A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
A landscape of medieval reclamation: Walland Marsh, Kent
Walland Marsh, Kent, is the south-western half of the large coastal lowland known generally as Romney Marsh, in the south-eastern corner of England. Reclamation, which involved building embankments to enclose large blocks of land and organising the land drainage there, had begun by mid twelfth century and was complete by 1500. This provided a landscape of walls and a variety of ditch patterns. The sequence of reclamation is reconstructed on the basis of these landscape features, supported by evidence of the soils, parish boundaries and historic documents including surveys, rentals, and farmers' and demesne accounts. Three areas, including both tenant and demesne land belonging to Christ Church, Canterbury, were studied and mapped as detailed examples.
Because of the complex interaction of environmental, demographic and economic factors the progress of reclamation was by no means continuous or uninterrupted. Nor did the chronology coincide with general expectations of advance and contraction based on other areas. It is concluded that expansion was halted in the mid-thirteenth century, earlier than expected, by sea floods. However, reclamation to provide additional pasture began again c. 1400, surprisingly soon after the Black Death: this may have been related to the cloth industry in the nearby Weald.
A landscape of medieval reclamation: Walland Marsh, Kent
Walland Marsh, Kent, is the south-western half of the large coastal lowland known generally as Romney Marsh, in the south-eastern corner of England. Reclamation, which involved building embankments to enclose large blocks of land and organising the land drainage there, had begun by mid twelfth century and was complete by 1500. This provided a landscape of walls and a variety of ditch patterns. The sequence of reclamation is reconstructed on the basis of these landscape features, supported by evidence of the soils, parish boundaries and historic documents including surveys, rentals, and farmers' and demesne accounts. Three areas, including both tenant and demesne land belonging to Christ Church, Canterbury, were studied and mapped as detailed examples.
Because of the complex interaction of environmental, demographic and economic factors the progress of reclamation was by no means continuous or uninterrupted. Nor did the chronology coincide with general expectations of advance and contraction based on other areas. It is concluded that expansion was halted in the mid-thirteenth century, earlier than expected, by sea floods. However, reclamation to provide additional pasture began again c. 1400, surprisingly soon after the Black Death: this may have been related to the cloth industry in the nearby Weald.
A landscape of medieval reclamation: Walland Marsh, Kent
Eddison, Jill (author) / Draper, Gillian (author)
Landscape History ; 19 ; 75-88
1997-01-01
14 pages
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
English
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