Between AD 400 and 1500 the landscape of Britain went through a series of  radical  changes. Although much survived of the Roman countryside, many settlements of that period were eventually abandoned. Most people between 500 and 900 lived in isolated farms or small hamlets founded on new sites, and it was not until the centuries around 1000 that the peasantry congregated in large villages, and farmed the land around in big open fields. The nucleated villages were mainly created in a belt of country running through the middle of England, and in southeast Scotland and parts of south Wales. Elsewhere people lived in scattered farmsteads or loosely organised hamlets, and often farmed enclosed fields or patches of land in rather undisciplined open fields. There was more woodland and pasture outside the village belt. In the period after 900, and especially between 1100 and 1300, land was reclaimed and colonised, which sometimes led to the expansion of villages, but often resulted in a proliferation of more dispersed settlements. New towns were founded at this time. After 1300 the countryside shrank, in the sense that less land was cultivated, and settlements, including whole villages, were abandoned. Interspersed with these peasant settlements were castles, monasteries, manor houses, granges, parks, and other facilities for the lords. They were built on new sites, relocated and abandoned, just like the houses of the peasants.  All of this activity has left its mark on the landscape, and its legacy can be seen today. Most modern villages and hamlets were founded in the middle ages. The ridge and furrow of medieval ploughing, and the remains of houses abandoned between 1350 and 1500 can still be seen.  

Those who study these settlements, and the landscapes associated with them, have sought to explain when, how and why these changes took place. They have disagreed on whether to emphasize the arrival of  immigrants from Germany and Scandinavia,  innovations in farming methods, the rise and fall of population, changes in the climate or the fertility of the soil, the exercise of power by lords, the ability of peasant communities to organise themselves, or the influence of market forces.

The proposed series of four workshops, culminating in a plenary conference, is designed to adopt another approach to medieval settlements and landscapes. We will explore the culture and mentality that lay behind the forms of settlement. Why were some villages given regular plans, and why were particular shapes and lay outs preferred?  In different settlements and landscapes divergent decisions were made about the balance between private and public space, or between the land allocated for fields and for other assets such as pastures and woods, and these need to be explained. Were parish churches seen and treated as community assets? Lords made decisions about the location of their houses and the creation of parks which were connected with status seeking – but they were not consistent in this. In times of upheaval how did it come about that some older features of the landscape were preserved?  The arrangements of fields and farms in newly colonised uplands, cleared woodlands and drained wetlands varied, as if people had different expectations of the sharing out of these new landscapes. Were the inhabitants of the countryside living isolated, self sufficient lives - or did they have wider horizons? 

The workshops will explore these and related questions to develop a new approach to settlement studies. The workshops will encourage stronger contacts between scholars, and allow them to make new connections. Out of this a new understanding of the medieval countryside will emerge, with implications for academic interpretation, but also for public enjoyment of the modern landscape.

Rationale and research context

This proposed series of workshops is based on the activities of an existing organisation, the Medieval Settlement Research Group. The MSRG grew out of the work of the late Maurice Beresford and John Hurst, and has existed now for almost 20 years. The group brings together scholars from a number of disciplines:  archaeology, geography and history, and attracts the support and interest of university academics, archaeologists in the service of central and local government, and a wide range of laymen and women. It currently has a membership of 470. The Group organises an annual conference, usually in the spring, and a winter seminar. There are other occasional meetings. It publishes an Annual Report which is a journal including news of field work, conference reports, a bibliography, and short articles. The MSRG sponsored the innovative work on ‘Medieval settlements and landscapes in the Whittlewood area’, funded by the AHRC in 2000-5, which produced a flow of publications, including a monograph which will appear later this year. There are links with other organisations, notably the European Ruralia conference series.

The MSRG has provided the occasions for debate and discussion of many aspects of medieval rural settlement. The issues which have attracted most interest include the legacy of  prehistoric and Roman landscapes; the  reorganisations of settlements in the period 400-1000; the impact of migrations and political changes in the early middle ages; the nucleation of villages; the origin and spread of  dispersed settlements; regional differences in settlement and landscape form;  material culture of the countryside; the role of lordship and  the relationship between villages/hamlets and high status settlements; contacts between town and country; the rural economy and its impact on settlement; the growth and decline of settlements.

