Hoskins' england class 4

W.G. Hoskins and the Making of
the English Landscape
Class 4. Awaiting the sound of a
human voice. Colonization and decay
in the Middle Ages.
Tutor: Keith Challis
hoskins-england.blogspot.co.uk

Recap: Last Week (Becoming a land of
villages)
The Anglo-Saxons Origins Middle Saxon England
• Post Roman settlement from Denmark and north • By mid 7th century emergence of larger polities
Germany • Kingdoms documented in Tribal Hidage
• Co-existence with native Romanised British • Increasing social complexity
populations • Towns and trade
• Complex social and racial mixing Christianity and the State
Material Culture • Promotion of ideal of kingship
• Highly distinctive material culture, largely evidenced • Innovation in land holding (and influence on
in grave goods organisation of land?)
• Architectural innovation • Role in cementing emerging polities
• Language Scandinavian Settlement
Death and Burial • Raiding, organised campaigns of conquest and
• Large cremation cemeteries imply substantial settlement
immigrant population • Socially complex
• How much is a processes of acculturation of •
collapsing Romanised British population? Uncertain impact on landscape
• England part of Scandinavian hegemony of
Settlements northern Europe
• Not villages! Late Saxon England
• Small clusters of simple dwellings (Hall • Complex society part of European and
House/Grubenhaus) Scandinavian political and economic milieu
• Local clearance or adoption of existing agricultural •
lands Beginnings of evidence for settlement continuity
(10th/11th century activity in many excavated village
• Revealed by later 20th century archaeology (West sites)
Stow, Mucking, etc) • Character of settlement remains uncertain

Hoskins’s England hoskins-

Class Summary
• The Colonization of Medieval England
• The Black Death and After
• 60 years on: Critique of Hoskins and a counterpoint

Coffee Break

• Working with aerial photographs
• Laxton Group project: Working with photographs,
and published mapping

Hoskins’s England hoskins-england.blogspot.co.uk

Class Summary
Learning Outcomes
• Explore Hoskins’s view of 11th-16th century rural
England
• Understand some of the fundamental aspects of
medieval rural settlement
• Explore ways in which new evidence has revised
our view of this period.
• Appreciate some of the uses of and evidence to
be gleaned from aerial photography in
landscape studies.

Section 1: Colonization and
the Black Death

Colonization and
the Black Death

• Enter the grand theme:
“I have a theme now: the old pattern of life
slowly built up – describe at length – then
the disintegration of the pattern, shattered
beyond recognition...”
(Hoskins’s notebook, late 1940s)

Hoskins’ England hoskins-england.blogspot.co.uk

Colonization and
the Black Death
•Two complex and multi themed chapters

The Colonization of The Black Death and
Medieval England After
• The landscape of • The abandonment of
1086 villages
• The clearing of • New colonization
woodland • New buildings
• Marsh, Fen and Moor
• Buildings in a
Landscape


Colonization and
the Black Death
1086 and all that…Hoskins on
Domesday England
“Domesday book…does not tell us directly
how much of each county had been
colonized…but we can obtain a fairly good
idea of the extent to which England had
been colonized during the six hundred
years since the first Old English landings…”
(Hoskins 1955)


Colonization and
the Black Death
Domesday Book
At Christmas 1085 William the Conqueror commissioned a great survey to discover the resources and
taxable values of all the boroughs and manors in England. He wanted to discover who owned what, how
much it was worth, and how much was owed to him as King.

The King (William) holds in demesne Earley (in lordship – that is, by and for himself; he
has not let it out to a sub-tenant). Almar (an Anglo-Saxon) held it in alod (freehold) from
King Edward. Then (in 1066, it was assessed for tax purposes) at 5 hides, now (in 1086
it is assessed) for (the equivalent of) 4 hides. (There is) Land for use by 6 ploughs. In
demesne (on the lord’s land there is land for) 1 plough and(there are) 6
villans (villagers) and 1 bordar (smallholder) with 3 ploughs. There (are) 2
slaves (owned by the King) and 1 site (or close) in Reading (presumably owned by or
part of the manor) and (there are)2 fisheries worth (rendering) 7s and 6d (per year) and
20 acres of meadow. (There is) Woodland for(feeding) 70 pigs. At the time of King
Edward (1066) it was worth 100s, and afterwards (when William acquired the
manor) and now (1086) it is worth 50s.

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/RdLeaflet.asp?sLeafletID=266

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/domesday/


Colonization and
the Black Death

Lowerre, A. 2008. Mapping Domesday Book using GIS. Research News: Newsletter of the English Heritage Research
Department. Number 8. http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/upload/pdf/RN8_web.pdf


Colonization and
the Black Death
Making England
• Re-emergence of population estimates
• England awaiting,
“Though most English villages had made their
appearance by the time of the Norman
Conquest…vast areas remained in their natural
state, awaiting the sound of a human voice.”
(Hoskins 1955).
• Clearance and agricultural expansion
“Around nearly every village stretched its open
fields”


Colonization and
the Black Death
• The battle to bring wood and waste into production
“From rising ground England must have seemed one
great forest before the fifteenth century, an almost
unbroken sea of tree-tops with a thin spiral of smoke
rising here and there at long intervals.”

