Informative, vivid and richly illustrated, this volume explores the history of England's northern borders – the former counties of Northumberland, Cumberland, Durham, Westmorland and the Furness areas of Lancashire – across 1000 years. The book explores every aspect of this changing scene, from the towns and poor upland farms of early modern Cumbria to life in the teeming communities of late Victorian Tyneside. In their final chapters the authors review the modern decline of these traditional industries and the erosion of many of the region's historical characteristics.
"The Northern Counties to AD 1000 deals with the prehistory and early history of the most northerly region of England, covering the historical counties of Northumberland, Durham, Cumberland, Westmorland and Lancashire north of the Sands. The greater part of the source material derives, from archaeological or palaeoenvironmental research, though there are more conventional historical sources for the interlude of the Roman occupation and for the golden age of Anglo-Saxon Northumbria and its aftermath, with which the volume closes. Dr Higham has not been content solely to organise evidence into the usual framework of successive human cultures; rather, he has preferred to concentrate on the ways the local community adapted itself to changing environmental conditions, and changing technological and social possibilities. He also makes the underlying assumption of the genetic continuity of this population from the late mesolithic onwards, despite the impact of the specific migrations which demonstrably took place. In addition he shows how changing climatic and environmental conditions acted as a catalyst between human population levels, the demands made by man, and the environment on which those demands were made. In doing so, he stresses the responsibility of man for impoverishing that environment."--
Wessex -- the ancient counties of Dorset, Somerset, Wiltshire, Hampshire and Berkshire -- is remarkable for its economic and social cohesion as a region, and for the extraordinary wealth of its ancient remains. In this authoritative survey, Barry Cunliffe sets the great monuments and famous sites in their full cultural context. His chief concern, however, is to interpret the landscape of the region, and the people who over so many centuries created it. In his hands it becomes an archaeological artefact as eloquent as Avebury and Stonehenge themselves.
A volume dealing with the regional and local history of South East England, this covers the landcape and society of the modern counties of Surrey, Kent, East and West Sussex and Greater London, south of the Thames from late Anglo-Saxon times to the present. The authors have tried to show the diversity that can be found within the region as well as common characteristics which illustrate the local peculiarities of the area. The works in the series offer a synthesis of both historical and archaeological work in local areas. Each region is covered in two linked but independent volumes, the first covering the period up to AD 1000 and necessarily relying on archaeological data, and the second bringing the story up to modern times. It aims to portray life as it was experienced by the majority of people of South Britain or England as it was to become. The authors look at the major historical events which have an impact on the reagion - wars, plagues, technological changes and socio-cultural trends amongst them - but they also stress the underlying continuity of rural and urban life.
This series, fully illustrated with maps and half-tones, is written for general readers as well as the student. In illuminating the anonymous lives of our predecessors it will, when complete, substantially enrich our understanding of the many histories which together make up the history of England. This authoritative volume surveys the modern history of the counties of Lancashire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester and Cheshire. In 1540 this was a backward area, poor, underpopulated and conservative. During the seventeenth and early eighteenth century the spread of the first cottage industries to the mills and the mines transformed the region into one of the engines of Britain's nineteenth-century greatness. The causes, the costs and the consequences of that transformation are vividly portrayed in this very readable text. Offers a succinct account and analysis of the first region to experience the developed factory system. Discusses the rise, dominance and decline of the region which has parallels across the country and the world. Provides essential background text for the students of local history. Assumes no previous knowledge of the region.
A unique and detailed history of the south-west of England written in a clear and accessible style. A wondeful resource for any local historian. -- Amazon.com.
This fully revised and updated new edition, extended to cover the period up to 1914, provides the ultimate introduction to British history between the end of the Napoleonic Wars and the outbreak of the First World War.
