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The Making of the British Landscape: How We Have Transformed the Land, from Prehistory to Today
This is the changing story of Britain as it has been preserved in our fields, roads, buildings, towns and villages, mountains, forests and islands. From our suburban streets that still trace out the boundaries of long vanished farms to the Norfolk Broads, formed when medieval peat pits flooded, from the ceremonial landscapes of Stonehenge to the spread of the railways - evidence of how man's effect on Britain is everywhere. In "The Making of the British Landscape", eminent historian, archaeologist and farmer, Francis Pryor explains how to read these clues to understand the fascinating history of our land and of how people have lived on it throughout time. Covering both the urban and rural and packed with pictures, maps and drawings showing everything from how we can still pick out Bronze Age fields on Bodmin Moor to how the Industrial Revolution really changed our landscape, this book makes us look afresh at our surroundings and really see them for the first time.
848 pages, Hardcover
First published June 3, 2010
41 people are currently reading
371 people want to read
About the author
Francis Pryor
36 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 - 20 of 20 reviews
December 12, 2016
I have a personally signed copy that I purchased during a visit to Flag Fen. Now to get around to reading the damn thing.
And get around to reading the damned thing I have so with that all I can say is what a fantastic read.
In chronological order Pryor has presented an excellent general reading of the ever changing British landscape. Easy to read with clear and concise case studies in each and every chapter this is a very good book indeed. From the end of the Ice age through to the modern issues of the building of Motorways and shopping centres Pryor has delved into all areas. From plague to town planning he has shown a Britain of human intervention in just about every part of its landscape. He has backed his prose with fantastic colour plates and illustrations throughout. The footnotes, Further Reading and Research, List of Reference and Glossary are as they should be, the best quality. For what he presented in the preface as a general study Pryor has done a remarkable job on what is a huge subject. What I also liked was the personal opinions he put in to the writing. One can feel his passion for the subject, a newish subject for himself as he readily admits. Chapter 15 Sat Nav Britain: What Future for the Landscape was full of his passionate opinions and agree or disagree I would suggest it is no bad thing at all that Britain has someone of his standing making the issues known.
Prior to reading this book my thoughts of Landscape as a subject tended towards the rural aspects of life, think of a Constable painting for example. I had never really put the term Landscape into how humans made it what it was, be that either rural or urban or from agricultural through to industrial. This book has changed the way I look at my surrounds, what I see on a day to day basis be that going for a morning walk in my local forest or taking my car to the shopping centre. To have such a sudden profound influence on my everyday viewing of my surrounds is no mean feat. This is as influential a book on me personally that I have ever read. The crazy thing is that I am an infrequent visitor to Britain, living in Brisbane Queensland Australia.
During the reading of this I was asked “Might you re-purpose "The Making of the British Landscape" as research for a rural holiday?” This was an excellent question and my response was that with my visits to Britain being only about once every 5 years I had always tried to take in various sites and scenes based on my previous historical reading. That on my next visit I would be looking for a battered old paperback copy to take with me. But what else I thought after could one take. Pryor has, at the end of the book, added a two page chapter called Books to keep in the car boot. What a great resource.
As mentioned not being in Britain it has made me think that there is a need for similar book about my local surrounds. If I could find anything even half as good as this I would be very happy indeed. With that thought I think that it is books like this that makes Britain so attractive to the visitor. There have been a long list of authors who write with great insight and passion about its history and its landscape. I would add anything by Francis Pryor to that long list. Grab this book and his car boot list and let British landscape and its history take you on a great big adventure.
And get around to reading the damned thing I have so with that all I can say is what a fantastic read.
In chronological order Pryor has presented an excellent general reading of the ever changing British landscape. Easy to read with clear and concise case studies in each and every chapter this is a very good book indeed. From the end of the Ice age through to the modern issues of the building of Motorways and shopping centres Pryor has delved into all areas. From plague to town planning he has shown a Britain of human intervention in just about every part of its landscape. He has backed his prose with fantastic colour plates and illustrations throughout. The footnotes, Further Reading and Research, List of Reference and Glossary are as they should be, the best quality. For what he presented in the preface as a general study Pryor has done a remarkable job on what is a huge subject. What I also liked was the personal opinions he put in to the writing. One can feel his passion for the subject, a newish subject for himself as he readily admits. Chapter 15 Sat Nav Britain: What Future for the Landscape was full of his passionate opinions and agree or disagree I would suggest it is no bad thing at all that Britain has someone of his standing making the issues known.
