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The countryside is a gigantic puzzle which contains within its
intricate pattern of lanes, woods and farmsteads the keys to its
history. This book takes the reader through the process of
landscape detection, by way of a journey through a fascinating
landscape in the Yorkshire Dales. Richard Muir shows how exploring
landscape history can be compared to investigating a crime. The
detective analyses different kinds of evidence to construct what
happened, when and why. Along the way he or she has to think
logically, to interpret all sorts of complex evidence, and be
prepared to abandon false trails. Gradually, as the evidence
accumulates, the past comes to life. It is much easier to
understand how the process works if you actually look at a
particular landscape. Ripley township covers only a few square
miles, but crams a wealth of features into its tiny territory. The
author finds a 'lost' Roman road, reveals field-systems dating from
Anglo-Saxon times, and finds oak trees, which may date from the
time of Domesday Book, still alive in the deer park. He recreates
the appearance of deserted medieval villages, discovers a lost
formal garden, and evaluates the impact of landscaping and
Parliamentary Enclosure. The end result is a chronicle of the past
times of Ripley, the story of a landscape. One of the great joys of
landscape history is that the techniques employed here can be
adopted by any reader who wants to understand his or her own patch
of countryside. This is a book which is sure to stimulate the
imagination.
The countryside of the British Isles provides an enormously rich
resource to those interested in researching past cultural
landscapes. This book is the essential reference for the landscape
studies researcher, whether amateur or professional. In 500
entries, it provides explanations of the major terms, features and
ideas discussed in the subject. Short entries describe less
familiar names and more familiar terminology where the reader may
lack a precise understanding. Longer articles discuss the big
themes, concepts and approaches. Throughout, the entries are
carefully cross-referenced, making it possible to follow a chain of
connections. To allow a more in-depth pursuit of a subject, each
entry also signposts the most useful further reading. This
encyclopaedia is deliberately even in its geographical scope with
terminology from Ireland, Scotland and Wales receiving detailed
coverage.
Over the last 25 years, archaeologists and historians have been
increasingly aware of the importance of woodland in the developing
British landscape - in particular, how trees have been a vital
component of the living cultural landscape. Ancient Trees, Living
Landscapes begins by questioning the myth that in prehistoric times
Britain was swathed in a virtually impenetrable wildwood. In fact,
from the earliest times woodland has been manipulated and
transformed. The author then looks at Britain's great 'landmark
trees', before examining the function of ancient trees and
hedgerows in the landscape. The Middle Ages saw the multiplication
of deer parks, with the special management needed to feed and
shelter deer and to give cover to stalkers. These, with their
lawns, groves and pollard-studded pastures, greatly influenced the
great landscape parks of the eighteenth century, developed by
Repton and Lancelot Brown. There are, too, important chapters on
the life and work of the Men of the Forest, and on Woodlands of the
Mind - the all-important symbolism of trees as well as their
utilitarian function in Britain's landscape. Throughout the book
Richard Muir, who describes himself as 'a Dalesman by birth, a Scot
by inclination', gives equal weight to the evidence from the north
of Britain, whereas earlier writers have concentrated on the south.
In an age when institutional interests are increasingly pervasive,
he stresses the importance of the work of the individual researcher
and amateur enthusiast.
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