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The Fens: Discovering England's Ancient Depths
Inland from the Wash, on England's eastern cost, crisscrossed by substantial rivers and punctuated by soaring church spires, are the low-lying, marshy, and mysterious Fens. Formed by marine and freshwater flooding, and historically wealthy owing to the fertility of their soils, the Fens of Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire are one of the most distinctive, neglected, and extraordinary regions of England. Francis Pryor has the most intimate of connections with this landscape. For some 40 years he has dug its soils as a working archaeologist—making ground-breaking discoveries about the nature of prehistoric settlement in the area—and raising sheep in the flower-growing country between Spalding and Wisbech. In The Fens , he counterpoints the history of the Fenland landscape and its transformation—from Bronze age field systems to Iron Age hillforts; from the rise of prosperous towns such as King's Lynn, Ely, and Cambridge to the ambitious drainage projects that created the Old and New Bedford Rivers—with the story of his own discovery of it as an archaeologist. Affectionate, richly informative, and deftly executed, The Fens weaves together strands of archaeology, history, and personal experience into a satisfying narrative portrait of a complex and threatened landscape.
416 pages, Paperback
First published July 11, 2019
121 people are currently reading
415 people want to read
About the author
Francis Pryor
37 books145 followersFrancis 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews
August 21, 2020
Francis Pryor is an archaeologist who specialises in the study of the British Bronze and Iron Ages. The Fens: Discovering England’s Ancient Depths traces the history of this particular English region from prehistoric times to the present day, interspersing Pryor’s personal experiences on particular digs and his memories of living in the fenland with an archaeologist’s view of how and why the fens have developed and changed. Unsurprisingly, given Pryor’s area of specialism, which I wasn’t aware of when I picked up this book, the bulk of the material is prehistoric; the medieval fens, which is the period I’m personally most interested in, barely get a look in, and what he does say about medieval power relationships is pretty simplistic from a historian’s point of view. Pryor is, when it comes down to it, more interested in the evolution of technologies, buildings and settlements than in social and political history, and fair enough if that’s your kind of thing. However, I did feel this would struggle to appeal beyond a relatively narrow audience. It’s very long, goes off on a lot of tangents, and Pryor’s writing is clear but no more than that. Certainly, the autobiographical elements of this book don’t add very much, although it promises to discuss a more emotional relationship with landscape. If you’ve lived in the fens, there will be something to interest you here, but it might not be enough to engage you for the whole 400+ pages; I read the first four chapters and then skipped to the chapters that particularly appealed to me.
June 13, 2020
The Fens on the east coast of England are divided between the grey river silt deposit areas and the black peaty areas. Accordingly, people lived there in ways which adapted to the marshy ground and water courses and their fertility and flooding. Pryor participated in or led archaeological digs here from the 1960s, mainly ahead of building work, and describes extensive Bronze Age farming and livestock grazing, including animal crushes exactly like those he uses on his own sheep farm.
Aerial photos during dry summers highlighted buried structures, roads and monuments. But some are still waterlogged most of the year while others have been dried out by the continual draining of the Fens and the organic matter preserved has been perishing. In some cases the excavations would have found little but pottery ten years later. Instead they reveal Iron Age roundhouses and Roman rubbish.
Pryor continues by describing medieval and Civil War era buildings, principally churches, in villages built on high rises of land, including Cambridge University. And he explains that some Fen land is being rewetted, rewilded, to counter the rising sea levels. This may put villages at risk of flooding, but there doesn't seem much option as the Fens have demonstrably sunk by over 13 feet, as shown by the tall pole sunk to ground level at its tip by a landowner who began drainage, which now stands high above heads.
The photos are enjoyable and informative. I learnt a tremendous amount from this book about the process of archaeology and the inhabitants of the Fens. I also got to recall many Time Team programmes. By the way, I suggest the upturned oak tree found at Seahenge fell during a storm. That's how you get roots out of the ground.
I read this book from the RDS Library. This is an unbiased review.
Aerial photos during dry summers highlighted buried structures, roads and monuments. But some are still waterlogged most of the year while others have been dried out by the continual draining of the Fens and the organic matter preserved has been perishing. In some cases the excavations would have found little but pottery ten years later. Instead they reveal Iron Age roundhouses and Roman rubbish.
