Landscape Section - Conference and AGM 2007

Speakers

Richard Muir

Richard Muir will be known to all who have pursued any study of the landscape during the last 25 years. From the late 1970s he took up the Hoskins baton of researching and writing on the history of the landscape, and the threat to the environment. He broadened Hoskins' 'English Landscape' base by extending his fields of activity into the rest of Great Britain and Ireland, and beyond. His most recent major contribution has been the founding of the journal 'Landscapes', which he edited for its first five years, its aim being (to quote him), 'to provide a rich and stimulating new forum for the latest thinking about the history, archaeology and significance of cultural landscapes.' In his keynote address he will be reviewing not only past achievements, but the present and future of landscape studies, and the role of field clubs.

Della Hook

Della Hooke has been at the forefront of landscape history research since the 1970s. While she has specialised in the Anglo-Saxon period, her areas of activity have included the Midlands, Devon and Cornwall and Wessex, and she has made a close study of a variety of subjects, which include estates, open field agriculture, woodland and forest. As the editor of the journal 'Landscape Studies' she has extended her influence in fostering a tradition of high level research into the history of the landscape within a multi-cultural framework. Della will be addressing the conference on a subject that has been a mainstream interest: 'English Woodlands.'

Matthew Johnson

One of his many research interests is England and Europe 1200-1800, particularly the landscape and domestic architecture. He has already had published several books on archaeology, and, most recently, 'Ideas of Landscape' which examines the influence of the English landscape tradition, and in particular, the published work of W.G. Hoskins, on the study of landscape archaeology. Matthew will be addressing the conference on 'Romanticism and the English Landscape Tradition', a subject to which he gives close study in his recent book.

Bob Edwards

Bob Edwards has worked as a field archaeologist excavating urban and rural sites. He has a particular interest in medieval settlement, and undertook an extensive survey of towns in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight before being appointed Principal Conservation Officer for Hampshire. He is now director of Forum Heritage Services, an historic environment consultancy. Bob will be addressing the conference on 'Farmstead and Landscape: an integrated approach to defining character', which was featured in his recent article (with Jeremy Lake of English Heritage) in the journal 'Landscapes.'

George Watts

George Watts is well known as a researcher into local history and landscape history, a frequent speaker at Field Club conferences and leader of field excursions. What is, perhaps, less well known, is that he is a former editor of the VCH and author of several books on history and local history. He first contributed to the HFC Proceedings in Landscapes.' 1958, and many of us probably owe much of our deepening understanding and appreciation of the local landscape to his work. George will be addressing the conference on 'Iconic Landscapes'.