About the book

“A positive treasure trove of information both on individual parks and on the workings of medieval parklands generally” Essex Gardens Trust

“In many respects it is a model for future local studies” Journal of Historical Geography

“Excellent and beautifully produced” The Local Historian

“To create such a comprehensive regional overview based on evidence at the individual site level and gleaned from enquiries into local, regional and even national archives, requires patience, inspiration, dedication, and tenacity” Journal of Rural History

To date, over seventy medieval parks have been identified in Hertfordshire – a large number for a relatively small county.

In this ground-breaking study of parks created in Hertfordshire between the eleventh and the fifteenth centuries, author Anne Rowe has adopted a holistic approach to landscape history.

The geographical locations of the parks have been determined and, in most cases, mapped using a combination of field- and place-name evidence, old maps and detailed fieldwork.

The documentary history for each park has been compiled, including, where available, details from manorial accounts, which provide an insight into park management in medieval times.

All the data for each park is presented in a valuable gazetteer, together with the cartographic and field evidence which has been used to locate the parks in today's landscape.