Clarendon
Landscape of Kings
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Windgather Press
Published:1st Dec '07
Currently unavailable, our supplier has not provided us a restock date
Extensively illustrated with colour and black and white images, this book tells Clarendon's story, from the Neolithic through to the present day. It focuses in particular on the palace and deer park's medieval heyday. Soon after the Norman conquest, Clarendon in Wiltshire became the country retreat of the kings and queens of England. Clarendon was large enough to host up to 2000 people, but it also had intimate suites for private life: royalty could govern and relax, whilst indulging their passion for hunting. Here in 1164 Henry II confronted Thomas Becket, and it was here that the Plantagenets sustained their grandest palace outside London and the largest deer park in the kingdom. The visitor to the park today will find this medieval landscape still recognisable and more or less intact. Yet until comparatively recently, it remained secret and undiscovered.
This impecably-researched and very readable history draws on multiple sources to bring the past of this great royal landscape to life. The park is rich in Prehistoric remains, but it is the historic period which excites archaeological attention. The authors explore Saxon Clarendon and chart the Norman creation of the deer park and the building of the palace. They also cover the centuries since the Restoration: in 1660 Clarendon became a private country estate that came to express Protestant, Tory and military values.
This is an excellent addition to our understanding of this classic Wiltshire site. Copiously illustrated throughout, this publication celebrates the tradition of landscape archaeology.' -- The Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine The Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine As we have come to expect from Windgather Press, the book is handsomely produced, the text richly supported by both colour and monograph photographs, maps and prints. It is a fine example of modern interdisciplinary research.' -- Landscape History Landscape History This book is richly illustrated and a pleasure to read... One of the greatest strengths of this volume is the way in which different forms of evidence, in particular the oft-neglected specialist archaeological reports, are seamlessly integrated.' -- Medieval Settlement Research Group Medieval Settlement Research Group A work whose richness of treatment cannot be summed adequately here.' -- Southern History 30 Southern History 30 This well-written and splendidly-illustrated account...is a model summary of 30 years of archaeological and historical research,' -- British Archaeology British Archaeology excellent... we have a guidebook and landscape history that does full justice to this remarkable place.' -- Current Archaeology Current Archaeology 'The book is attractively produced, with numerous excellent plans, drawings and photographs, including many colour plates. The text is refreshingly readable. ... Overall the authors have succeeded admirably in their aim of demonstrating the great richness of the Clarendon landscape to a wider readership.' -- Agricultural History Review Agricultural History Review
ISBN: 9781905119103
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
256 pages