Blythe Smart Publications

Since Blythe Smart Publications are mainly concerned with history, it is fitting that there is an explanation regarding the author's antecedents. This genealogy was first researched soon after an inspiring talk by a form master at school.

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Family History

 

The author's ancestors came from the four corners of Britain with Thomas Smart being  a shipwright from Tweedmouth and James Blythe a Royal Navy gunner  from Edinburgh. Other antecedents were the Wallis family who owned the Home Farm of 600 acres at North Stoneham near Eastleigh, the Fudge family master mariners of Lyme Regis, the Deane family saddlers, landowners and merchants at Ashe in Kent, the Purkis family of charcoal burners  on the Rufus Stone in the New Forest, the Dyus family of Birmingham silversmiths trained under Edward Smith, and the Dreadys who came from Cork to seek their fortune in London.

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The Industrial Revolution which first began in Coalbrookdale combined with the growth of population and changes in agricultural practices led to a burgeoning of the cities of England. This was not just something  in the history books, but a fact borne out by people's lives and all the above families lived in Bermondsey, Deptford and Greenwich by the early 19th century. These areas were not slums as some writers suggest, a fact that is confirmed by Booth's Poverty Map which reveals a mixed population. Indeed the Blythe family served on the Royal yacht and were related to Niemann who were Royal Academy artists.

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Biographical Details

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John Smart the author was born at Farnborough near Bromley, Kent in 1960, and educated at Alleyn's where Dr. John Harding inspired a lifelong interest in genealogy and history. He was a member of the Genealogical Society at a young age when it was ensconced in a terracotta house by Peto and George at Harrington Gardens in Kensington, and he finished his education at Nottingham University where he studied Historical Geography and History of Architecture. Both subjects were of great benefit later when the research for the books was undertaken, although the research was itself a further education.

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The author initially worked in Trading Standards and Accountancy, but after he married his wife Glenys who came from Christchurch, New Zealand he made the decision to enter into publishing and has attended the London Book Fair on more than one occasion. His family have supported Millwall F.C. from the 1920s hence his interest in soccer, and the initial research was done whilst living in London. It also involved travel to Malta, Gibraltar, Europe, and America whilst he then relocated to Christchurch, New Zealand, and his daughter Rebecca was born there during the devastating earthquakes in 2010-11.

 

During the earthquakes many historical buildings were lost resulting in a new interest in heritage, thus the author researched New Zealand Historic Sites. However the extensive damage and effects of liquefaction on the infrastructure made matters untenable, thus he returned to England and renewed his  work on London Churches. Apart from interests in  sport, the natural world, history and architecture, he was a member of the Y.H.A. and Rambling Society at university, and likes tramping on Dartmoor and in the rugged New Zealand bush.