December
2004
Plymouth then & now |
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a step back in time |
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If
you've ever strolled through the streets of Plymouth and wondered
what the city would have been like in days gone by, then this could
be the book for you. Local historian Chris Robinson compares the city
in words and pictures.
Review by: Laura Joint |
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Plymouth
- Then and Now
By: Chris Robinson
Publishers: Pen & Ink
Price: £12.95
And they say nostalgia isn't what it used to be...well you could have
fooled me! I reckon there's more of it about now than ever before.
Just take a look at the volume of local history books on the market
- a reflection of the interest in how things used to be, compared
to now.
Well there's a new book which takes us back in time in Plymouth, and
brings us bang up to date too.
"Plymouth:Then and Now" by local historian and broadcaster
Chris Robinson compares photos of the same spots from the 1860s through
to 2004.
Inevitably perhaps, the comparison does few favours to 20th century
architecture. The Victorian buildings and streets look so much more
elegant.
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| Plymouth
Pier - sorely missed |
Yet some
places look remarkably unchanged, such as the Hoe and Smeaton's Tower.
And then there are the structures lost forever in the Blitz of 1941,
among them the maginificent pier.
Charles Church was another victim of the blitz, and its shell now
sits incongruously in the middle of a roundabout. This particular
area of Plymouth has changed greatly in the past centrury - and not
for the better, looking at these photos.
The book has been put together over eight years, during which time
Chris Robinson's Then and Now weekly column has appeared in the local
paper, the Plymouth Evening Herald.
Interestingly, the pictures taken in the past 12 months have already
become history, because much of Plymouth city centre has been knocked
down as part of the multi-million pound redevelopment.
The city centre - rebuilt through necessity after the war - is undergoing
another makeover. Will the architects get it right? Or will we be
left in a few years' time feeling all nostalgic about what's been
knocked down?
Watch this space...
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Broadcasting House
Seymour Road
Plymouth
PL3 5BD
(+44) 01752 229201
devon.online@bbc.co.uk
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