Chester Society for Landscape History
Upper storeys of Chester’s iconic Rows (Photograph: Vanessa Greatorex)
Forthcoming Events
Saturday 27 September 2025, 2pm
VISITORS WELCOME
Lecture: Quenching the Urban Thirst: The Landscape of Water Supply in the Western Peak District
Speaker: Dr Alan Crosby, British Association for Local History, Editor of The Local Historian
Venue: All Saints Church Centre, Vicarage Road,
Hoole, Chester, CH2 3HZ
Admission: Members free, Visitors £4, Student Visitors £2
NB: For directions, please scroll to the bottom of the Centre’s own website and click on the text which says ‘Map and Directions’: https://allsaints.church/venue-hire/
Saturday 25 October, 2pm
VISITORS WELCOME
Lecture: Discoveries at Basingwerk Abbey
Speaker: Chris Matthews, Clwyd Powys Archaeological Trust
Venue: St Columba’s Church Hall, Plas Newton Lane, Chester, CH2 1SA
NB: Free car park; for directions see:
https://sscolumbaandtheresa.co.uk/about/st-columbas-church/directions-and-location/
Saturday 29 November, 2pm
VISITORS WELCOME
Lecture: The Warburton Archaeological Survey
Speaker: Mike Nevell
Venue: St Columba’s Church Hall, Plas Newton Lane, Chester, CH2 1SA
NB: Free car park; for directions see:
https://sscolumbaandtheresa.co.uk/about/st-columbas-church/directions-and-location/
What is Landscape History?
Landscape History is the study of how people have altered the landscape through time.
It seeks to explain the historical significance of the buildings, earthworks, flora and other physical features which are our common heritage. It embraces aspects of history, archaeology, architecture, geography, geology, botany and other disciplines.
“The English landscape itself, to those who know how to read it aright, is the richest historical record we possess.” – W.G. Hoskins, The Making of the English Landscape (1955).
Picks of the Week
Here are some links to online landscape history resources recently recommended by our Information Officer and other members:
Earth’s core appears to be leaking out of Earth’s surface
Geoscientists have found evidence that there are places where primordial matter is escaping through the mantle which surrounds our planet’s outer core and seeping out of the Earth’s crust.
https://www.quantamagazine.org/earths-core-appears-to-be-leaking-up-and-out-of-earths-surface-20250804/
Growing trees in a challenging environment
How Iceland’s Land and Forest Services are working to restore the island’s birch and ash forests and promote biodiversity after centuries of sheep grazing, soil erosion and volcanic eruptions. YouTube documentary with subtitles (lasts just under 28 minutes).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbkWBmF
Click on the blue text at the end of this sentence for links to previously recommended Online Resources, or for links to specific topics, including: Directories/Databases/Aerial Photographs, Geology, Ecosystems, Prehistory, Roman, Anglo-Saxon, Viking, Medieval, Tudor and Stuart, Castles, Churches/Cathedrals/Shrines, Industrial, Cheshire, Wales, Other Locations.