Books from the
Island History Trust
A Brief History of
The Isle of Dogs
Volumes I & II
by Eve Hostettler
curator of the Trust since 1981
Available from the Trust at £10.00 each
(plus £2.00 postage)
or as a boxed set at £20.00
(plus £5.00 postage).
The first chapter describes the medieval Island and the lives of the people who lived there, worked in the fields, fished in the river and worshipped in the little Chapel.
Then there are several chapters on the early industrial Island, from 1800 to the 1860s, when the docks were built and the first shipyards were opened. Gradually a new population settled on the Island and you can read about how they arrived and settled down and began to forge a community in which rich and poor lived side by side.
The second industrial phase, from 1860s to 1914, follows, and describes the decline of ship-building and the growth of engineering and food-processing industries. Thousands of people continued to arrive, new homes were built and new forms of trnapsort were introduced. By 1900 the population had reached 21,000 and churches, schools, pubs and shops had all made their appearance.
Finally there is a chapter on the First World War, which features the diary of a young man from the Island, who left home to join the Army, survived the trenches and returned to marry his sweetheart.
This first volume mentions hundreds of names of people and places and is illustrated with plenty of photographs.
Here are detailed descriptions of the daily life of the community which lived on the Island between the wars - working life in the docks and factories, games played in the streets, sports clubs, dancing, music and drama, and life at home.
There is a chapter on the Second World War, covering evacuation and the Blitz. Then the story moves on to post-war reconstruction, with a much-reduced population recovering from the bombing. In the 1960s and 1970s the Island saw the decline of its traditional industries and the closure of the docks, and the final chapter looks at the way in which redevelopment has changed the character of the area in the 1980s and 1990s. Volume II is full of Islanders' own stories, lavishly illustrated with pictures from their family albums. It also includes an index to both volumes.
Send for your books with a cheque payable to "Island History Trust".
Copyright © Island History Trust 2001