![\"\"](\"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/files\/2021\/08\/Image-1-4-e1630055842627.jpg\")
<\/p>\nA newly-published book takes an original look at Chesil Beach.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Chesil Beach is unique: a bank of pebbles stretching for sixteen miles along the Dorset coast, from the Isle of Portland to West Bay.<\/p>\n
It seems a lonely landscape, deserted and unchanging. Yet there have always been people living here, concealed behind the shingle barrier. Poaching, smuggling and wrecking were common practices, but it has also sheltered undercover agents, experimental communities and hush-hush weapon testing. D-Day soldiers left for France from this coast, and the Spanish Armada battled in its waters.<\/p>\n
The sea provides rich pickings, but can become an enemy, a devastatingly destructive force. The seabed is crowded with shipwrecks, and in 1824 the villages of Fleet and Chiswell were swept away overnight, in the worst disaster ever to hit Lyme Bay. Chesil Beach itself is vulnerable \u2013 to exploitation as well as weather.<\/p>\n
While the birds, beasts and flowers of Chesil Beach have been closely studied, that other species, the human, has received less attention \u2013 until now.<\/p>\n
Author Judith Stinton says that the book \u2013 her tenth \u2013 has taken five years to research and write. She has walked along every accessible stretch of beach, as well as exploring the coastal villages and their settings. The book contains a wealth of unusual material and previously unseen illustrations.<\/p>\n
Chesil Beach: a peopled solitude<\/em> is a paperback of 264 pages. It costs \u00a312.00 and is available from Dorset History Centre. It is also available from the publisher Harlequin Press www.harlequinpresss.net<\/a> and www.abebooks.com<\/a><\/p>\n —<\/p>\n This was a guest blog written for Dorset History Centre by Judith Stinton. Should you or your organisation wish to contribute a guest blog, please get in touch with us to discuss your idea<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A newly-published book takes an original look at Chesil Beach. Chesil Beach is unique: a bank of pebbles stretching for sixteen miles along the Dorset coast, from the Isle of Portland to West Bay. It seems a lonely landscape, deserted and unchanging. Yet there have always been people living here, concealed behind the shingle barrier.… Read more Chesil Beach: a peopled solitude<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1892,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[58],"tags":[82,360,359,358,361,109],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2584"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1892"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2584"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2584\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2586,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2584\/revisions\/2586"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2584"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2584"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2584"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}