Pryor continues by describing medieval and Civil War era buildings, principally churches, in villages built on high rises of land, including Cambridge University. And he explains that some Fen land is being rewetted, rewilded, to counter the rising sea levels. This may put villages at risk of flooding, but there doesn't seem much option as the Fens have demonstrably sunk by over 13 feet, as shown by the tall pole sunk to ground level at its tip by a landowner who began drainage, which now stands high above heads.
The photos are enjoyable and informative. I learnt a tremendous amount from this book about the process of archaeology and the inhabitants of the Fens. I also got to recall many Time Team programmes. By the way, I suggest the upturned oak tree found at Seahenge fell during a storm. That's how you get roots out of the ground.
I read this book from the RDS Library. This is an unbiased review.
October 22, 2019
Expertly and entertainingly dove-tailed with autobiographical anecdotes from a wide-ranging career, this is so much more than a book about archaeology, or The Fens, or even Francis Pryor. It’s about life, struggling against the odds and finding a way to live in harmony with your environment.
Pryor has long been an advocate of the view that the Romans merely inherited (and, of course, controlled) a pre-existing Celtic civilisation. He’s also adamant that when they left in 410AD those same Celts continued living, farming and trading in their ancestral homelands largely unaffected by the so-called (and still taught, if my 11 year old’s history homework is to be believed!) Anglo-Saxon ‘invasion’.
What underpins this is the sense of humans adapting, and adapting to (but never destroying) a landscape that could be harsh and unforgiving, but also abundantly life-sustaining. Pryor has nothing but admiration for the men and women who lived on the Fens and whose remains he unearths. He also feels we - the arrogant, intellectually superior (so we think) twenty-first century inhabitants - could learn much from our ancient forebears. And there seems little argument against that!
November 7, 2023
Francis Pryor has so much passion and enthusiasm for his subject that it oozes onto the pages. I have a fascination with this part of the country and this book serves that fascination well.
Pryor has an easy writing style and there are some great black and white photographs to reference the text.
The only reason for my 3 star rating was the length of the book. It was over 400 pages and some sections felt a little repetitive towards the end.
Recommended for any archaeology fans or anyone with an interest in the Fens.
Pryor has an easy writing style and there are some great black and white photographs to reference the text.
The only reason for my 3 star rating was the length of the book. It was over 400 pages and some sections felt a little repetitive towards the end.
Recommended for any archaeology fans or anyone with an interest in the Fens.
February 5, 2020
Fascinating Read
As an inhabitant of the Fens it was great to understand more of their history and their resilience. An excellent mix and personal and academic narrative.
As an inhabitant of the Fens it was great to understand more of their history and their resilience. An excellent mix and personal and academic narrative.
October 23, 2023
Intensely and intricately detailed showing the life Francis Pryor has lead & his love of the fascinating Fens. This is really his lifework… giving so much historical accurate detail, a thorough history book of the development of this bleak, brooding, often windswept eastern flatland of the Fens.
Having lived previously on the outskirts for roughly 30 years and having travelled through the Fens and coast many times, this is an area that I have always found peaceful, soul restorative, interesting…..from the smell of the black soil, the straight & often narrow roads seemingly going to the sky’s horizon, the scary dykes over the steep banks, the walks along the coast….. endless sea of the Wash… and never-ending skies….beautiful!
Fascinating detail of Sea Henge at Holme next the Sea…
Gedney Drove End - good to know the meaning of the ‘droves’..
All the information & detail of Fengate, Flag Fen, Etton, Castor…. And more….
A fascinating read & a book to return to from time to time…
Having lived previously on the outskirts for roughly 30 years and having travelled through the Fens and coast many times, this is an area that I have always found peaceful, soul restorative, interesting…..from the smell of the black soil, the straight & often narrow roads seemingly going to the sky’s horizon, the scary dykes over the steep banks, the walks along the coast….. endless sea of the Wash… and never-ending skies….beautiful!
Fascinating detail of Sea Henge at Holme next the Sea…
Gedney Drove End - good to know the meaning of the ‘droves’..
All the information & detail of Fengate, Flag Fen, Etton, Castor…. And more….
A fascinating read & a book to return to from time to time…
February 21, 2020
Absolutely fascinating. I had an extra level of inquisitiveness though as I grew up in and around many of the places mentioned. Well written, so well written I’d look out for other books by the same author.
