Many different aspects of the medieval landscape of England have been studied over the last few decades, and many historical and archaeological works have included some level of landscape synthesis; yet books with the primary aim of providing a general overview of the entire English landscape in the Middle Ages have been surprisingly scarce. Prior to the volume reviewed here, a quarter of a century had elapsed between publication of The Medieval English Landscape, edited by Leonard Cantor, in 1982, and Medieval Landscapes, edited by Mark Gardiner and Stephen Rippon, in 2007.

Those earlier multi-author compilations had the benefit of the latest views of specialists, possibly at the expense of a diversity of approaches, with some topics of potential interest falling through the gaps between individual chapters. Here the approach is consistent and almost as comprehensive as could be achieved within the book's length. The range of topics covered is similar in breadth to those of Cantor's volume, though somewhat different in arrangement. Seven chapters discuss the themes of continuity and change, farming and hunting, rural settlement, towns and trade, religion, fortification and the nature and causes of landscape changes at the end of the Middle Ages. Many sections within the chapters summarise familiar topics, such as open fields, enclosure, pasture, meadow, marsh and fen, woodland, parks and warrens, dispersed and nucleated settlement, settlement desertion, routeways, town planning, urban and rural housing, monasteries, cathedrals and local churches, castles and town defences; but it is useful to have updated information on these, along with discussion of such topics as seasonal pastoral settlements, medieval industrial settlements and fishing villages, which still lay on the margins of our consciousness in the 1980s. Concepts of ‘perceived and ritual landscapes’, which occupy nearly a quarter of Gardiner and Rippon's volume, are not ignored here, but receive less prominent treatment.

Professor White's foreword acknowledges the ultimate inspiration of Hoskins, and this book lies firmly within the Hoskinsian tradition. The text relies primarily upon historical sources and methods, and although references to archaeology and landscape are integrated, they tend to be used more for illustrative purposes than as sources of evidence in their own right. It could be argued that this is a somewhat old-fashioned approach, and there is little here that is particularly novel or innovatory. Within those limitations, however, this is a sound, solid and thorough piece of work, and it achieves what it sets out to do.

The opening chapter identifies three fundamental forces which shaped the development of the English landscape: fluctuations in population; the response to changing circumstances by those at all levels of society having power over the land; and advances in technology. The impacts of these forces upon different aspects of the landscape are investigated through the ensuing chapters. The practical decisions of local communities using the land are shown to be as important as seigneurial direction by the Crown, by aristocratic landholders and by major religious houses. There is also a consistent emphasis on regional diversity, with due attention paid to regions under-represented in previous general surveys: the author's confessed personal interest in Cheshire has certainly not unbalanced the coverage.

The production of the volume is somewhat austere. It contains no maps or plans, apart from a small extract from the relatively well-known estate map showing the deserted village of Whatborough in Leicestershire drawn up for the Warden of All Souls College, Oxford, by Thomas Clerke in 1586, versions of which have been published elsewhere on at least three previous occasions. The photographic illustrations are entirely monochrome and, while many do provide a worthwhile complement to the text, in several cases their value is reduced by the indifferent quality of printing. The text is fluent and very readable, drawing from disparate works by historians, archaeologists and geographers, and noting alternative views as well as consensus. It is supported by a helpful index. The bibliography is extensive, but has some surprising omissions, such as Waterways and Canal-Building in Medieval England (2007), edited by John Blair, and David Harrison's The Bridges of Medieval England (2004), both topics discussed in the text.

Professor White has dedicated the book to his students over a period of nearly forty years, and his target readership is clear. Despite a few minor reservations it will, indeed, be of great value to the next generation of students as a convenient overview of recent work on the medieval landscape.