This latest contribution to the growing collection of county historical atlases is an elegantly produced and surprising volume. The atlas is structured thematically, with sections on the built environment, demography, settlements, industry and conflicts among others. Each of these sections is chronological, with essays by over fifty contributors, and an introduction by Nigel Goose which sets the atlas within the wider context of county histories and atlases from the sixteenth century onwards. Hertfordshire, although a small county, is densely packed with historic sites, buildings and landscapes. Its proximity to London has long been recognised as an important factor in its development, and this is demonstrated repeatedly throughout the atlas with essays ranging from the distribution of nineteenth-century City of London Coal Tax Markers to the film and television studios established from 1913 onwards. Essays by Kate Thompson, Margaret Ashby and Allan Cudmore discuss the establishment of the first garden cities and new towns in the county; Letchworth in 1903, Welwyn in 1919, followed by the new towns of Stevenage and Hemel Hempstead in the post war period, with striking illustrations of the original plans.

The economy of Hertfordshire is also a common theme, with a clear set of maps illustrating important industries such as straw plaiting and hat making. Many industries took advantage of the fast-flowing rivers in the west of the county to power paper and silk mills. The former was particularly important in Hertfordshire as the county produced the first paper suitable for printing presses in the sixteenth century, and the first fully mechanised paper mills in the early nineteenth century. In terms of the agrarian economy, essays on agriculture in the nineteenth century, agricultural trades, parliamentary enclosure and the highly specialised watercress growing industry all provide a rounded view of the state of the agricultural landscape from the late eighteenth century. The varying nature of settlement is also well represented here, ranging from the known prehistoric settlements which are discussed in conjunction with ritual monuments such as the probable henge at Sawbridgeworth, to the new towns mentioned above. The dense clusters of sites which make up the Iron Age ‘oppida’ of St Albans, Welwyn and Baldock are particularly striking in the section on Iron Age settlement by Stewart Bryant. In the post medieval period, it is elite settlement which forms the focus. Hertfordshire was well known for its density of country houses and designed landscapes from the sixteenth century onwards. These have been the subject of much research in recent years, ably distilled here by Anne Rowe and Hugh Prince.

As well as all those essays which might be expected of an historical atlas, such as those on Roman sites, medieval demography, place names and more, there are some omissions. There is nothing here on the distribution of medieval moated sites or castles, for example. However, no atlas of this type can cover every subject comprehensively and there are some interesting and unexpected themes here, such as the development of the pharmaceutical industry, the number of convicts transported to Australia and medieval and Tudor graffiti. This is an attractive and accessible volume that will be of interest to many and a fine addition to the growing number of county historical atlases.