Not all it seems

This is a view across the meadow by the Stour at Tuckton. A Plaque on the building with the large chimney records the history of its use by a group which called themselves the Free Age Press in the late 19th century. I love this place which backs onto the first place we lived in Christchurch.

Tuckton, (west of Christchurch), has grown up around the lowest bridging point on the river Stour, but the original village has pretty well disappeared under the expansion of Bournemouth.

Count Vladimir Chertkov established a colony of Russian exiles in Iford Waterworks at Southbourne, and under the 'Free Age Press' imprint, published the first edition of several works by Tolstoy, although the author himself never visited the town. The Russian exiles, took them over as a printing works in 1897, and until 1908 printed, (in Russian), the works of Tolstoy which were forbidden in Russia. The manuscripts of Tolstoy's novels were kept in a guarded room at Tuckton House, a mansion with sumptuous grounds and editions of his works were printed and smuggled back into Russia. A frequent visitor to Tuckton House was Theodore Rothstein, a close associate of Lenin whose works were also printed.