Prior to reading this book my thoughts of Landscape as a subject tended towards the rural aspects of life, think of a Constable painting for example. I had never really put the term Landscape into how humans made it what it was, be that either rural or urban or from agricultural through to industrial. This book has changed the way I look at my surrounds, what I see on a day to day basis be that going for a morning walk in my local forest or taking my car to the shopping centre. To have such a sudden profound influence on my everyday viewing of my surrounds is no mean feat. This is as influential a book on me personally that I have ever read. The crazy thing is that I am an infrequent visitor to Britain, living in Brisbane Queensland Australia.
During the reading of this I was asked “Might you re-purpose "The Making of the British Landscape" as research for a rural holiday?” This was an excellent question and my response was that with my visits to Britain being only about once every 5 years I had always tried to take in various sites and scenes based on my previous historical reading. That on my next visit I would be looking for a battered old paperback copy to take with me. But what else I thought after could one take. Pryor has, at the end of the book, added a two page chapter called Books to keep in the car boot. What a great resource.
As mentioned not being in Britain it has made me think that there is a need for similar book about my local surrounds. If I could find anything even half as good as this I would be very happy indeed. With that thought I think that it is books like this that makes Britain so attractive to the visitor. There have been a long list of authors who write with great insight and passion about its history and its landscape. I would add anything by Francis Pryor to that long list. Grab this book and his car boot list and let British landscape and its history take you on a great big adventure.
June 27, 2023
A history of Britain told through its landscape. It’s chronological rather than by type of change.
Most useful was having prehistory in order. My knowledge of this mainly comes from various Time Team episodes and if something’s 2500 BC or 1000 BC the numbers are just to big to really mean anything outside a chronological framework. Most interesting was his discussion of soil types. I know that sounds rather uninteresting, but I’d never really thought of soil types as a factor affecting history. I suppose that’s the benefit of having a historian who is also a farmer.
This is an exceptionally long book. It’s a long story, but it is a major undertaking and if you’re on a subject that doesn’t much interest you… However, Pryor writes like his speaks, in an idiosyncratic way, assertive and engaging, and that should carry you through. Will read some of his other books, but perhaps something more targeted in time period, and shorter please. I’m in my forties and keep looking at the clock.
Most useful was having prehistory in order. My knowledge of this mainly comes from various Time Team episodes and if something’s 2500 BC or 1000 BC the numbers are just to big to really mean anything outside a chronological framework. Most interesting was his discussion of soil types. I know that sounds rather uninteresting, but I’d never really thought of soil types as a factor affecting history. I suppose that’s the benefit of having a historian who is also a farmer.
This is an exceptionally long book. It’s a long story, but it is a major undertaking and if you’re on a subject that doesn’t much interest you… However, Pryor writes like his speaks, in an idiosyncratic way, assertive and engaging, and that should carry you through. Will read some of his other books, but perhaps something more targeted in time period, and shorter please. I’m in my forties and keep looking at the clock.
August 21, 2012
I would have loved to have given this 5 stars as it is such an interesting, readable book. It whetted my appetite to visit so many places. The last two chapters are a badly written rant, however, and this lets the book down. This stream of consciousness, grumpy old man section should have been cut before publication. Then it would have merited 5* easily.
May 15, 2015
I guess you would have to be something of a history nerd (and probably British) to have any interest in this tome, but Pryor writes a detailed, highly readable and engaging history of the British landscape. I have to say that I found the prehistory chapters of the book (and prehistory is Pryor's speciality) to be particularly interesting. I have not really taken that much interest in it before, partly, I suspect, since there is less obvious evidence of it on the ground and, of course, no written historical record. However, if one knows where to look and what to look for... I was surprised, too, at the number of barrows and standing stones on the British landscape; people tend to, quite naturally, focus on Stonehenge and Sutton Hoo and forget that there are so many more stones, henges and barrows off the international tourist trail. I also enjoyed reading about the so-called Dark Ages and how misleading that term is. The later chapters, regarding modern farming, climate change and house-building for an ever-growing population made uncomfortable reading. The planet is, essentially, stuffed, and the British Isles will be getting smaller in the not-too-distant. To sum up, a fascinating read. I will definitely be adding further Pryor tomes to my to-read list.
