Paths to the Past: Encounters with Britain's Hidden Landscapes

by Francis Pryor

Landscapes reflect and shape our behaviour. They make us who we are and bear witness to the shifting patterns of human life over the generations. Formed by a complex series of natural and human processes, they rarely yield their secrets readily.

Bringing to bear a lifetime's digging, Francis Pryor delves into England's hidden urban and rural landscapes, from Whitby Abbey to the navvy camp at Risehill in Cumbria, from Tintagel to Tottenham's Broadwater Farm. Scattered through fields, woods, moors, roads, tracks and towns, he reveals the stories of our physical surroundings and what they meant to the people who formed them, used them and lived in them. These landscapes, he stresses, are our common physical inheritance. If we can understand how to make them yield up their secrets, it will help us, their guardians, to maintain and shape them for future generations.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Natural History, Travel, Nature, British Literature

240 pages, Hardcover

First published February 22, 2018

About the author

Francis Manning Marlborough Pryor MBE (born 13 January 1945) is a British archaeologist who is famous for his role in the discovery of Flag Fen, a Bronze Age archaeological site near Peterborough, and for his frequent appearances on the Channel 4 television series Time Team.

He has now retired from full-time field archaeology, but still appears on television and writes books as well as being a working farmer. His specialities are in the Bronze and Iron Ages.

His first novel, Lifers’ Club, is due to be published in 2014.

Reviews

[Keen Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars!

“This is no re-enactment. It is real, living history.”

This is a strange but pleasant little book which is filled with a hidden gem or two. As it progresses it begins to take on an almost whimsical quality. The author is affable, almost eccentric as he takes us on this series of journeys through space and time, never seeming to lose his passion or enthusiasm.

Pryor finds himself in some memorable locations throughout the British Isles, going as far north as the Orkney islands to finding the first ever turnpike in England as well as the first publicly funded civil park at Birkenhead, designed by Joseph Paxton. He also takes an interest in Ironbridge as well as many other archaeological sites scattered over the UK. He even has time for some of the bigger and more commercial places when he opens up about his love for Edinburgh’s New Town (courtesy of James Craig who would go onto die in penury, even trying to sell the medal he was given for winning the competition to design it).

So this was a mixed, but largely enjoyable bag of wanderings and you certainly pick up a thing or two along the way. It allows us to see parts of the country in ways we wouldn’t normally think to. Pryor’s style lies somewhere between a less pretentious Robert MacFarlane, Iain Sinclair and Ian Nairn’s “Nairn’s Towns” and there is a warmth about his writing which gives this book a bit of a fuzzy glow at times.

[Liz Fenwick]

I don’t thinking this book had a fair reading from me having followed on from the beautiful Old Way by Robert Macfarlane...first it isn’t 240 pages...second the narrative didn’t flow for me. But I did learn a bit about parts of the UK landscape...

[Book Gannet · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is far more about Francis Pryor than it is about landscape or history. The rambling introduction about Darwin's home and the author's family connection sadly set the tone for the rest of the book, in which Pryor reminisces about some of his favourite places with occasional interesting historical facts scattered about. Each chapter is very short and rarely has anything to do what went before or after. Some of them are all about the author's connection to a place (or not, as the Orkney chapter opens with the first time he didn't actually go to Orkney), while others read more like brief travel guides, complete with recommended pubs and interesting churches.

If you're a fan of Francis Pryor, then you might enjoy this anyway. Some of the chapters are quite promising, but just when they start to get interesting, more often than not the chapter ends and we're off to the next unrelated place where we'll focus on something completely different. Personally, I found it disappointing. It wasn't what I was expecting, focused more on the author than the history and frustrated me with its unfulfilled promise. I like the idea, but this book definitely didn't live up to it.

(ARC provided by the publisher via Amazon Vine.)

[Jon Clynch · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute gem. Mr Pryor, in my view, is a national treasure as well as one of the foremost archaeologists of this era. This, however, is not a stuffy, academic text-book, but is accessible to all (Which he has always aimed to do) and is more of a gentle stroll through a selection of historical & archaeological sites in the UK. That said, it still manages to pack in some fascinating insights and details for such a slim book. Personally, it held extra appeal due to a couple of chapters at the end, regarding Peterborough and the Lordship Rec in Tottenham. Both places have featured prominently in my life, so I may be biased. This was book was written with the authority of an expert, with intelligence, but above all with warmth and character. You can almost imagine Francis sitting in a comfortable armchair by his fireside with a pint of ale, reading the book to you aloud.

[Edmund Hyde · Rating 2 out of 5]

As several reviewers have already noted, I thought this book was quite superficial in the way it talks about "places". You can tell Pryor is coming at things from the background of an archaeologist and hobbyist as opposed to say, an anthropologist or social theorist.

I found the final chapter on London stations particularly offensive in this respect - it is purely descriptive and contains no content that couldn't also be found in a far more engaging format somewhere else (even on YouTube).

The more historical examples - for example, churches on the Kentish marshes - seem to have more substance, but I felt that Pryor consistently misses the opportunity to draw any conclusion from the information he collects, instead reverting to say "and that's quite nice, isn't it?"

This might be enough for some, but it's not enough for me.

[Katnuck · Rating 4 out of 5]

An extremely readable landscape history of a handful of places across Britain in bite size chapters. Each chapter gives a short precise glimpse of a particular landscape that is enlivened by Pryor's personal engagement, experience and interest in each one. It demonstrates how the built environment/landscape, both urban & rural is a physical history that transcends through time, and we all have the ability to see it if we take the time to notice.

[✰matthew✰ · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book was a mixed bag for me. i found lots of the chapters topics interesting, hence me picking this book up in the first place. but i didn’t really like the writing style and found it quite jarring sometimes.

the author is obviously very knowledgeable and passionate about his topics, which shows through. i would maybe have liked a bit more on some topics though i did find out some interesting snippets.

[Sam Worby · Rating 2 out of 5]

24 small vignettes. This is slight, without the depth I have come to expect from Pryor. It was interesting enough and quick to read - good to dip into. But I was left disappointed; there was very little about hidden landscapes to my mind and not enough here that was new.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Francis Pryor has a very readable style of writing immediately arousing ones interest and wanting to find out more. His enthusiam for his subject is infectious and after reading about the places he describes in the book interested me enough to want and go and visit some of them which I will do.

[Tammi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good little book about places to see around England. I wanted it to be longer but I feel that I may have gotten bored with a bigger book. I think I'll use it as a guide to visit places on my next camping holiday.

[Nerys Mellor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was great. I loved how informative the book was without being overly technical or boring. The short chapters kept it exciting and interesting and made it very easy to read. I thought this was a brilliant book.

[Celia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A couple of pages of the author’s own experience and thoughts on paces of significant archaeological from pre history to present day . Enjoyable easy read.

[Richard Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful, wonderful look at the various landscapes of Britain.

[Elaine de Jong · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a charming little book which links many British landscapes with their historical beginnings.

[Rae]

Time Team. Archaeology. Landscape. Short chapters. An Allen Lane book.

[katie meddins (maresh) · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75
enjoyed the first half more than the second

[Steve Chilton · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a bit of a strange read. It is a random collection of interesting but somewhat partial insights into varied locations and their archaeology and also history. I was expecting some connections and maybe a dramatic revelations or two about the sites, but these were not really forthcoming. The author is a writer and broadcasting behind him, and I couldn't help feeling it would have benefited from more and better photos and certainly from some maps.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting journey through time focusing on archaeological and architectural history and sites. I learnt a lot from this book and found Pryor's writing style very engaging and informative.