The medieval Fenland

244 Pages·11.614 MB·English

by  Darby, H. C

Medieval
Fenland
H.C.Darby
This classic study of the economic devel-
opment and geography of the 1,300 square
miles of Britain’s Fenland is now re-issued
with a new preface by the author.
The vast horizon of the Fens appeals to the
imagination of many people, and its geog-
raphy and exploitation by man are deeply
interesting. This thorough examination of
the two phases in the exploitation of the
Fens, the pre-drainage and the post-drain-
age periods, each with their distinctive
economy, is an indispensable authority to
the serious student of the ‘Great Marsh’ of
Lincolnshire, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire.
_ The story starts with pre-Domesday Fen-
land and its condition in Roman and Anglo-
Saxon times. The fishing, agriculture and
other occupations and the communications
of Domesday times are examined, and the
information given by Domesday statistics
and by fourteenth-century statistics is com-
pale showing the remarkable rise in pros-
perity the Fenland achieved. The chapter
on the care of banks and channels, ‘the
determining factor in the economy of the
_ Fenland during the later Middle Ages’, con-
_ cludes the book.
z:H . C. Darby is Professor of Geog Biv at
§ the University of Cambridge. He rds many
publications including An Historical Geog-
raphy of England before AD 1800, The Cam-
bridge Region, The Draining of the Fens,
The University Atlas (in association), The
_ New Cambridge Modern History Atlas (in
_ association). He is also general editor of
and a contributor to The Domesday Geog-
aphy of England. He lives in Cambridge.
£4.25 net
SBN 0 7153 5919 3 In UK only
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‘H. C./DARBY
Fellow of King’s College, and
Professor of Geography in the University
of Cambridge
HARLAXTON COLLEGE Li
HARLAXTON MANOR
GRANTHAM, LINCS.
6 [David & Charles /
Newton Abbot
1(197(
0 7153 5919 3
First published in 1940
Reprinted by permission of The Cambridge
University Press 1974
© H. C. Darby 1940, 1974
All rights reserved. No part of this
publication may be reproduced, stored
in a retrieval system, or transmitted,
in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or
otherwise, without the prior permission
of David & Charles (Holdings) Limited
Printed in Great Britain
by Redwood Burn Limited, Trowbridge & Esher
for David & Charles (Publishers) Limited
South Devon House Newton Abbot Devon