The Grass Roots of English History: Local Societies in England before the Industrial Revolution

Cover page\nHalftitle page\nTitle page\nCopyright page\nDedication\nEpigraph\nCONTENTS\nILLUSTRATIONS\nPREFACE\nCHAPTER ONE Introduction: The countries of England\n	The local nature of English surnames\n	The pull of London\nCHAPTER TWO The people of England\n	Ancient origins\n	The creation of England\n	The Norman Conquest\nCHAPTER THREE England’s historic towns and cities\n	The changing fortunes of medieval towns\n	Early modern towns\nCHAPTER FOUR Organizing the countryside: Villages, hamlets and farmsteads\n	The origins of villages\n	Hamlets and farmsteads\n	Forests, chases, deer parks and woods\n	Deserted medieval villages\n	Enclosure\nCHAPTER FIVE Earning a living in the countryside\n	Farming the land\n	Industries in the medieval countryside\n	Farming in the early modern era\n	The growth of rural industries\nCHAPTER SIX The greatest buildings in the land\n	The purpose of castles\n	The major cathedrals\n	Monasteries and other religious institutions\n	Palaces and great medieval houses\nCHAPTER SEVEN Parish churches and chapels\n	The earliest parish churches\n	The rebuilding of parish churches in Gothic styles\n	The impact of the Reformation\n	The Church of England\nCHAPTER EIGHT Timber-framed houses\n	Cruck-framed buildings\n	Box-framed buildings\n	Peasant houses\n	The great rebuilding\n	Houses and the hearth tax\nCHAPTER NINE Population, family life and society\n	Population growth, loss and recovery\n	English families\n	The ‘deserving poor’ and vagabonds\n	The core families of local communities\n	Plantations across the seas\n	Speech and literacy\nNOTES\nBIBLIOGRAPHY\nINDEX