March 15, 2022
I felt so deeply connected to this book, in a way that I’ve never felt about a book before, fiction or non fiction. It has made me see my hometown in a new light, and I have a new appreciation for fenland and architecture. Just a beautiful and wonderful novel.
August 14, 2021
A fascinating and informative book with a very readable prose style that made it easy for this layperson to comprehend.
February 28, 2022
Really great book about the Fens, archeology and early settlement of East Anglia.
December 24, 2023
absolutely amazing!
November 2, 2019
I've loved the Fens before I knew they were a thing. I lived in Cambridge for over 3 years and did quite a bit of biking in that time to get to know the are north of the city. The flat area peppered with quaint villages and side roads were just the thin to enjoy the sport. Recently, faced with a prospect of moving away I started seeking out books set in the region and, frankly, this one was the first, attracting my gold-fish-level of a brain with its shiny cover. The plan was to keep it and cherish after we'd be gone. I failed, devouring most of it while still around and finishing only the last few chapters when the places have become a nostalgic memory.
The Fens is a book that, I think, you get to write once you've become famous enough that your name will justify publishers dealing with your little pet project. At the face value, this is a boring book that an archaeologist with a love of a region wrote about it. It talks about the bronze age. It talks about drainage, about water and about land that is as flat as they come. And still - pretty much from the get go the author manages to make you feel for the land, perhaps in a similar way that he does. It is the innocent, non-defensive honesty he talks about the melancholic beauty of it, the stories he spins about people and habits long gone. Yes, he realizes there is Scotland with its Highlands, the Lake District with its dramatic scenery. All that is amazing, but his favourite is still this marshy area north east of London.
Francis Pryor spent a lot of time digging around the Fens and his book is, from a large part, built on his knowledge. A lot of chapters deal with prehistory, a change from the "usual" books of popular history, where the more recent the era, the more gets written about it. I enjoyed reading about all the places I used to bike through and felt quite a sense of loss learning how much there was around the area that I had no clue about - of only this book had been published a year earlier. But I keep my hopes up for the future of coming back.
The Fens will not be a book for everyone but if its back cover blurb attracts you even a tiny bit, I highly recommend giving it a go, if nothing else then for experiencing almost a child-like excitement about a topic that's quite mundane at the first sight but deeply important for some.
The Fens is a book that, I think, you get to write once you've become famous enough that your name will justify publishers dealing with your little pet project. At the face value, this is a boring book that an archaeologist with a love of a region wrote about it. It talks about the bronze age. It talks about drainage, about water and about land that is as flat as they come. And still - pretty much from the get go the author manages to make you feel for the land, perhaps in a similar way that he does. It is the innocent, non-defensive honesty he talks about the melancholic beauty of it, the stories he spins about people and habits long gone. Yes, he realizes there is Scotland with its Highlands, the Lake District with its dramatic scenery. All that is amazing, but his favourite is still this marshy area north east of London.
Francis Pryor spent a lot of time digging around the Fens and his book is, from a large part, built on his knowledge. A lot of chapters deal with prehistory, a change from the "usual" books of popular history, where the more recent the era, the more gets written about it. I enjoyed reading about all the places I used to bike through and felt quite a sense of loss learning how much there was around the area that I had no clue about - of only this book had been published a year earlier. But I keep my hopes up for the future of coming back.
The Fens will not be a book for everyone but if its back cover blurb attracts you even a tiny bit, I highly recommend giving it a go, if nothing else then for experiencing almost a child-like excitement about a topic that's quite mundane at the first sight but deeply important for some.
Read
July 17, 2019From BBC radio 4 - Book of the week:
The Fens are a distinctive, complex, man-made and little understood landscape. Francis Pryor has lived in, excavated, farmed, walked and loved the Fens country for more than forty years - its levels and drains, its soaring churches, its magnificent medieval buildings. Interweaving personal experience and passion, the graft and grime of the dig, and lyrical evocations of place, he offers a unique portrait of a neglected but remarkable area of England.
Dr Pryor counterpoints the history of the Fen landscape and its transformation with the story of his own exploration of it as an archaeologist. He recounts his thrilling Bronze Age discoveries in the early 1970s at Fengate and then, a decade later, at Flag Fen near Peterborough - and what those remarkable finds tell us about our ancient ancestors and the way they lived and farmed the land.
