The Battle of the Dumps

Abstract

Until 1983, Elstow’s main claim to fame was as the home of John Bunyan, the radical preacher, who had written The Pilgrim’s Progress three hundred years earlier. In that allegory he described ‘a very miry slough, that was in the midst of the plain … The name of the slough was Despond’.¹ The location of this slough is traditionally thought to be near Elstow and in the wake of the announcement of a nuclear dump Bunyan’s vision seemed to have become reality for the people nearby. But initial despondency and bewilderment were quickly replaced by a mood of resentment and determination to prevent the proposal. In a conflict lasting nearly four years the local community eventually achieved total victory. In this chapter we shall examine the course of the conflict and the reasons for the outcome.