Timpson's Other England - John Timpson

Timpson's Other England is subtitled 'a look at the unusual and the definitely odd' and it would be hard (if not actually impossible) to argue that point. Some of the items in this book are definitely ones that will make you go: Gosh! I never knew that! How extraordinary!"

The book is published by Jarrold and was published in 1993. Sadly John Timpson died in November 2005. He was most famous for his time on The Today programme on Radio 4. Serving it and its million of listeners well from 1970until 1986. He took to writing books after his official retirement.

The book is exceptionally well-planned and designed. It is obvious John Timpson wanted you to visit these very places that he found fascinating so that he could share it with us, his readers

The book has a exceptionally well-built index and also a section with maps of different areas and descriptions of what is actually available in each separate part of England. Yes, That's England, not Britain. You will find only English eccentricities within the pages of THIS book!

The book is profusely illustrated and the text is very well written and well researched. I suppose that is what one would expect from the late John Timpson.

The book contains a lamp-post topped with a Bishop's mitre in Bishop's Waltham. And explains why this came to be.

Other oddities include a pulpit shaped like the prow of a boat, sewage lift that is disguised as a dovecot, a shark stuck in a roof, A giant kiwi in Wiltshire, Yorkshire Dale corpse trails, which still have strategically placed coffin-stones along the routes, stocks with the capacity to deal with several miscreants at the same time, except there's something very strange about the stocks…

Other sections of the book include ancient and not very ancients monuments, the first concrete bridge, some unusual graves, odd post office pillar boxes including a weird combined post-box stamp machine and phone unit all combined in one large unit!
They are known as K4s, and were almost total failures. To find out why, you will have to read the book!

The church of St Chads, Shrewsbury, is unique, in that it ha a truly stunning designer in George Steuart. For those of you who know the town well, you will know of the unusual design of St Chad's. It is circular and is circular because the architect wanted to build a circular church and tricked the townspeople into having a circular church!

This book is worth every penny. It costs £6.40 upwards from Amazon.