Local people making their corner of rural Britain unique
This week
Saturday 29 September
This week Richard Uridge reads the historic landscape of the Quantock Hills in Somerset.
With its dramatic heaths, wooded coombes and red sandstone cliffs reaching down to the waters of the Bristol Channel, it’s hardly surprising that the Quantock Hills in Somerset became one of the first areas in England to be designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Yet for thousands of years, people have lived and worked here, with recent discoveries enabling archaeologists to piece together, for the first time, the unfolding history from the Bronze Age, to the Iron Age, the Roman period, to Medieval times, through to the present day.
Richard Uridge is taken to various locations by one of the team of archaeologists Hazel Riley of English Heritage who worked on The Historic Landscape of the Quantock Hills. At Beacon Hill a Bronze Age burial site they are joined by Jayne Brayne an archaeological illustrator who uses evidence uncovered by archaeologists to paint a reconstruction of a particular period in pre-history.
For the Iron Age and Roman period Hazel takes Richard to see the site at Plainsfield Camp on the south east corner of the Quantocks where they meet Nick Thorpe of the University of Winchester, whose research work, involving aerial photography, has led his team to finding the most westerly Roman villa in England, situated at Yarford.
Next Bob Croft, Somerset County archaeologist takes Richard to the coastal village of Kilve, where the Manor house from Medieval times still stands. Travelling inland to the Cothelstone Estate they find a good example of the later parkland movement.
Finally Andy Harris, ranger with the Quantocks Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty team explains how the area encompasses almost 10% of the world’s maritime heathland, which supports a large variety of wildlife, including red deer, nightjars and Dartford warblers.
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