book celebrates Blackpool's rich heritage and examines how its colourful past is playing a key part in guaranteeing that it has a bright future.

Suffolk's Defended Shore presents an illustrated history of the development of military defences on the Suffolk coast using data collected as part of the English Heritage national survey. The survey involved the examination of both modern and historic aerial photographs which led to the creation of a detailed map of the archaeological remains on the county's coast. The results of the survey are dominated by evidence for the military defence of the coast, reflecting the importance of the Suffolk coast in national defence strategies over many years. Extensively illustrated, this book highlights the particular importance of historic aerial photographs which provide a different and unique perspective on the coastal defences constructed in World War II. Photographs taken during and immediately after this war sometimes provide the only visual record of the rapidly evolving defences from this period.