Gillian Tindall’s book A House by the Thames is a look at one house, on the South Bank of the river, over the centuries. It’s the sort of micro-history I like so at some time I must have bought this book second-hand, although I have no memory of it. I did find, however, when I opened the book that it has been signed by the author, which is rather nice, in 2018 when it was newly published. I hope that Hazel, whoever she was, enjoyed it.
The book starts with the area where the house will be built and explains how it is marshy and outside the boundaries of the city, In the sixteenth century the Gobe and Rose theatres are built there, when the marsh is drained, and many local people make their living by ferrying people across the river, or by providing services for the theatres and their patrons. The author shows how buildings were commercial properties and then became residential, and how people lived in the area. She follows the local people from ferrymen to coal traders, and from working class to respectability. This is an interesting part of the city of London and the book explores it in some detail.
The author then also looks at the house in the title of the book. It started its life as a tavern and then became a residence where business was conducted from the front room. Over time, many buildings around it were destroyed but it is still lived in today. The book gives lots of detail and anecdotes about the families that lived in the house.
The book has lots of maps of the are,a but I didn’t always follow the geographical stuff and I suspect that this was because I don’t really know London well. I found the history interesting, especially how it showed an area changing its use over generations. I also enjoyed reading about the residents of the house. I did feel, however, that the two elements of the book didn’t work that well together – we don’t see much mention of the house and its occupants until about a third of the way through. It was as though there were two short, separate stories here which the author had combined into one, slightly longer one.
This book is interesting enough but it didn’t grip me the way that I thought that I would, maybe because I don’t know the area at all. I have decided not to keep it, as I am not collecting books about the history of London. It will go to Oxfam at Holmfirth to find a new owner.
Anne Is Reading 