England's Villages: An Extraordinary Journey Through Time (Hardback) - Dr Ben Robinson

Villages have held a sway over our collective imaginations for well over a millennia. But how well do we really know these bastions of Britishness?

England's villages have survived, developed, persisted and thrived over hundreds of years. Entirely new villages are still being built today. But when did the first villages appear and why is this form of settlement so enduring and endearing? What makes a village and how has that changed over time? How did village pubs and village halls originate, and why do they matter? Take a charming and unexpected journey through the quirks of England's villages across the ages in the excellent company of Dr Ben Robinson, expert archaeologist. Join him in visiting villages from prehistoric and Roman times, throughout medieval England, to today's urban villages. Discover how landowners, governments and communities have shaped villages, why village greens and ponds exist, and the real meaning behind village names like Bunny, Yelling, Lover, Great Snoring and Slaughter. A compelling study of archaeology, history and architecture, England's Villages is a thoughtful, enlightening and informative look at our oldest homes, uncovering and revealing the extraordinary heritage of the places that surround us.

About the Author

Dr Ben Robinson is a British archaeologist and television presenter. Ben grew up in a Cambridgeshire fenland village, within a farming family. He has worked as a field archaeologist, an archaeological planning adviser, and once enjoyed the grand-sounding job title 'Inspector of Ancient Monuments'. Ben joined cult archaeological TV show Time Team for several series and has presented regional BBC TV features on heritage subjects from Roman treasure to Victorian rubbish. He has taken to the skies as 'The Flying Archaeologist', traced King John's final ill-fated journey and tracked the path of Zeppelin raids for BBC Four. Latterly, Ben has joined Alice Roberts as 'the eye in the sky' for three series of Channel 4's Britain's Most Historic Towns, presented village archaeology and history series Pubs, Ponds and Power: The Story of the Village, and now fronts Villages by the Sea for BBC Two.