The Cambridge Urban History of Britain

This volume examines when, why, and how Britain became the first modern urban nation.

Peter Clark (Edited by)

9780521431415, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 20 July 2000

966 pages
23.6 x 16.1 x 6 cm, 1.84 kg

'… the area surveys will doubtless prove to be of great value for students of landscape history, particularly for the purpose of contextualising local studies of towns and their hinterlands … this is an important, landmark publication in British urban history … every county and city record office should have one, for not only will The Cambridge Urban History of Britain volumes become the first port of call for landscape historians starting out with a new research project, but they doubtless will become the authoritative yardstick against which to check and compare our work.' Society for Landscape Studies

The second volume of The Cambridge Urban History of Britain examines when, why, and how Britain became the first modern urban nation - the wonder of the Western world. The contributors offer a detailed analysis of the evolution of national and regional urban networks in England, Scotland and Wales, and assess the growth of all the main types of towns - from the rising imperial metropolis of London to the great provincial cities, country and market towns, and the new-style leisure and industrialising towns. They discuss problems of urban mortality and migration, the social organisation of towns, the growth of industry and the service sector, civic governance, and the rise of religious and cultural pluralism. This is the first ever comprehensive study of British towns and cities in the early modern period, the culmination of a generation of research on perhaps the most important social and geographical change in British history.

Preface
Plates
Maps and figures
Tables
Abbreviations
Acknowledgements
Introduction Peter Clark. Part I. Area surveys 1540–1840: 1. Introduction Peter Clark
2. England: 2.1. East Anglia Penelope Corfield
2.2. South east C. W. Chalklin
2.3. South west Jonathan Barry
2.4. Midlands Alan Dyer
2.5. The north John Walton
3. Wales Philip Jenkins
4. Scotland T. M. Devine
Part II. Urban Themes and Types 1540–1700: 5. Towns in an agrarian economy Paul Glennie and Ian Whyte
6. Population and disease, estrangement and belonging Paul Griffiths, John Landers, Margaret Pelling and Robert Tyson
7. Politics and government Ian Archer
8. Reformation and culture Vanessa Harding
9. The urban landscape Michael Reed
10. London Jeremy Boulton
11. Great and good towns Paul Slack
12. Ports David Harris Sacks and Michael Lynch
13. Small market towns Alan Dyer
Part III. Urban Themes and Types 1700 to 1840: 14. Urban growth and economic change John Langton
15. Population and society Pamela Sharpe
16. Politics and government Joanna Innes and Nicholas Rogers
17. Culture and leisure Peter Clark and Rab Houston
18. The transformation of urban space Michael Reed
19. London Leonard Schwartz
20. Regional and county centres Joyce Ellis
21. The ports Gordon Jackson
22. Small towns Peter Clark
23. Health and leisure resorts Peter Borsay
24. Industrialising towns Barrie Trinder
Conclusion Peter Clark
Select bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Early modern history: c 1450/1500 to c 1700 [HBLH], British & Irish history [HBJD1]