We learn how the waterlogged landscape can be a treasure trove for archaeologists and how archaeology has the power to challenge some common misconceptions. Dr Pryor also turns his attention to the future of this low lying area of Eastern England and the challenges we face in preserving it.
Francis Pryor is one of Britain’s most distinguished living archaeologists, specialising in the study of the Bronze and Iron Ages. He has now retired from full-time field archaeology but still appears on television and writes books as well as being a working sheep farmer.
Reader: Sam Dale
Abridger: Libby Spurrier
Producer: Alexa Moore
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000...
The Fens are a distinctive, complex, man-made and little understood landscape. Francis Pryor has lived in, excavated, farmed, walked and loved the Fens country for more than forty years - its levels and drains, its soaring churches, its magnificent medieval buildings. Interweaving personal experience and passion, the graft and grime of the dig, and lyrical evocations of place, he offers a unique portrait of a neglected but remarkable area of England.
Dr Pryor counterpoints the history of the Fen landscape and its transformation with the story of his own exploration of it as an archaeologist. He recounts his thrilling Bronze Age discoveries in the early 1970s at Fengate and then, a decade later, at Flag Fen near Peterborough - and what those remarkable finds tell us about our ancient ancestors and the way they lived and farmed the land.
We learn how the waterlogged landscape can be a treasure trove for archaeologists and how archaeology has the power to challenge some common misconceptions. Dr Pryor also turns his attention to the future of this low lying area of Eastern England and the challenges we face in preserving it.
Francis Pryor is one of Britain’s most distinguished living archaeologists, specialising in the study of the Bronze and Iron Ages. He has now retired from full-time field archaeology but still appears on television and writes books as well as being a working sheep farmer.
Reader: Sam Dale
Abridger: Libby Spurrier
Producer: Alexa Moore
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000...
September 13, 2020
The fens have intrigued me ever since reading Margery Allingham's Mystery Mile with its memorable death by quicksand. Pryor has lived in the fens for forty years and as an archeologist has excavated sites from the Bronze Age forward, so he certainly knows his stuff. Unfortunately, his explanations are unclear (at least to me), and would have benefitted from detailed drawings in some cases (causewayed enclosures with their mysterious gaps, for one). The muddy photographs do not clarify things. On the other hand, Pryor is a likeable companion, and I did enjoy tracking down old Time Team shows on YouTube.
August 27, 2019
A completely fascinating journey through the history of the Fens, written in a personal, accessible style. I did find it frustrating to start with as the structure is not clear, the author doesn’t clarify what it is and it doesn’t become clear for some time, and you do have to allow for some tangential meanderings in terms of subject; but once I had the structural intention fixed, I settled down to an enjoyable and thoughtful read.
January 17, 2021
If you live in the Fens or are a student of archaeology then this should be on your reading list. Sadly I do not fit into either category. I found it overly long and was relieved to get to the last page. There are some interesting observations about pre Roman societies and how life may have developed in the Dark Ages. Let’s hope we can stop the North Sea encroaching the whole area
June 8, 2020
The Fens
Francis Pryor
An utterly compelling book by a man that knows his own country The Fens like the back of his hand and his helped me fall for it from a social distance.
As an archaeologist and a sheep farmer Francis has to get to know the lye of the land. He is digging deep into myths and falsehoods here and exposing plenty of evidence that The Fens was never an empty, wet, waste edgeland but has been a hotbed of settlement and carefully organised agriculture from the earliest of pre history.
Written in such a friendly, welcoming, enticing style, I found the pages skipped by and the nuggets of knowledge took root in my brain. One of the most eminent archaeologists in this country but also a great communicator, Francis Pryor has unwrapped the million acres of The Fens and presented a rich history and prehistory that is central and not peripheral to our understanding of our heritage and inheritance.
As soon as this lockdown is over I want to visit Flag Fen and walk the landscape from which the secrets of Must Farm and Sea Henge were unlocked. I would like to stare up from beneath the endless skies to enjoy Ely Cathedral, or the towering Boston Stump.
Francis allows us to review our views on prehistoric peoples whose solutions to farming management can often be uncannily similar to our own. I was struck by a point he raised regarding the replacement of posts on the iron age site of Fiskerton. They were always replaced in a year of lunar eclipses. Francis Pryor throws to us a really interesting idea why should there not have been people with minds like Einstein or Isaac Newton in pre-literate prehistory?
