Agricultural History Review, Volume 56 Part 2 (2008), p. 244

In this book ‘south-west Peak’ is defined as the area bounded by lines joining Macclesfield, Whaley Bridge, Buxton and Leek, thus encompassing Macclesfield Forest, part of the High Peak and part of the Staffordshire Moorlands. The wisdom of not considering a wider area, including the country east of Leek town and even all the western margin of the Carboniferous limestone outcrop may be questioned, but however defined, the south-west Peak most certainly comprises an interesting tract of hard country straddling the boundary of the national park. In his exploration of the history of its landscape, Eric Wood has set out to ‘appeal to the general reader and those with an interest in local history’ using a ‘broad-brush’ treatment. The book is arranged in twenty-one chapters which, in turn, are broken down into short sections with notably bold headings, thus giving a guide or gazetteer-like feel. A wide, but by no means comprehensive, range of published sources has been consulted and the ground has also been walked, evidently with some enthusiasm. However there are a number of aspects of the book which limit the success of Wood’s endeavours, most particularly an imbalance of content and the manner of its presentation.

The photographs on the front cover and the fly-leaf set the tone for the volume. A good two-thirds of the content is given over to the development of communications and the exploitation of natural resources. Clearly the author’s interests lie with relict features in the landscape, notably trackways, roads, quarries, coal mines and water power sites. Someone seeking a guide to such aspects will find much of interest. The reader’s understanding would have been enhanced by more systematic discussion of the associated physical environment and also by a greater use of distribution maps so that specific sites could be seen in their wider context. Some subsections are generalized in content and could apply to England as a whole, such as those about highwaymen and coaching services, and add little to an appreciation of the south-west Peak landscape.

The agrarian scene is dealt with less confidently. The difficulties occasioned by the extensive wet moorlands extending to over 500m, dissected by deeply cut valleys deserve greater elaboration. The south-west Peak has long been marginal country with a scarcity of evidence of coherent settlement until medieval times. For example, there is but scant reference to the area in the Domesday Survey. The reader is offered some detail on surviving Anglo-Saxon crosses, again emphasizing Wood’s concern with extant landscape features. This too would have benefited from basic distributional mapping. There is proper recognition of the extent to which the area came to be dominated by the Macclesfield, Peak and Malbac Forests, and likewise the importance of monastic grange communities. The farming scene after the Dissolution and during and after seventeenth-century disafforestation, is but briefly summarized.

Landmark Press produces books to a high standard but a number of presentational aspects merit comment. The maps are not drawn in a consistent style and a few appear as hand-drawn working sketches. Some are appropriately located with grid references and sources but others are not. Similarly the sources of photographs are not acknowledged and one suspects that many originate with the author. Tighter editing would have helped to ensure that the title as given on the front cover matched that on the title page and to correct such statements as ‘Macclesfield Forest is bounded by Peak Forest’ to the west rather than the east and that the coal seams occur in the Namurian. Some do but others lie in Westphalian or Coal Measures basins. The bibliography contains duplication and regrettably there is no listing of other sources consulted, thus preventing the reader from exploring further.

The south-west Peak would have benefited from a longer period of gestation. It is particularly unfortunate that the book ends abruptly, with no attempt to draw the various themes of agrarian development, industry and communications together. The wholeness embodied in the concept of landscape is thus passed by along with the opportunity to identify what makes the south-west Peak a distinctive tract of country worthy of consideration separate from the rest of the Peak District.