Surrey reveals an indomitable character, in its life and scenery, which has survived the relentless advance of London. Dr Brandon’s first edition of this book, in 1977, was widely praised for it original and perceptive analysis of the tension between the ancient rural county and it burgeoning and intrusive neighbour, the metropolis. For more than two decades the most popular book on Surrey in print, it has gone through several reprints, with some revisions, but the time had come when the author wished to incorporate much new research in a completely re-written text. This he has vigorously undertaken, to produce in effect a new book, re-designed and re-illustrated which loses nothing of the power of its predecessor, but only adds to in.
There is much in the history of Surrey of significance in the wider history of England, indeed of Europe. The county affords good examples of prosperous peasant life at the woodland margin in the Middle Ages and had some of the best developed industry before the Industrial Revolution. Surrey was also one of the first place in which men cultivated a sense of natural beauty and escaped from the turmoil of the city into the peace of the countryside. The landscape gardening which has made the county unrivalled in its still beautifully contrived scenery is a major contribution to the arts of Western Europe. However the author gives due prominence to the contribution of generations of ordinary Surrey folk who, as they lived their quiet, virtually unknown lives, stamped their personality on the county.
With its taut, concise, yet comprehensive text, so admirably and profusely illustrated, this attractive new edition will be as warmly welcomed in those parts of ancient Surrey now urban or suburban as in the remaining rural areas. Dr Brandon has ensured that this book will retain its unrivalled popularity well into the next millennium.
Contents:
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgements
Foreword
1. The Personality of Surrey
2. In the Beginning
3. Saxon Surrey
4. Medieval Farming and Woodmanship
5. The Early Medieval Church
6. Living in Medieval Town and Countryside
7. Surrey as a Rural Workshop (1560-1640)
8. The Improvers (1560-1640)
9. The Age of Luxury (1640-1740)
10. Remodelling the Landscape (1740-1840)
11. The Remaking of the Road System and New Forms of Transport (to 1840)
12. Agriculture (1780-1860)
13. William Cobbett’s Surrey (1780-1840)
14. The Land of Heart’s Desire (1840-1918)
15. Building and Gardening in ‘Surrey Style’ (1870-1939)
16. The Old Rural Society (1840-1918)
17. The Surrey Side of London (1800-1914)
18. The Surrey Towns
19. The Austere Present: Surrey Since 1939
Bibliography
Index