But I will also be heeding the warnings of Francis, about the Holme Fen posts, that have sunk 13ft and so well below sea-level since being hammered into the ground in the mid 19th century. With sea levels rising the threat to the habitat is both real and happening. Positive steps are being taken with re-wilding and grand projects to join pockets of wetland together. Francis has shown that time and again the people of The Fens have adapted to change in climate and ecology and big change will be around the corner again presenting a major challenge to future generations.
Francis Pryor
An utterly compelling book by a man that knows his own country The Fens like the back of his hand and his helped me fall for it from a social distance.
As an archaeologist and a sheep farmer Francis has to get to know the lye of the land. He is digging deep into myths and falsehoods here and exposing plenty of evidence that The Fens was never an empty, wet, waste edgeland but has been a hotbed of settlement and carefully organised agriculture from the earliest of pre history.
Written in such a friendly, welcoming, enticing style, I found the pages skipped by and the nuggets of knowledge took root in my brain. One of the most eminent archaeologists in this country but also a great communicator, Francis Pryor has unwrapped the million acres of The Fens and presented a rich history and prehistory that is central and not peripheral to our understanding of our heritage and inheritance.
As soon as this lockdown is over I want to visit Flag Fen and walk the landscape from which the secrets of Must Farm and Sea Henge were unlocked. I would like to stare up from beneath the endless skies to enjoy Ely Cathedral, or the towering Boston Stump.
Francis allows us to review our views on prehistoric peoples whose solutions to farming management can often be uncannily similar to our own. I was struck by a point he raised regarding the replacement of posts on the iron age site of Fiskerton. They were always replaced in a year of lunar eclipses. Francis Pryor throws to us a really interesting idea why should there not have been people with minds like Einstein or Isaac Newton in pre-literate prehistory?
But I will also be heeding the warnings of Francis, about the Holme Fen posts, that have sunk 13ft and so well below sea-level since being hammered into the ground in the mid 19th century. With sea levels rising the threat to the habitat is both real and happening. Positive steps are being taken with re-wilding and grand projects to join pockets of wetland together. Francis has shown that time and again the people of The Fens have adapted to change in climate and ecology and big change will be around the corner again presenting a major challenge to future generations.
June 3, 2020
Excellent and interesting book on the Fens, written from an archaeological perspective at base but including a rounded view of multiple disciplines including but not limited to history, geography, social geography, sociology etc., levened with personal and autobiographical details.
I've travelled across the Fens of Eastern England for many years and been fascinated by the landscape, the towns and the history. I've nearly always been travelling through, rather than stopping, mostly on the way to birdwatch or holiday in Norfolk. Flag Fen is definitely worth a visit but it's been a good while since I've been there.
All in all a good read and good enough to make me look out his other books. I'm now reading The Making of the British Landscape with interest, having originally read The great W.G. Hoskins, The Making of the English Landscape as a young man. It fired me up with an interest in that wonderful amalgam of all the subjects around history and landscape and people which I wish I had learnt more about at school!!
I've travelled across the Fens of Eastern England for many years and been fascinated by the landscape, the towns and the history. I've nearly always been travelling through, rather than stopping, mostly on the way to birdwatch or holiday in Norfolk. Flag Fen is definitely worth a visit but it's been a good while since I've been there.
All in all a good read and good enough to make me look out his other books. I'm now reading The Making of the British Landscape with interest, having originally read The great W.G. Hoskins, The Making of the English Landscape as a young man. It fired me up with an interest in that wonderful amalgam of all the subjects around history and landscape and people which I wish I had learnt more about at school!!
May 20, 2021
When I was young I almost moved to the Lincolnshire fens but found them too open, too scary with the flat black earth and huge skies. I came from a landscape of sea and mountains and it was too big a change.
Coming to live in the Cambridgeshire Fens nearly 3 decades later I contextualised where I was by reading local history, studying maps and walking my dog and I fell in love with the Fens - even it's huge sometime oppressive leaden skies.
Reading this book echoed exactly the process I went through and deepened my knowledge and also deepened how I feel about where I live.
I was also amused to read that Mr Pryor also loves bricks....and started his archaeology career digging in Haddenham but makes no mention of the near mythical Haddenham Brick Museum.
This is a well written, semi biography that'll introduce you to one of Englands most interesting landscapes.
