Plotlands of Shepperton

""Some small books contain an incredible punch: a poetry collection, for example, or individually published short story. This small book, Plotlands of Shepperton, takes a different approach from those, but is equally as potent. This collection of photographs of relatively little-known interwar self-build homes along the river in West London, with informative accompanying text, works as an alternative history of the city in the last hundred years. This history begins in the aftermath of the First World War and continues through to today, and focuses on a version of London designed and built by working class residents whose story has been somewhat erased from history. "" Jon Grindrod ""Plotlands of Shepperton adds a vivid and indispensable chapter to the history of housing in Britain, paying homage to people who exercised their right to live decently in the face of bureaucratic opposition. As Szczelkun explains, it became possible to acquire these riverside sites cheaply after the First World War for two reasons. Firstly, because many landed estates were broken up when their owners became unable to pay increased death duties and many of the male heirs to the estates had been killed in the trenches. Secondly, there was a glut of cheap farmland available during the recession during the inter-war depression. As a result, there was a small boom in self-building along the upper Thames, with chalets either constructed wholly on site, or bought as pre-fabricated flat packs delivered by barge from W.Gardam & Sons at Staines."" Ken Worpole