It is probably a fair postulation that most, if not all, Fellows enjoy a guided tour. Whether that be sites of architectural or archaeological note, collections of interest or significant land- or town-scapes, it makes little difference; as long as the tour guide is amiable, knowledgeable, entertaining and true to their subject, what is not to like?
This new book by Geoffrey Tyack, FSA, emeritus fellow of Kellogg College, Oxford, and editor of the Georgian Group Journal, presents a stimulating and engaging tour around England, Scotland and Wales looking at how our towns and cities have developed and changed over time. Time, in this case, means two millennia, so it will come as no great surprise that our tour moves at blistering pace (across its 308 pages) in order to do justice to the wide span between the first Roman towns and the retail warehouses of the twenty-first century. In consequence, it is not for the faint hearted. Nor is it for readers who want depth in their tour, as exhaustive analysis is out of the question when covering so many aspects of change within the urban development.
Even though the text moves at a frantic pace it manages to pack a plentiful punch of relevant and absorbing details into every paragraph. The narrative, therefore, follows a wide range of social and political advances and tracks the progress of various building types that have contributed to each period under discussion, and, in doing so, the author does not shy away from giving copious geographically widespread examples. For example, when medieval charitable foundations are discussed, the reader is transported to Chichester, Coventry, Newark, Norwich and Stamford to consider alms-houses; at Coventry, Manchester and Stratford-upon-Avon we look at noteworthy buildings of religious guilds, while in Aberdeen, Cambridge, Oxford and Winchester we learn more about educational facilities. Furthermore, when the topic moves to eighteenth- and nineteenth-century industrialisation we are presented with specialised manufacturing such as linen, jute, ribbon, food and clothing, and then guided through the physical and societal infrastructures that supported their production, including coal, docks, housing, warehousing, transport, public health, social institutions, open space, death and dying.
For this reader the text is accessible and comforting and after a while begins to feel that you are engaged in private conversation with your own personal tour guide. The author draws on familiar and less-familiar first-hand descriptions from historic travellers, adds in relevant background stories with notable examples and then aligns his learned narrative to enlighten our understanding of urban change over time. Inset pieces with titles such as ‘The Rebuilding of Henley-on-Thames’, ‘The Potteries’ and ‘Birmingham’s Civic Forum’ provide soundbite explanations that support, rather than fight against, the main narrative – in some respects they come across like handouts guided by the hand of Nikolaus Pevsner. Photographic captions are at times long but do add useful and relevant information not covered in the text.
Overall, the production is good; however, the quality of the images is at times very poor, a consequence it seems from drawing heavily on internet stock sources and printing them on low grade paper. In the same vein it is hard to comprehend why some maps and engravings have been used that not only strain the eyes but offer scant information to support the text – the 177mm × 34mm reproduction of Wenceslas Hollar’s 1647 ‘Panorama of London’ and the map of nineteenth-century Oxford (figs 3.15 and 8.1, respectively) are two cases in point. A glossary will be of some benefit to the more general reader, endnotes are tucked away at the back of the book and the ‘further reading’ section is rather mean. The use of ‘Americanized’ (sic) spelling I found rather annoying.
The book is in general well-balanced, although it is fair to point out that it takes 172 pages to span the Romans to the coronation of King William iv while 1830 to the present day takes 136 pages − a point the author makes no apology for when he notes ‘These were, after all, the years that did most to shape the urban landscapes that we experience in our daily lives’.
Throughout Dr Tyack proves to be an erudite, entertaining and expert tour guide. From the moment he first lands his time machine in Roman Verulamium and Durovernum Cantiacorum until its final journey to David Chipperfield’s Hepworth Gallery in Wakefield and the Tate in Margate, his approach, as a modern antiquary, provides a balanced documentary analysis with perceptive observations set within the confines of social history and the built environment. All-in-all this makes for an interesting and authoritative read and more than adequately brings together ‘the fruit of a lifetime’s study’.
In his preface Dr Tyack notes that in order to ‘fully understand today’s urban landscapes, we need to try and understand change, unearthing the layers that lie beneath the surface of what we now see and experience, and attempting to make sense of the often piecemeal, uncoordinated processes that have created the world that we now inhabit’. Does this book achieve this aim? Yes, it does. The fast-paced, fact-filled, thoughtful tour is a good read that will appeal to a wide range of readers. My advice is to strap yourself in, enjoy the experience and embrace 2,000 years of change.
Reading this book can be compared to an adventure in a time machine so its purpose might be best summed up in the words of H G Wells: ‘We should strive to welcome change and challenges, because they are what help us grow. Without them we grow weak like the Eloi in comfort and security. We need to constantly be challenging ourselves in order to strengthen our character and increase our intelligence’ (Wells Reference Wells1895).