December 9, 2016
Read this book to understand better the relationship between man, the landscape, communities and economies. Living in Australia is very individualistic. Driving about in cars everywhere expected to chase jobs around the country to end up living miles away from where you grew up and from family. I feel a disconnection between each other and the landscape. This detailed book was a slug but it was a wonderful history of man coming together to form communities and build economies told through the transformation of the landscape.
November 9, 2025
Francis Pryor has written several books of popular archaeology and this book about the British Landscape starts very much in archaeological mode, as there is so little evidence of Neolithic landscapes when the evidence is “light” and so much overlays that evidence in most locations.
I am torn over how to rate this. Overall, the first half to two thirds of the book is a good book, but it would have benefited substantially from more critical editing to clearly bring out the major developments as time passed. Instead, there are hundreds of interesting facts, derivations of words and explanations of landscape features, but they are higgledy piggledy within the chapters which denote time periods.
The author can also be lecturing, and opinionated. At times, I welcomed this challenging of the reader into thinking about the author’s views. As an example of opinion:
Britain has made at least two major contributions to world art. The first was the insular development of Celtic Art in the last two centuries of the Iron Age and the second was the country house with its landscaped parks and gardens.
However as the book approaches the contemporary, the challenges became more tiresome.
As I got towards the end of the book, I wanted the author to hurry up and finish! The book becomes even more higgledy piggledy, with seemingly every landscape feature being mentioned with little critical guidance on what value to place on developments. This might be the point,but it just feels as if the kitchen sink is being added for completeness. There is also repeated repetition of the same examples, with repeated explanations, which bloated the last chapters.
The final couple of chapters also read much more like personal opinion than considered analysis, and I ended up skimming the paragraphs.
There are plentiful illustrations and plans that complement the text.
I am torn over how to rate this. Overall, the first half to two thirds of the book is a good book, but it would have benefited substantially from more critical editing to clearly bring out the major developments as time passed. Instead, there are hundreds of interesting facts, derivations of words and explanations of landscape features, but they are higgledy piggledy within the chapters which denote time periods.
The author can also be lecturing, and opinionated. At times, I welcomed this challenging of the reader into thinking about the author’s views. As an example of opinion:
Britain has made at least two major contributions to world art. The first was the insular development of Celtic Art in the last two centuries of the Iron Age and the second was the country house with its landscaped parks and gardens.
However as the book approaches the contemporary, the challenges became more tiresome.
As I got towards the end of the book, I wanted the author to hurry up and finish! The book becomes even more higgledy piggledy, with seemingly every landscape feature being mentioned with little critical guidance on what value to place on developments. This might be the point,but it just feels as if the kitchen sink is being added for completeness. There is also repeated repetition of the same examples, with repeated explanations, which bloated the last chapters.
The final couple of chapters also read much more like personal opinion than considered analysis, and I ended up skimming the paragraphs.
There are plentiful illustrations and plans that complement the text.
November 18, 2023
This is a much better book than Nicolas Crane's book of the same title. It is well written, authoritative and well illustrated with clear maps, diagrams and graphs, though admittedly some of the black-and-white photos are a bit sub-standard.
There are a few faults, including some curious little errors. For instance, in discussing water mills the term 'tail-race' is used repeatedly where 'head-race' is meant. The strangest mistake is probably the identification of the South Scree at Langdale as a waterfall in the caption to Fig 2.6.
Pryor is naturally at his strongest where he is discussing his own areas of expertise - prehistory and livestock farming in the east of England - but he makes a good job of the broader picture and has some trenchant remarks on the modern landscape and current (as in 2010) directions. There are only a few minor cavils. In discussing 'modern techniques' in archaeology (16-18) he only discusses aerial survey, which is important but hardly the only modern technique of significance. Some of the discussion of the Iron Age and hillforts (e.g. 142-7) is suspect and Pryor clings to the view, expressed in a Time Team programme some years ago, that the very unusual enclosure at Low Hamsterley in County Durham is an Iron Age hillfort (146-7). I don't believe that there is any compelling evidence for this and Low Hamsterley is best regarded as undated, though a post-Roman or early medieval origin seems possible.
