Discovering Past Landscapes

First published in 1984, Discovering Past Landscapes explores mapping techniques as tools for studying landscape change. The book examines how to create maps from specific documentary sources—agricultural statistics, tithe files, probate inventories, and Anglo-Saxon estate boundary surveys. It also demonstrates how to compile maps from diverse sources of every kind, illustrating themes and processes such as industrialisation, Parliamentary enclosure, early modern town topography, and medieval settlement patterns.

The chapters are arranged in reverse chronological order, beginning with contemporary and nineteenth-century documents before moving to medieval sources. This approach allows readers to start with well-documented, familiar landscapes and work backward into progressively less-known terrain—a more reliable method than beginning in an unfamiliar medieval world and moving forward. This book will be a valuable read for students and researchers of geography and history.