“By the eve of the Black Death the population of England
was about three times that of Domesday…it has been
estimated that at the peak, just before…1348…there
may have been four million people in all. Hundreds of
thousands of acres of new land had been won from the
waste and water…”


Colonization and
the Black Death
Hoskins on the Black Death
“Successive outbreaks of the plague reduced
the population of the country by somewhere
between one third and a half…The pressure of
population eased off and there followed a retreat
from marginal lands.”
• Settlement desertion
“There are more than thirteen hundred deserted
villages in England”
• Both plague and economic decline can be
blamed for desertion which was sometimes
hastened by landlords.


Colonization and
the Black Death

• Discussion…


Section 2: 60 Years on:
Finding A New England..?

What constitutes the Medieval Landscape?


Typical lowland village form

Toft

Croft


Goltho, Lincolnshire – an archetype


Early phase

Buildings in crofts
Frequent reorganisation


Late phase

Buildings in strongly
demarked crofts
organised around a
crew yard
for livestock


Regional Variations
In upland areas and many regions
Villages are absent – why?

Different agricultural regimes
(infield/outfield)

Pastoral farming dominates

Landscape determined

Different social organisation


Analysis of village plan
forms from historic maps
may reveal origins

Patterns of similar
morphological forms
can be identified

Eg …linear/regulated


Geographer B K Roberts
took plan form analysis to
its zenith

…but does it tell us
anything?

Can we relate plan to
function or agency


The Open Fields


Regional Variations: Infield - Outfield


Villages
• The origins of the
nucleated village are
complex and local
impetus for nucleation
vary
• The record of Domesday
is not a record of villages
but of legal jurisdiction
and value
• Settlement form changed
regularly and nucleation
may be one phase in a
village of changing form


Agriculture
• The origin of the open
fields remains illusive
• It is probably to be
linked with the
emergence of
nucleation and
perhaps the growth
of a service lead
feudal society


Population and
Economics
• Population estimates are
dubious tools
• Population grew, land
was cleared and
agriculture expanded in
the 12th and 13th centuries
• A strong feudal economy
tied together by obligation
and service


Decline and Change
• Decline and desertion
have multiple causes
– Economic decline
– Climate change (colder,
wetter)
– Feudal deterioration
– Disease
• Agricultural and social
reorganisation are a
response to and catalyst
for change


Two Good Books

Village and Farmstead The Countryside of Medieval England
Christopher Taylor Edited by Grenville Astill and Annie Grant



• Coffee Break


Aerial Photography

Vertical Oblique


Aerial Photography
Vertical Photography
Usually for mapping or reconnaissance purposes, not
often archaeological.
Fixed camera mounted on plane flying at constant height.
Photographs contain inherent distortions due to curvature
of lens and irregularity of ground surface.
A series of overlapping photographs are usually taken for
large area coverage. By overlapping photos by c.60%
each part of the ground is covered by at least two images
which can then be combined using a stereoscope to
create a three-dimensional model.
Vertical photographs can be used for producing accurate
plans, providing the images are adequately
georeferenced.
However, since they are not flown specifically for
archaeological purposes the information they contain may
not always be as clear as with obliques.


Aerial Photography
Oblique Photography
Handheld camera used to record a specific
site/monument as it is being flown over.
Provides a perspective view that can often
emphasise and clarify the nature of a site far
more than vertical shots.
The elevation and angle of the shot can be
more easily manipulated to obtain the best
conditions for the photograph.
Oblique photography is far more difficult to
georeference, sometimes limiting the use of
the technique in providing archaeological
plans.
Oblique photography is most often taken
from low flying light aircraft, but can also be
taken from any elevated position (e.g.
buildings/hilltops…).


Aerial Photography
What we can see: Cropmarks

Visible variation in the growth of
plants due to buried features.
Positive cropmarks = The plants
grow taller due to negative
archaeological features such as
ditches, pits, postholes. Provide
increased moisture retention and
higher nutrient content.
Negative cropmarks = The plants
growth is reduced due to
subsurface features which block the
root system. Provide reduced
moisture and nutrients than the
surrounding soil.
The window of opportunity in which
to see cropmarks depends on a
variety of factors: soil type, crop,
climate…


Aerial Photography
What we can see: Soilmarks

Some archaeological sites become visible in a field that has been
ploughed in preparation of sowing.
Features are usually apparent through colour changes between the
archaeology and the surrounding soil.
Negative features such as pits or ditches often contain humic-rich fills
which show up as darker tones. Equally, plough damage to walls or
rubble can bring some of this material to the surface.
Soil marks are at their clearest immediately after ploughing, with
subsequent mixing of layers obscuring the newly revealed features.
It is important to note that soil marks reflect the actual archaeological
deposits themselves, rather than their effect on overlying vegetation or
topography. If a site is visible as a soil mark then it is already being
eroded.


