The Williamson Collection
Key Papers by Archaeologist and Historian Tom Williamson on the History and Development of the British Medieval Landscape
Will be published approx. on 31. August 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
240 pages
979-8-88857-261-0 (ISBN)
Description
Tom Williamson is a landscape historian and archaeologist whose wide ranging interests have long placed him at the forefront of research into many aspects of the English countryside from the Iron Age to the post-medieval period. His interests include the origins and development of systems of territorial organisation in early England; the history of trees and woodlands; medieval field systems and settlement patterns; and post-medieval estate landscapes and agricultural 'improvement'. This volume in our new Reflections series re-presents some of his most important chapters published in our Windgather Press imprint, which is devoted to a broad brushstroke approach to landscape studies, and celebrates his contribution to our understanding of the development of the English countryside. Each chapter includes a new introduction by the author.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Illustrations
60 B/W illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
ISBN-13
979-8-88857-261-0 (9798888572610)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Tom Williamson is Emeritus Professor of Landscape History at the University of East Anglia and has written widely on landscape archaeology, environmental history and the history of landscape design.
Content
Sources
Editorial note
Preface
Part 1. Fields and settlements
1. The distribution of 'woodland' and 'champion' landscapes in medieval England (from S. Rippon and M. Gardiner (eds), Medieval Landscapes. 2007)
2. Village, farm and hamlet (with Andrew Macnair and Anne Rowe, from A. Macnair, A. Rowe and T. Williamson, Dury and Andrews' Map of Hertfordshire: Society and landscape in the eighteenth century. 2016)
3. 'Floating' in context: meadows in the long term (from H. Cook and T. Williamson (eds), Water Meadows: history, ecology and conservation. 2007)
4. Understanding enclosure (from Landscapes 1(1). 2000)
5. Conclusions (with Gerry Barnes, from G. Barnes and T. Williamson, Hedgerow History: ecology, history and landscape character. 2008)
Part 2. Landscapes designed and experienced
6. Designed landscapes: the regional dimension (from Landscapes 5(2). 2004)
7. The triumph of the park (from Suffolk's Gardens and Parks: designed landscapes from the Tudors to the Victorians. 2000)
8. The Wuffingas' River (from Sutton Hoo and its Landscape: the context of monuments. 2008)
9. Hill figures in the landscape: contexts, survival and function (from M.J. Allen (ed.), A Date with the Two Cerne Giants: reinvestigating an iconic British hill figure. 2024)
Part 3. Inventing and conserving the rural past
10. Commons and communities and Conclusion (from The Landscapes of Common Land: history and ecology in Norfolk and beyond. 2025)
11. The importance of orchards: culture and history and Afterword (with Gerry Barnes, from G. Barnes and T. Williamson, English Orchards: a landscape history. 2022)
Editorial note
Preface
Part 1. Fields and settlements
1. The distribution of 'woodland' and 'champion' landscapes in medieval England (from S. Rippon and M. Gardiner (eds), Medieval Landscapes. 2007)
2. Village, farm and hamlet (with Andrew Macnair and Anne Rowe, from A. Macnair, A. Rowe and T. Williamson, Dury and Andrews' Map of Hertfordshire: Society and landscape in the eighteenth century. 2016)
3. 'Floating' in context: meadows in the long term (from H. Cook and T. Williamson (eds), Water Meadows: history, ecology and conservation. 2007)
4. Understanding enclosure (from Landscapes 1(1). 2000)
5. Conclusions (with Gerry Barnes, from G. Barnes and T. Williamson, Hedgerow History: ecology, history and landscape character. 2008)
Part 2. Landscapes designed and experienced
6. Designed landscapes: the regional dimension (from Landscapes 5(2). 2004)
7. The triumph of the park (from Suffolk's Gardens and Parks: designed landscapes from the Tudors to the Victorians. 2000)
8. The Wuffingas' River (from Sutton Hoo and its Landscape: the context of monuments. 2008)
9. Hill figures in the landscape: contexts, survival and function (from M.J. Allen (ed.), A Date with the Two Cerne Giants: reinvestigating an iconic British hill figure. 2024)
Part 3. Inventing and conserving the rural past
10. Commons and communities and Conclusion (from The Landscapes of Common Land: history and ecology in Norfolk and beyond. 2025)
11. The importance of orchards: culture and history and Afterword (with Gerry Barnes, from G. Barnes and T. Williamson, English Orchards: a landscape history. 2022)