Villages in the Landscape by Rowley, Trevor - 1987

Stroud: Alan Sutton, 1987 The English village has great tenacity, but settlements, like the men who live in them, are mortal. It has been estimated that there are well over 10,000 villages in Britain - and thousands more former occupation sites which have been abandoned. In this fascinating study Trevor Rowley traces the changes in the form and fabric of villages and village life from prehistoric times to the present day, illustrating his findings with some superb aerial photographs and drawings. The most important features to emerge are that, contrary to general belief, villages are constantly changing, and many of the villages we see today are relatively recent creations. The author believes that although villages have proved to be extremely adaptable in the past, they are now in many respects indistinguishable from suburbia. If villages as we know them are to survive into the twenty first century, then considerable thought will have to be given to redesigning their economic and social structure." Traces the changes in the form and fabric of villages and village life from prehistoric times to the present day, illustrated with aerial photographs and drawings. 211p. plates maps. Soft Cover. Near Fine.