Aerial Photogrphy
What we can see: Shadow Sites

Earthworks can be visible through aerial photography as shadow
sites. The topographic changes cause variation in the extent and
position of shadows.
The height and position of the sun is crucial in determining how well
an earthwork site can be seen. Low winter sunlight (either early
morning or late afternoon) is often the best, creating long shadows
and picking out even microtopographic changes.
The direction of the sun in relation to the orientation of the
earthworks is another key factor.
The presence of snow cover on archaeological sites can help to
emphasise any earthworks due to the contrast between the highly
reflective snow and the dark shadows. Likewise, standing water
following heavy rainfall will accumulate in earthwork depressions.


Aerial Photogrphy

• As well as the visibility of archaeological sites requiring very
particular environmental and atmospheric conditions, the
interpretation of visible features should be treated with
caution.

• Potential pitfalls in interpretation can be caused by the
presence of geological features, agricultural activities and
modern land use practices.


Aerial Photogrphy
Groups of ring earthworks
similar to those shown in this
photography are known from
the Yorkshire Wolds, East
Anglia and the Trent Valley
south of Derby.

Site of searchlight batteries
from WWII.
The eastern bias of their
distribution is due to the
direction of the perceived
threat.
Soil marks of ring earthworks ENE of Bishop Wilton, Humberside (SE
825564), 12 May 1969.
Photo : University of Cambridge, copyright reserved


Aerial Photography
Densely concentrated
arrangement of ring ditches
suggestive of Iron Age /
Migration Period cemeteries in
Denmark.

But…arrangement and
overlapping features reveals
they are actually the effects of
irrigation using lines of rotary
sprinklers.
The two water jets were
misaligned causing a ring of
soil that was not as heavily Crop marks WNW of Store Anst, Ribe amt, Jutland, 27 June 1967.
watered. Photo: University of Cambridge, copyright reserved


Aerial Photography
The National Air Photo Library
Based at NMRC in Swindon.
Consists of c. 2.7 million photographs divided
into vertical and oblique collections.
Vertical collection comprises reconnaissance
and survey photography and covers whole of
England. Most flown by RAF but others by OS,
Meridian Airmaps Ltd, EA, etc.
Oblique collection contains photographs of
particular sites, initially cropmark
reconnaissance but now also industrial and
agricultural developments. Oblique
photography covers c.66% of England.
Oblique photographs from 1880 – present,
mainly taken by RCHME/EH but also by
independent fliers and from historical
collections (e.g. OGS Crawford).


Aerial Photography
To access the NMR aerial
photography a coversearch is
carried out based on an OS NGR
(e.g. SK423 890 + 500m).
Once a search has been made an
appointment to view the
photographs has to be made.
The oblique collection is open for
public browsing at the NMRC.
The photographs can be supplied
as photocopies (black+white,
photographic and colour). These
services incur a cost.
The NMR do not always hold
copyrights for the photographs and
so photocopies are not always
available.


Aerial Photography
• The Cambridge University Collection of Aerial
Photographs (CUCAP) is held in the photographic
library of the Unit for Landscape Modelling (ULM).

• The catalogue has its origins in the pioneering work
of Dr J.K. St Joseph. As lecturer in geology at
Cambridge University, St Joseph was provided with
access to an RAF aircraft and pilot for ten days in
July 1945. This process continued until in 1948 he
was appointed Curator in Aerial Photography, a
post designed to manage and control the
increasing library of images.

• The library now contains c. 500,000 photographs,
approximately half of which are vertical (blue) and
half are obliques (red).

• Appointments have to be made to view the
photographs and charges are applied for obtaining
copies (digital or photographic prints).


Aerial Photography

http://www.geog.cam.ac.uk/cucap/


Aerial Photography

Open sources such as GoogleEarth/Maps and Bing Maps


Aerial Photography

194 197 200
8 1 0
Using a time series of photographs reveals recent landscape change


Aerial Photography

Systematic transcription of evidence to a map is crucial


Laxton


Aims Today

• Examine maps and photographs
• Familiarise self with topography of Laxton
• Make observations


Self Assessment
Learning Outcomes
• Understand the broad historical pattern for
England 1066 – 1500 described by
Hoskins
• Be aware of some of the weaknesses in
the arguments put forward by TMotEL
• Understand how aerial photography an be
used in landscape studies

Further Study
Suggested Reading
C. Taylor 1983. Village and Farmstead

Self Study Themes
Making of the English Landscape, Chapter 5


Hoskins' england class 4

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