The landscape history of Britain

The archaeology on the ground, the patterns of fields and woods, villages, towns and the roads that link them, the boundaries of districts and properties, the names for these places too, all are clues, alongside exceptionally rich archives, to 10,000 years of Britain's history from the Ice Age to the Romans, the Middle Ages and the present day. Our course shows how to recognise the main evidence, concluding with an analytic walk among Cambridge's streets — and an untouristy view of its picturesque river. This method of history can work anywhere in the world.

Aims of the course

This course aims to:
1. Develop awareness of theoretical and methodological issues in landscape history.
2. Encourage awareness of evidence for landscape history.
3. Encourage confidence and competence in gathering, handling and assessing arguments and evidence.

Course Content

Britain’s history lies in the turn of every lane, in the fabric of castles and villages, the lay-out of fields, the names of places, even in patterns of plants and trees. Town and country have been shaped by millennia of planning and of accidents, of agreements and conflicts, by policies and technologies, by work and by play, by fashions, even by worship, and, above all, by changing climate, population, and economies. Landscapes are artefacts. The principles for studying them are simple but the analysis of causes can be complicated. Landscape history is an engrossing and satisfying method that can work in any country.

Presentation of the course

Classes will comprise illustrated lectures. They will be designed to encourage discussion together of the issues arising.

Class sessions

Our course will consider the evidence in four chapters, session by session:
1. The first will cover the long and diverse period before recorded history, up to 2000 years ago, for which archaeology provides the only information.
2. The second will be on the Roman period, commonly imagined as one of radical change under a new world order but often seen now as a mixture of innovation and tradition.
3. The third will cover the Middle Ages, including the Saxon period, which witnessed both the collapse and the reinvention of state government and towns and then the later Middle Ages, bringing first growth and then collapse and a long struggle of social and economic adjustment.
4. The fourth session will cover, first, the Early Modern period of urban and rural development under new concepts of civilisation and then the industrial era of massive growth, technological change and public reforms which continues to this day. Each of these phases has left its marks, and most can be detected in every district. Some of them were imposed from abroad, while others, indigenous to Britain, were taken overseas by colonists.
5. Our fifth session can be used to illustrate some of the developments by spotting evidence for them among the streets of Cambridge itself.

Learning outcomes

The learning outcomes for this course are:
1. To recognise the general pattern of history in Britain.
2. To recognise the principal issues in landscape history.
3. To anticipate and recognise the principal features and forms of evidence.4.To understand how to apply the principal methods either in Britain or elsewhere.

Required reading

There is no required reading.

Typical week: Monday to Friday

Courses run from Monday to Friday. For each week of study, you select a morning (Am) course and an afternoon (Pm) course. The maximum class size is 25 students. 

Courses are complemented by a series of daily plenary lectures, exploring new ideas in a wide range of disciplines. To add to the learning experience, we are also planning additional evening talks and events.

Evaluation and Academic Credit 

If you are seeking to enhance your own study experience, or earn academic credit from your Cambridge Summer Programme studies at your home institution, you can submit written work for assessment for one or more of your courses. 

Essay questions are set and assessed against the University of Cambridge standard by your Course Director, a list of essay questions can be found in the Course Materials. Essays are submitted two weeks after the end of each course, so those studying for multiple weeks need to plan their time accordingly. There is an evaluation fee of £75 per essay.

For more information about writing essays see Evaluation and Academic Credit.

Certificate of attendance

A certificate of attendance will be sent to you electronically after the programme.