Overview of the Fourth Volume of Bradshaw's Guides

This fourth volume of illustrated Bradshaw's Guides takes the traveller from the London Bridge and Victoria stations via the former South Eastern Railway to the watering places of the coast of Kent. Along the way the train calls in at a number of locations including Greenwich, Woolwich, Gravesend, Rochester, Chatham, Margate, Broadstairs, Ramsgate, Deal, Dover and Folkstone. The various branch lines also take in Tunbridge Wells, Battle and Hastings as well as the cathedral city of Canterbury.

Notable Praise and Historical Context

Seldom has the gigantic intellect of man been employed upon a work of greater utility. Punch, in praise of Bradshaw's publications. Bradshaw's guide was published in 1863, very shortly after the first batch of railways in the regions had been completed.

Content and Significance

It gives the reader a unique insight into the world of the Victorian railways and goes beyond the engineering aspects to record the sights to be seen in the towns and cities encountered along the way. Bradshaw's original text is accompanied by contemporary images and many new photographs of the same journey today provided by local man, and rail expert, Simon Jeffs.