Over the last thirty years, the study of medieval rural settlement has been transformed. The focus of attention has shifted to encompass the origin and expansion of settlements, including hamlets and farms, as well as villages. The growth and decline of settlements are currently explained in as broad a context as possible, taking into account demography, farming systems, and lordship, and recognizing that medieval farms, hamlets, and villages formed one phase in the development of a rural landscape whose origins lay in prehistoric and roman times.

These developments in interpretation are fully reflected in this wide-ranging collection of essays, written by a distinguished team of archaeologists, historians, and historical geographers. Its authors use documents, aerial photography, fieldwork, excavation and the analysis of botanical remains to reconstruct the medieval landscape. The first part of the book considers the history and geography of settlements, the documentary evidence for early medieval estate and settlement patterns, initiative and authority in settlement change, the growth and decline of medieval rural settlements, and the significance of the Wolds in English settlement history.

Part two combines regional fieldwork studies with more detailed case-studies. These include studies of deserted settlements in the west of England and in the south-west Midlands, the archaeology of medieval rural settlement in East Anglia, medieval settlement remains and historical conservation, field systems and township structures.

The last section is concerned with excavation, and again brings together regional and more detailed case-studies. It contains chapters on the excavation of dispersed settlement in medieval Britain, peasant houses, farmsteads and villages in north-east England, and environmental archaeology. The book closes with a consideration of the relationship between archaeological and historical method, and its application to the study of rural settlement. The volume was inspired by and is dedicated to John Hurst and Maurice Beresford, who were founders of the Medieval Villages Research Group.