A Frontier Landscape: The North West in the Middle Ages

by Nicholas J. Higham

The historic counties of Lancashire and Cheshire - at the periphery of the kingdom, both politically and economically - have been comparatively neglected in the history of the English landscape. This important book redresses the balance. N. J. Higham portrays North West England as a frontier landscape which, between c. 1050 and 1550, went through successive changes which have left a deep impression on the region today. The book paints a picture of the North West at the time of Domesday: a sparsely settled land of little hamlets, fells, woods, marshes and mosses; tells the story of the region's economic growth between 1100 and 1350: the development of open fields, new exploitation of wastes and woodland, and an expanding population; shows how the North West did not, unlike much of England, stagnate economically in the late thirteenth-century; explores the impact of Tudor enclosure; discusses the medieval growth of Manchester, Liverpool and above all Chester as potent urban centres. Richly illustrated with maps and pictures of the North West's medieval landscapes and buildings, this book is more than a regional landscape history. It is a book which will change our perspective on the landscape history of medieval England. N. J. Higham is Reader in Medieval History at the University of Manchester.

273 pages, Paperback

First published December 31, 2004

About the author

Librarian note: There are other authors with the same name.

Dr. Nicholas John Higham, aka N.J. Higham, is Professor in Early Medieval and Landscape History in the History Subject Area in the School of Arts, Histories and Cultures at the University of Manchester. His research interests focus on two interrelated areas: the History and Archaeology of the Early Middle Ages in Britain, and the Landscape and Settlement History of North West and North England in the Middle Ages. He has supervised many successful research students in both areas and is always interested in enquiries concerning future research.

Reviews

[Duntay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can't remember where, when and most importantly why I bought this book. It has a few typographical errors (there are two Chapter 3 s) but it is well written and makes good use of maps, historical texts and archeology to give a good picture of Medieval North West England.