Canvey Island By Heart: Postcards From the Future, the Sea Wall & Island Memories
817 people wrote a postcard from Canvey's future. This book is a postcard from its past.
When the island was given £20 million to spend over ten years, people were asked to imagine what Canvey could look like and write it down. Hundreds did. Sort the lake. Sort the town centre. Something for the kids. And plenty just wrote about what they missed.
That's what this book is for. The Dutch cottages. The plotlands, when the East End came down for the weekend and made homes out of railway carriages. The Labworth. Dancing at the Monico and the Goldmine. Oil City. The Lobster Smack. And the night of 31 January 1953, told with the care it deserves.
Canvey Island By Heart is a book of island stories and memories for Canvey people: the ones still here, the ones who moved up the road, and the ones who left but never really did.
Inside you'll find:
- An island below the water line, the Dutch who walled it, and the two cottages they left behind
- Plotlands, stepping stones across the creek, and the first bridge
- The Labworth, the seafront in its day, and the dance floors people still talk about
- Oil City, the Lobster Smack, and the Gulls
- 1953, the sea wall that came after it, and the murals that remember it
- Canvey Wick, Canvey Lake, Leigh Beck and the bits outsiders never see
Who it's for: Canvey Islanders, families whose nan or grandad had a plot, anyone who danced on the seafront, and anyone who moved away and still calls it home. A lovely gift for a mum or dad who has told you the same Canvey stories for years.
What you get: 20 chapters, about 60 pages, as a PDF you can read on your phone, tablet or computer, or print at home. Any corrections and new memories added later are sent to you free.
This is an ebook (a digital download), so nothing is posted. Your download link arrives straight after checkout. Made by Roots & Routes, a small independent shop.