Landscape history is the study of the way in which humanity has changed the physical appearance of the environment

Natural environment

The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....

 - both present and past. It is sometimes referred to as landscape archaeology

Landscape archaeology

Landscape archaeology is the study of the ways in which people in the past constructed and used the environment around them. Landscape archaeology is inherently multidisciplinary in its approach to the study of culture, and is used by both pre-historical, classic, and historic archaeologists...

. It was first recognised as a separate area of study during the 20th century and uses evidence and approaches from other disciplines including archaeology, architecture, ecology, aerial photography, local history and historical geography.

Origin and scope

In England, landscape history emerged as an academic discipline following the publication of The Making of the English Landscape by W. G. Hoskins

W. G. Hoskins

William George Hoskins CBE FSA was a British local historian who founded the first university department of English Local History. His great contribution to the study of history was in the field of landscape history...

 in 1955, although some topics that are now considered part of landscape history had been identified earlier. Darby, for example, gives many early examples of regional characterisation of landscapes.

Following Hoskins, landscape history expanded in various directions. There are published landscape histories of a number of English counties. Other authors have studied the landscape at earlier periods. One productive avenue has been the study of specific landscape features such as fields, villages, and so on. Managed woodland has been extensively studied by Oliver Rackham

Oliver Rackham

Oliver Rackham OBE is a Life Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. He is also Keeper of theCollege Silver.An acknowledged authority on the British countryside, especially trees, woodlands and wood pasture, Rackham has written a number of well-known books, including The History of the...

.

The scope of landscape history ranges from specific individual features to areas covering hundreds of square miles. Topics studied by landscape historians include:

• the form (morphology) of settlements - for example whether they are dispersed
  Dispersed settlement
  A dispersed settlement is one of the main types of settlement patterns used by landscape historians to classify rural settlements found in England and other parts of the world....
  
   or nucleated
  Nucleated village
  A nucleated village is one of the main types of settlement pattern found in England and other parts of the world. It is one of the terms used by landscape historians to classify settlements. An idealised village, in which the houses cluster around a central church which is often close to the...
  
  ;
• the status of settlements - for example Anglo-Saxon multiple estate
  Anglo-Saxon multiple estate
  An Anglo-Saxon multiple estate was a large landholding controlled from a central location with surrounding subsidiary settlements. These estates were present in the early Anglo-Saxon period, but fragmented into smaller units in the late Anglo-Saxon period...
  
  s;
• deserted medieval village
  Deserted medieval village
  In the United Kingdom, a deserted medieval village is a former settlement which was abandoned during the Middle Ages, typically leaving no trace apart from earthworks or cropmarks. If there are fewer than three inhabited houses the convention is to regard the site as deserted; if there are more...
  
  s which provide evidence of earlier village forms;
• field system
  Field system
  The study of field systems in landscape history is concerned with the size, shape and orientation of a number of fields. These are often adjacent, but may be separated by a later feature.-Types of field system:...
  
  s which can be used to date landscape features as well as illuminating earlier landscapes;
• field boundaries
  Boundaries in landscape history
  Boundaries—particularly field boundaries—are among the oldest features in an English rural landscape. Although a boundary itself is an abstract concept, the boundary can often be seen by differences in land use on either side.-Longevity of boundaries:...
  
   or boundaries of larger units such as parishes or counties;
• place-names
  Place name origins
  In much of the "Old World" the names of many places cannot easily be interpreted or understood; they do not convey any apparent meaning in the modern language of the area. This is due to a general set of processes through which place names evolve over time, until their obvious meaning is lost...
  
   which have been used to illustrate landscape features, particularly Anglo-Saxon place-names.

Techniques

Two complementary approaches can be used to study landscape history - fieldwork and desk research. Fieldwork involves physical inspection of the landscape to identify earthworks

Earthworks (archaeology)

In archaeology, earthwork is a general term to describe artificial changes in land level. Earthworks are often known colloquially as 'lumps and bumps'. Earthworks can themselves be archaeological features or they can show features beneath the surface...

 and other potential features. Documentary desk research involves finding references to landscape features in primary and secondary sources. Among the most useful documentary sources are maps. Modern aerial photographs are useful for identifying large-scale features; earlier aerial photographs may show features that have now been lost.

The origin of features can often be related to the geology and ecology of the area being studied - for example the importance of springs and the suitability of the soil for different forms of agriculture.

The presence of indicator species

Indicator species

An indicator species is any biological species that defines a trait or characteristic of the environment. For example, a species may delineate an ecoregion or indicate an environmental condition such as a disease outbreak, pollution, species competition or climate change...

 can be used to identify previous land use, for example bluebells

Common Bluebell

Hyacinthoides non-scripta, commonly known as the common bluebell, is a spring-flowering bulbous perennial plant. -Taxonomy:...

 suggesting ancient woodland

Ancient woodland

Ancient woodland is a term used in the United Kingdom to refer specifically to woodland that has existed continuously since 1600 or before in England and Wales . Before those dates, planting of new woodland was uncommon, so a wood present in 1600 was likely to have developed naturally...

, particularly in the East of England

East of England

The East of England is one of the nine official regions of England. It was created in 1994 and was adopted for statistics from 1999. It includes the ceremonial counties of Essex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. Essex has the highest population in the region.Its...

 and Lincolnshire

Lincolnshire

Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...

.

The historic landscape characterisation

Historic landscape characterisation

Historic landscape characterisation is a programme initiated by English Heritage to increase understanding of the wider designed landscape, beyond that of the planned parkland of the country estate. Similar programmes operate in Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland, although different...

 programme initiated by English Heritage

English Heritage

English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...

 provides a framework for standardising and recording information about landscape history, particularly to support the planning authorities

Town and country planning in the United Kingdom

Town and Country Planning is the land use planning system governments use to balance economic development and environmental quality. Each country of the United Kingdom has its own planning system that is responsible for town and country planning devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly, the...

.

Academic status

Few universities have a department of landscape history. Academic landscape historians are typically found within departments of archaeology, history, local history or continuing education. For example, Nick Higham at Manchester has the title Professor in Early Medieval and Landscape History in the school of history. Landscape history courses are typically post-graduate or extra mural. As a result, much of the work in landscape history is undertaken by amateurs (although often supervised by professionals in landscape studies).

Landscape Features

Landscape features can often indicate earlier land usage. For example a red hill

Red Hill (salt making)

A red hill is a small mound with a reddish colour found in the coastal areas of East Anglia and Essex. A red hill is formed as a result of generations of salt making. Salt water is boiled in a pottery container to concentrate the brine and eventually produce crystallised salt. The high temperature...

in a coastal area is an indication of salt production.

Journals and Books

Landscape History is the name of a refereed journal published by the Society for Landscape Studies.