The Rural Settlements of Medieval England: Studies Dedicated to Maurice Beresford and John Hurst

by Michael Aston (Editor), Christopher Dyer (Editor), David Austin (Editor)

Over the last thirty years, the study of medieval rural settlements has been completely transformed. The origins and expansion of settlements are now as much the focus of interest as their decline. This interpretation evinces a much fuller appreciation of the role played by the lords of the manor and other individuals in the history of settlement. These very considerable changes in interpretation are fully reflected in this wide-ranging collection of essays, written by a distinguished team of archaeologists, historians and historical geographers. Its authors use documents, aerial photography, fieldwork, excavation, and the analysis of botanical remains to reconstruct the medieval landscape. The first part of the book examines the history and geography of settlements; the documentary evidence for early medieval estate and settlement patterns; initiative and authority in settlement change; the growth and decline of medieval rural settlements, and the significance of the Wolds in English settlement history. Part two combines regional fieldwork studies with more detailed case studies. These include studies of deserted settlements in the West of England; deserted medieval settlements in the South-West Midlands; the archaeology of medieval rural settlement in East Anglia; medieval settlement remains and historical conservation, and field systems and township structures. The final section is concerned with excavation, and again combines regional with more detailed case studies. It contains chapters on the excavation of dispersed settlement in medieval Britain; peasant houses, farmsteads and villages in North-East England, and environmental archaeology. The book closes with a consideration of the relationship between archaeological and historical method, and its application to the study of rural settlement.

318 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1989

About the author

Michael Antony "Mick" Aston, FSA (1 July 1946 – 24 June 2013) was an English archaeologist who specialised in Early Medieval landscape archaeology. Over the course of his career, he lectured at both the University of Bristol and University of Oxford and published fifteen books on archaeological subjects. A keen populariser of the discipline, Aston was widely known for appearing as the resident academic on the Channel 4 television series Time Team from 1994 to 2011.

Born in Oldbury, Worcestershire to a working-class family, Aston developed an early interest in archaeology, studying it as a subsidiary to geography at the University of Birmingham. In 1970, he began his career working for Oxford City and County Museum and there began his work in public outreach by running extramural classes in archaeology and presenting a series on the subject for Radio Oxford. In 1974, he was appointed as the first County Archaeologist for Somerset, there developing an interest in aerial archaeology and establishing a reputation as a pioneer in landscape archaeology – a term that he co-invented with Trevor Rowley – by authoring some of the earliest books on the subject. In 1978 he began lecturing at the University of Oxford and in 1979 became a tutor at the University of Bristol, supplementing these activities by working as an archaeological tour guide in Greece.

In 1988, Aston teamed up with television producer Tim Taylor and together they created two shows which focused on bringing archaeology into British popular consciousness. The first was the short-lived Time Signs (1991), although this was followed by the more successful Time Team, which was produced for Channel 4 from 1994 to 2013. Aston was responsible for identifying sites for excavation and for selecting specialists to appear on the show, and through the programme became well known to the viewing public for his trademark colourful jumpers and flowing, untidy hairstyle. In 1996 he was appointed to the specially-created post of Professor of Landscape Archaeology at Bristol University, and undertook a ten-year project investigating the manor at Shapwick, Somerset. He retired from his university posts in 2004, but continued working on Time Team until 2011 and in 2006 commenced writing regular articles for British Archaeology magazine until his death. Although Aston did not believe that he would leave a significant legacy behind him, after his death various archaeologists claimed that he had a major impact in helping to popularise the discipline among the British public.