| Roads and tracks are major features of the British landscape, yet their
origins and history are largely ignored by those who use them daily. They can
tell us much about a locality or an industry and give many clues to the social
and economic life of the past. Roads grew hand-in-hand with trade and,
sometimes, with social or political change. All routes, from the narrowest
footpath to the widest motorway, form part of the same vast network whose
evolution is very clearly described and explained in this important book.
The earliest trade routes date back far into prehistory, long before the
Romans imposed their impressive network of military roads. Most minor roads were
both created and maintained by the passage of traffic, including many religious
roads: church, corpse, pilgrim and monastic routes, largely dating from the
medieval period. Cattle and sheep were driven across England from Scotland and
Wales on tracks quite separate from the ordinary road network; while packhorses
also have their own routes. Eventually, increasing traffic and the poor state of
parish-maintained 'highways' led to the introduction of turnpikes, and the
enclosures around 1800 created many new country lanes. Finally, tarmaced roads
and motorways completed these present, hard-pressed network.
The first edition of this book (under the title 'Roads, Tracks and Their
Interpretation') has been out of print for some years. The author has now
fully revised and updated his text in this enlarged and greatly improved new
edition. He explains what to look for and how to make sense of what is seen,
with advice and encouragement for local research. For the local, landscape or
economic historian this book provides penetrating new insight and understanding
of the network of ancient, old and new roads and tracks. They have a great story
to to tell and the author furnishes a very readable guide to reading that story! Contents:
Acknowledgements
Introduction
1. Early Tracks
- The Great Ridgeway and the Ichnield Way
- Other Prehistoric Tracks
2. Roman Roads
- Tracing Roman Roads
- Stane Street and the Weald
- Watling Street
- The Viatores
- Foss Way
- Welsh Roads
- Lakeland Roads
- Other Roads
- The End of the Roman Era
3. Medieval Routes
- The Dark Ages
- Medieval Main Roads
- Sources
- Local Studies
- Church Paths and Corpse Roads
- Pilgrim Routes
- Monastic Routes
4. Early Modern Roads
- Ogilby and Finnes
5. Drove Roads and Packhorse Tracks
- Drove Roads
- Scottish Drove Roads
- Welsh Drove Roads
- Packhorse Tracks
6. Unusual Roads
- Sands Routes
- Early Industrial Roads
- Military Roads
7. Turnpikes
- The Turnpike Network
- Turnpike Improvements
- Scottish Turnpikes and Parliamentary Roads
- The End of the Turnpike Era
8. Enclosure Roads
9. The Modern Era
- Motorways
- Footpaths
- The Future
Bibliography
Index |
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