Coming to live in the Cambridgeshire Fens nearly 3 decades later I contextualised where I was by reading local history, studying maps and walking my dog and I fell in love with the Fens - even it's huge sometime oppressive leaden skies.
Reading this book echoed exactly the process I went through and deepened my knowledge and also deepened how I feel about where I live.
I was also amused to read that Mr Pryor also loves bricks....and started his archaeology career digging in Haddenham but makes no mention of the near mythical Haddenham Brick Museum.
This is a well written, semi biography that'll introduce you to one of Englands most interesting landscapes.
November 22, 2024
Like the other books I have read by this author, this one is a wonderful blend of personal stories, field work details, speculations and interpretations, and references to his own farming life. All this makes this book easy to read, but hard to categorise. It's not pure archeology or history, it's not an autobiography as such, and it's not a travel journal - but it does contain all elements of these genres.
The Fens in general are an area I am pretty unfamiliar with, but I liked this book, and wished I had read it before my only substantial visit to the area.
A central theme of the book is that there has been continuity of use and substantial economic activity in The Fens for longer than popular 'myth' would credit. In that light, I hope the significant number of recommendations for pubs and chip shop that the book contains still hold true!
A good read. SM
The Fens in general are an area I am pretty unfamiliar with, but I liked this book, and wished I had read it before my only substantial visit to the area.
A central theme of the book is that there has been continuity of use and substantial economic activity in The Fens for longer than popular 'myth' would credit. In that light, I hope the significant number of recommendations for pubs and chip shop that the book contains still hold true!
A good read. SM
June 2, 2020
My reading of this book is coloured by my being a Fenboy, born in the RAF hospital as was in Ely and spending most of my childhood in a nearby village. Now in neighbouring Hertfordshire I find the Fens occupy a powerful place in my imagination. Prehistory and the 'Dark' Ages have always fascinated me as well, and having announced that I was going to be a professor of archeology at 4, this book was always going to be a hit. And what a delight it was too revisiting so many familiar names and places and frequently being surprised by Pryor's insights. He writes with a gentle easygoing turn of phrase but don't let this disguise the fact that there is plenty of meat here. I have learnt much and been entertained, what more could I ask for.
October 21, 2024
The promo blurb and quotes on the cover of my edition would lead you to believe this was primarily a book about the romance of the unique landscape of the Fens - moonlight shimmering on misty meres and the like. A love of place and landscape does shine through these pages, but it is mainly a book about digging stuff up - the world of the archaeologist and what it tells us about the prehistory, history, and spirit of the Fens. Francis Pryor is a likeable guide to these topics.
The first half focuses on Pryor's specialism of prehistory, mixing a fair bit of autobiography into discussing his experience of excavating Bronze and Iron Age sites around the Fens and what was learned along the way. The second half skates through the history of the Fens from Roman times up to the twentieth century mostly by introducing us to buildings and places he loves that connect to different periods throughout this range. His interest is in what places say about how people and communities lived - for example, their farming or religious practices. Don't read this expecting lots of narrative or political history.
It's a book that gets its hands dirty, literally, with the detail of the archaeological and historical process. I enjoyed connections to places I know (as a Fen Edge dweller) and some of Pryor's insights, like his thesis that the Fens have, for as far back as you care to go, been a busy and economically productive place and not, as they are often perceived, just wild, peripheral marshlands. He also charts how the inhabitants of the Fens have always adapted to a changing environment, particularly the rise and fall of water levels. In that is a tiny note of optimism to set against the impending climate emergency that he identifies as he concludes with a stark assessment of the inevitability of managed retreat from parts of the region due to rising sea levels.
This is a bit of a niche read, but I'd recommend it if you're interested in any or all of archaeology, environmental or economic history, or the Fenlands themselves - the book is saturated with the love that Pryor has developed for the area through his work and life.
The first half focuses on Pryor's specialism of prehistory, mixing a fair bit of autobiography into discussing his experience of excavating Bronze and Iron Age sites around the Fens and what was learned along the way. The second half skates through the history of the Fens from Roman times up to the twentieth century mostly by introducing us to buildings and places he loves that connect to different periods throughout this range. His interest is in what places say about how people and communities lived - for example, their farming or religious practices. Don't read this expecting lots of narrative or political history.