Finally, I very much like the quotation from Sir Harry Godwin in the Preface: 'any fool can appreciate mountain scenery but it takes a man of discernment to appreciate the Fens'. I will bear that in mind next time I visit the Fen country.
There are a few faults, including some curious little errors. For instance, in discussing water mills the term 'tail-race' is used repeatedly where 'head-race' is meant. The strangest mistake is probably the identification of the South Scree at Langdale as a waterfall in the caption to Fig 2.6.
Pryor is naturally at his strongest where he is discussing his own areas of expertise - prehistory and livestock farming in the east of England - but he makes a good job of the broader picture and has some trenchant remarks on the modern landscape and current (as in 2010) directions. There are only a few minor cavils. In discussing 'modern techniques' in archaeology (16-18) he only discusses aerial survey, which is important but hardly the only modern technique of significance. Some of the discussion of the Iron Age and hillforts (e.g. 142-7) is suspect and Pryor clings to the view, expressed in a Time Team programme some years ago, that the very unusual enclosure at Low Hamsterley in County Durham is an Iron Age hillfort (146-7). I don't believe that there is any compelling evidence for this and Low Hamsterley is best regarded as undated, though a post-Roman or early medieval origin seems possible.
Finally, I very much like the quotation from Sir Harry Godwin in the Preface: 'any fool can appreciate mountain scenery but it takes a man of discernment to appreciate the Fens'. I will bear that in mind next time I visit the Fen country.
July 7, 2020
Comprehensive and excellent book on landscape and history
I saw this as an update to Prof WG Hoskins' much-loved and much-read Making of the English Landscape but it's considerably more than that. There is plenty here if you are interested in this subject, as I am. It is certainly comprehensive and well-researched and takes a more modern and developed view of landscape and history as a practical and everyday subject. I like this book a lot but there's certainly plenty of it and I have chipped away gradually and read it all. It will certainly make me visit quite a few new places.
I saw this as an update to Prof WG Hoskins' much-loved and much-read Making of the English Landscape but it's considerably more than that. There is plenty here if you are interested in this subject, as I am. It is certainly comprehensive and well-researched and takes a more modern and developed view of landscape and history as a practical and everyday subject. I like this book a lot but there's certainly plenty of it and I have chipped away gradually and read it all. It will certainly make me visit quite a few new places.
July 18, 2025
A v detailed and comprehensive account of the development of the British Landscape throughout the ages. The book was first published in 2010 so towards the end it did seem a little dated e.g. we have exited the EU since and the extent that onshore wind, pylons and the introduction of electiric cars have all happened since.
June 28, 2020
Dull, dull, dull. Pryor is incapable of writing a truly interesting sentence. He kills his subject.
December 20, 2020
I ground to a halt around the end of the Middle Ages - no reflection on the book, which is a very good overview, but my interests lie to the earlier periods.
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June 1, 2022Archaeology. The Enclosures. Stonehenge. Industrial Revolution. Urban planning.
January 7, 2024
A slipshod version of the original 'The Making of the English Landscape' by WG Hoskins.
July 23, 2024
Good indepth look at the natural and man-made landscape and our impact.
October 25, 2012
This is one of those books, like the Cloud Spotters Guide or Earth by Richard Fortey, that makes you see familiar things afresh. It presents the history of Britain, not as a series of dynasties or invasions, but as an unbroken continuum of ordinary people in the landscape from the bronze age right up to the present day. As long as you don't mind the less objective tone of the chapters covering the 20th century this is well worth a look.
April 15, 2013
I would recommend this to anyone who really doesn't know much about archaeology or landscapes of Britain - I ploughed through it and mostly thought it was very well-written and interesting, learnt tons I didn't know and put a lot more in context...it took a long time, but i enjoyed reading it in patches.
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June 9, 2011Love anything by Francis Pryor. If you are interested in Britain and/or archaeology and history, he's a must-read author. GREAT, GREAT BOOK!!!
June 6, 2020
My bible!
August 25, 2015
Loved it. Wonderful archaeological and historical detail.
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May 14, 2014I thought the Prehistory parts were excellent but it got really boring by the Middle Ages.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews