Alan Lambourne

Patterning Within the Historic Landscape and Its Possible Causes (Bar) Alan Lambourne

This work takes a fresh look at the phenomenon of regional variation and at the ways in which it has been depicted and characterised. It looks in particular detail at the exercise undertaken by Roberts and Wrathmell to map regional variation and at the Central Province that has been widely adopted as one of the main outcomes of their work. It then analyses the many and varied factors, both environmental and cultural, that have been held to contribute to regional variation, and then applies this theoretical analysis to a study area in southern England. The existence of a Central Zone is supported, although no definitive delineation is suggested, and its orientation is shown to vary, depending on the period and criteria in question. Conventional explanations for regional variation are examined, and the conventional opposition between environmental and cultural factors is found wanting. Instead a new dynamic is suggested, in which these broad groups of factors are seen to be operating together to create circumstances to which local communities respond by making calculations as to the best strategies to adopt, given their knowledge, resources and traditions. Their decisions determine the detailed development of the landscape, but these are circumscribed in turn by the predisposition of the community itself and of the landscape around it.