Cherston-on-Sea
Cherston-on-Sea (frequently shortened to Cherston) is a fictional seaside town on the east coast of England. [SD 36] The location first appeared in Glow, Worm.
The town of Cherston-on-Sea bifurcates at the Cherston River, which marks the boundary between the town proper and the old village of Spindle Copse, absorbed by its larger neighbour shortly after the war and retaining its old character largely only through its smaller, shabbier high street, and in the naming schema of the prestigious new housing developments built between, and sometimes on the bulldozed remains of, the terraced estates that circle around each other as the elevation climbs, inland. [...]
Spindle Copse also has its own church, up on the hill, inland, overlooking the river and a broad expanse of the conjoined town, its stone walls proof against the hordes of property developers who would love to claim its view for the sort of customer who can pay in excess of seven hundred thousand pounds for a two-bed apartment that can very nearly see the sea. The church is mostly empty these days, even on Sundays, and the grounds are shabby, unkempt, overgrown at the edges, and dotted with mausoleums that date the graveyard to some time in the fourteenth century, when it had been at the heart of its own tiny community, long since paved over.
- Glow, Worm chapter 9
It’s the kind of town Tabitha calls ‘a tourist trap with a busted mechanism’; a run-down echo of fifties seaside family fun. There’ll be a shop somewhere on the promenade that sells rock candy and postcards of apple-cheeked white families all wearing red-and-white-striped swimwear.
- The Sisters of Dorley chapter 41
Locations
- Sharrow’s Way promenade
- Chiamaka's bed and breakfast - A "reasonably popular" B&B "along the way and down a couple of side streets" from the promenade. A terraced house around five-stories tall with a quaint, homey look.
- Spindle Copse graveyard - The site of Gemma's sister Amanda's grave.
- Cox family residence - A tidy upper-middle-class house, home to Paul and Eleanor Cox and their children.
- McDonald's - New construction built over the site where Gemma was killed.
In The Sisters of Dorley
Mark and his family lived in Cherston until 2006, when an attack at school and a suicide attempt prompted the family to relocate to Almsworth. [SD 24]
As Stenordale Manor burns down on January 4th, 2020, Diana flees, eventually arriving in Cherston-on-Sea. After wandering to Chiamaka's B&B, she is granted room and board in the attic bedroom in exchange for helping out around the establishment. [SD 36] Later, Monica rents a room at the B&B to help keep an eye on her until the subsequent investigation at Stenordale is completed. [SD 44]
Notes
- Cherston-on-Sea seems to be located somewhere in the vicinity of Chelmsford. [SD 39]
| Locations in The Sisters of Dorley | |
|---|---|
| In England | Almsworth, Cherston-on-Sea, London, Stenordale Manor |
| In Almsworth | Dorley Hall (basement), Egg Nation, Legend, Royal College of Saint Almsworth |