The most detailed description of why the countryside of England now looks the way it does, covering the geology, archaeology and history of each area and what effects each has had on the landscape we see today. It includes: England's Western Frontier Landscape and life in the prehistoric and Roman periods; The early medieval landscape - From the Norman Conquest to c 1500; The last 500 years - the development of the rural landscape; Buildings in the rural landscape; Industry, the 'industrial revolution' and urbanisation; and The countryside in literature and legend.