The AHRC’s Landscape and Environment Programme has appeared at an opportune moment in the MSRG’s development. The recent deaths of Beresford and Hurst have symbolised the end of an era in rural settlement studies, and the need for a new beginning. The first phase of the Whittlewood research has ceased, and its implications deserve reflection. AHRC funding for workshops will enable the community of scholars to be brought together in a coherent series of meetings, which is not allowed by the limited resources of the Group. A series of workshops will provide a focus for a fresh engagement with the subject, and will give the framing and conduct of research new energy. Members of the Group have been moving  towards a stronger appreciation of the cultural dimension of landscapes, with the new emphasis on design in landscape, the planning of settlement, and the impact of shifts in mentality on material culture, which was apparent at the ‘W.G. Hoskins’ conference held in July 2005.  This tendency is very much in tune with the statements in the AHRC ‘Call for applications’ about research into the impact of cultural ideals and practical livelihood on patterns of settlement, the role of ‘movements of people’, and the ‘relations of settlement and movement’. The AHRC’s initiative is encouraging the Group to take steps more decisively in that direction. The central theme is therefore ‘perceptions of medieval landscapes and settlements’.      

The proposal is to hold four workshops through the calendar year 2007, followed by a plenary in December. Titles for the workshops are given below, with a brief indication of their subject matter:

Planning and Meaning.  This will focus on the significance of settlement forms, and the meaning of plans. It would include the organisation of private and public space, and public buildings.   What was the influence of social hierarchies and social difference on the organisation of settlement and landscape?  Why did regions differ, and how were these differences perceived? How were plans and the use of space affected by long term changes in the environment or society?

Working and Sharing.  The key problems here will be the use and control of fields, woods, pastures and other assets, and a discussion of the sense of ownership and social responsibility, for example through the study of boundaries and their meaning. To what extent were inhabitants aware of local resources and their exploitation? Were there conflicts over access to these assets, both within settlements and between them?   How was the landscape adapted in periods of environmental degradation and economic crisis?

New People, New Farms. This will look at the migration of people, colonising movements, clash of cultures, and the assimilation of immigrants. What use was made of new lands and what were the ideas which informed the organisation of new landscapes, for example during and after land reclamation?  Were people aware of the inheritance from the past and how did this affect the relationship between ancient landscape features and innovations ?

Belonging, Identity, Communication and Interaction.  Were settlements self contained and self sustaining?  Did the concept of community extend beyond the confines of the village? What were the interactions between settlements? What were the communication networks? How strong were the outside contacts, and how wide were horizons?  What do the buildings and artefacts tell us about a local, regional, or wider cultural context?  How did communities and communications change in the long term?

The Plenary will pick up themes from the workshops and develop them where this seems appropriate. It will also provide an opportunity for ideas and themes which have not been aired in the workshops to be given some attention.                    

The expectation is that the workshops will develop new perspectives, and forge new relationships between scholars, from which fruitful collaborations will grow. That has been the experience of the MSRG from past occasions. The workshops and the plenary will be addressed to the needs of  archaeologists, geographers and historians, encouraging yet more interdisciplinary collaboration. The plenary will also discuss the future of this web site and the various publications to be aimed at a wider audience, including the lay membership of the MSRG. 

Aims and objectives

The purpose of the workshops will be:

1. To allow specialists from different disciplines and institutions to discuss issues of common interest and exchange ideas at greater length and in more depth than is normally possible.  Existing communications between specialists in medieval rural settlements and landscapes will be improved, and new connections will be made.

2. To be as inclusive as possible, by holding workshops in different parts of the UK, by drawing into the discussion representatives of all of the disciplines which have something to contribute, by involving those employed in the public service (e.g English Heritage) as well as university staff; and by encouraging scholars in the early stages of their careers to participate.

3. To bring into the workshops carefully chosen specialists in parallel or related subjects. This might include, as well as scholars who can contribute expertise on pre-medieval settlements and landscapes, modern rural historians who study the sense of belonging, and specialists in literature or art history.

4. To reinvigorate and refresh the study of rural landscape and settlement by exploring the themes of perceptions and mentalities. As a result of these meetings, we will see medieval landscape and settlement in a new light, with a new focus on the people who lived and worked in them. Fields, roads, houses and ponds will be appreciated as the product of thought and decision making.

5. To ensure that the discussions have a lasting outcome through widespread dissemination of the results. It is proposed to achieve this through different publications and media, such as a website, published summaries of papers in an annual report, followed by more carefully considered articles in refereed journals. There will be outputs which will be available to the wider public, and we hope to engage the interests of those who are not part of the formal academic world.

6. To develop an approach to medieval landscape and settlement studies which emphasizes perceptions and mentalities and to stimulate interest in the themes, with the aim of framing a longer term and more substantial research project in 2008.