
Fen and Sea
The Landscapes of South-east Lincolnshire AD 500-1700
I.G. Simmons(Author)
Windgather Press
Published on 15. November 2021
Book
Paperback/Softback
240 pages
978-1-911188-96-4 (ISBN)
Description
Renowned environmental historian I.G. Simmons synthesises detailed research into the landscape history of the coastal area of Lincolnshire between Boston and Skegness and its hinterland of Tofts, Low Grounds and Fen as far as the Wolds. With many excellent illustrations Simmons chronicles the ways in which this low coast, backed by a wet fen, has been managed to display a set of landscapes which have significant differences that contradict the common terminology of uniformity, calling the area 'flat' or referring to everywhere from Cleethorpes to King's Lynn as 'the fens'.
These usually labelled 'flat' areas of East Lincolnshire between Mablethorpe and Boston are in fact a mosaic of subtly different landscapes. They have become that way largely due to the human influences derived from agriculture and industry. Between the beginning of Norman rule and the advent of pumped drainage, a number of significant changes took place.
The author has accumulated information from Roman times until the beginnings of fossil-fuel powered drainage, bringing together both scientific data and documentary evidence including medieval and early modern documents from the National Archive, Lincolnshire Archives, Bethlem Hospital and Magdalen College, Oxford, to explore the little-known archives of regional interest.
These usually labelled 'flat' areas of East Lincolnshire between Mablethorpe and Boston are in fact a mosaic of subtly different landscapes. They have become that way largely due to the human influences derived from agriculture and industry. Between the beginning of Norman rule and the advent of pumped drainage, a number of significant changes took place.
The author has accumulated information from Roman times until the beginnings of fossil-fuel powered drainage, bringing together both scientific data and documentary evidence including medieval and early modern documents from the National Archive, Lincolnshire Archives, Bethlem Hospital and Magdalen College, Oxford, to explore the little-known archives of regional interest.
Reviews / Votes
[A] particularly strong feature is the use of extracts from primary sources that bring the landscape - and the people who managed it - to life. * Medieval Archaeology * This is a rich and complex book ... worth persisting with, which tells a fascinating story of the evolution of part of the Lincolnshire landscape. * Lincolnshire Past & Present * [T]his is a useful and highly accessible piece of landscape history that emphasises the richness and variety of an often overlooked and undervalued landscape. * Current Archaeology *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Macclesfield
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Illustrations
B/w and colour
Dimensions
Height: 244 mm
Width: 183 mm
Thickness: 13 mm
Weight
699 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-911188-96-4 (9781911188964)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
12/2021
OXBOW BOOKS
€25.99
Available for download

E-Book
12/2021
Oxbow Books
€25.99
Available for download
Person
Ian Simmons retired from the University of Durham in 2001 and applied himself to the landscape history of the area to which he had been a wartime evacuee. This required different skills from the palynology of earlier years and he was grateful for help with both finance and the interpretation of documents from a number of archives. A number of papers in journals have appeared as well as this book.
Content
List of Illustrations
List of Plates
List of Tables
Preface
Acknowledgements
Note on Sources
Abbreviations
Scope and Direction
Part 1: Before Domesday
Part 2: The Manor and the Land
Part 3: The High Middle Ages 1300-1500
Part 4: Medieval to Early Modern 1500-1700
Part 5: Some Contexts
Appendix: The Wainfleet Custumal
Bibliography
List of Plates
List of Tables
Preface
Acknowledgements
Note on Sources
Abbreviations
Scope and Direction
Part 1: Before Domesday
Part 2: The Manor and the Land
Part 3: The High Middle Ages 1300-1500
Part 4: Medieval to Early Modern 1500-1700
Part 5: Some Contexts
Appendix: The Wainfleet Custumal
Bibliography