It's a book that gets its hands dirty, literally, with the detail of the archaeological and historical process. I enjoyed connections to places I know (as a Fen Edge dweller) and some of Pryor's insights, like his thesis that the Fens have, for as far back as you care to go, been a busy and economically productive place and not, as they are often perceived, just wild, peripheral marshlands. He also charts how the inhabitants of the Fens have always adapted to a changing environment, particularly the rise and fall of water levels. In that is a tiny note of optimism to set against the impending climate emergency that he identifies as he concludes with a stark assessment of the inevitability of managed retreat from parts of the region due to rising sea levels.
This is a bit of a niche read, but I'd recommend it if you're interested in any or all of archaeology, environmental or economic history, or the Fenlands themselves - the book is saturated with the love that Pryor has developed for the area through his work and life.
December 8, 2020
A wonderful hymn to the beauty of the East coast fens told by someone who has lived and worked in them for over forty years. Pryor's enchanted and enchanting account blends prehistory, archaeology, botany, geography and land management with natural history and architecture. The only down-side is the illustrations which are fuzzy black and white photos printed on the page paper; glossy inserts would have done his lovely sweeping discussions more justice, as would a decent map. But read it for the obvious yearning Pryor has for this landscape and the mass of fascinating detail he crams in.
March 25, 2021
A love letter to the Fens
I spent a few years living in the fens and adjacent areas, in Ramsey, Chatteris and Saint Ives, and I dearly wish this book had been written then. Essential for anyone visiting or living in the area, or for anyone who has an appreciation for this unique region and the people who have lived there for centuries. Mixing history, archeology, anecdote and memoir Francis Pryor writes exceptionally well and supports his writing with deep knowledge, wit, empathy and compassion. Hugely recommended.
I spent a few years living in the fens and adjacent areas, in Ramsey, Chatteris and Saint Ives, and I dearly wish this book had been written then. Essential for anyone visiting or living in the area, or for anyone who has an appreciation for this unique region and the people who have lived there for centuries. Mixing history, archeology, anecdote and memoir Francis Pryor writes exceptionally well and supports his writing with deep knowledge, wit, empathy and compassion. Hugely recommended.
July 12, 2021
Pryor’s archaeological expertise intertwined with his personal account of living and working in the Fens makes for a fascinating read. Having grown up in Gedney, I appreciated his insights and knowledge: the book is a rich learning experience. Given his love of the many fine parish churches, Gedney church (‘the cathedral of the Fens’) would be a worthy addition to his descriptions of those at Long Sutton, Holbeach and Spalding.
March 13, 2022
I come from the Fens so I enjoyed this book especially. It had meaning for me as I was born in the midwife's house next door to the Spade and Shovel in Eye which was the author's favourite pub! The first half of the book went into detail on the archaeology of the land and Flag Fen where I had visited. The second half was more about buildings which I could relate to and was especially interesting. The rules of Spalding Gentlemen's Society were quite an eye opener!
July 9, 2022
An absolutely fascinating journey of the history, archeology and uniqueness of the fens. I learned so much about an area in the past I’ve found “flat and featureless”. Pryor weaves the story of his live in the fens along with the chronological history that makes it a flowing read.
I now see the fens in a completely different light and will visit them more frequently now, not just drive through them.
I now see the fens in a completely different light and will visit them more frequently now, not just drive through them.
October 7, 2025
Best historical context of the fens I’ve come across- covering a vast amount of time and space. whoda thought we’ve been ticking along being an rich and advanced civilisation while people wonder if anyone l actually lived here? The star lost here is from the times I nodded off while reading- the sort where I really wanna know the content but takes some concentration to absorb it. full rant @a_fen_bookshelf on Instagram
April 14, 2020
I gave this 3 stars only from my enjoyment point of view as this book is extremely well researched and well written. I bought this thinking it was more social history and probably wouldn't have had I realised that it was more about archeology. Still, I'm glad I read it, even if it was slightly more informational about digs and waterlogged archeology than I needed.
July 4, 2020
I love the Fens, I love history, particularly history of landscapes with names, archaeology and good writing. This has all that.
From the opening words he evokes the feeling you get being under these huge skies and total horizon (that took me a decade to get used to). Part memoir, part archaeology, I loved this.
From the opening words he evokes the feeling you get being under these huge skies and total horizon (that took me a decade to get used to). Part memoir, part archaeology, I loved this.
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