Norfolk is a relatively isolated county, cut off by sea, fen, rivers and heath from the rest of England. The result has been a more distinctive history and a greater sense of identity than in many shires. After turbulent times in the Dark Ages, dominated by invasions by both Germanic and Scandinavian peoples--who left their mark in many ways--Norfolk became the most prosperous and populous county in the Middle Ages when England’s wealth was based on sheep and trade with Europe; and Norwich the second city to London. Later, when North Sea trade gave way to Atlantic routes, Norfolk became a food producer for an industrial Britain with improved methods of agriculture developed within the county. Population declined, as a result, but recently that trend has been reversed and the great changes of the past fifty years have created new problems which the author’s compelling and perceptive narrative sets against the long, historical perspective.
It is not surprising that a county with such a significant past has been the subject of many book on aspects of its history and topography; but this one has been by far the most successful and popular of them. It provides a concise yet remarkably comprehensive account of Norfolk for earliest times to the present day in a narrative by an accepted authority in an easy-to-read style and a lavishly illustrated format. First published in 1984, the book rapidly became a classic of its kind and a best-seller, its success leading to this new edition, revised, up-dated, re-set, re-illustrated and re-designed in a more modern format which will ensure its position until well into the next century as the Norfolk history of first choice, both for local historian and for residents or visitors with an interest in the past.
Contents:
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgements
1. Prehistoric Norfolk
2. Roman and Anglo-Saxon Norfolk
3. Medieval Norfolk
4. Church and State
5. Changes in the Countryside
6. The Gentry
7. Towns, Trade and Industry
8. Education
9. Church and Chapel
10. The Coming of the Railways
11. Norfolk Between the Wars
12. The Second World War and After
Bibliography
Index
