contributions to the geography of the british isles

American Geographical Society

Contributions to the Geography of the British IslesAuthor(s): Henry Madison KendallSource: Geographical Review, Vol. 55, No. 4 (Oct., 1965), pp. 581-586Published by: American Geographical SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/212416 .

Accessed: 09/05/2014 14:13

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

.

American Geographical Society is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access toGeographical Review.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 194.29.185.252 on Fri, 9 May 2014 14:13:32 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=ags

http://www.jstor.org/stable/212416?origin=JSTOR-pdf

http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp


CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE BRITISH ISLES

HENRY MADISON KENDALL

T HE Twentieth International Geographical Congress, held in London in July, 1964, provided a magnificent opportunity for British geographers and scholars in related fields to add impressively to the already large literature of the British Isles. It is not so

much the simple fact of the existence of this volume of production that is significant; it is that British geographers have persistently made it their business to examine so many aspects of so small an area. Further, they have evolved a technique of treatment that includes the broad regional view as well as the minute examination of specific topical problems. Admit-

tedly, many of their publications have had as a basic objective the "education" of those only modestly familiar with the diverse landscapes of the British Isles. Yet nearly all the works stand in their own right as admirable examples of geographical scholarship.

The takeoff point for modern British geography is commonly agreed to have been the lecture presented to the Royal Geographical Society by H.J. Mackinder in 1887.I Thereafter, geography acquired ever-increasing stature in the universities of Britain; more and more it came to be recognized as a valuable contributor not only to academic life but to practical affairs as well. This development naturally led to more sophisticated examination of the

geographical facts, and the interpretation of those facts, by a growing body of workers.

Perhaps having its origin in the writings of Patrick Geddes,2 but certainly becoming full- blown in the late 1940's, there began an active diversion of the results of geographical research to the field of planning, both rural and urban. Although this application may not have been the prime objective, it pervades a large part of the total writings, and it is here that British

geographers have made, and are making, their most forceful contributions. In a sense many of the works that appeared just before, or in conjunction with, the Con-

gress represent an attempt to produce a cohesive precis of the great variety that has always been apparent in the writings of British geographers about the British Isles. It is almost as though a balance were being struck, from which the next period of development could de-

part. Thlis precis performs the double function of instructing the neophyte and allowing the specialist to see the forest despite the trees. And most often the performance has been on a high level of excellence.

GENERAL SYMPOSIA

A volume titled "Great Britain: Essays in Regional Geography,"3 prepared under the editorship of Alan G. Ogilvie, had been published on the occasion of the Twelfth Inter- national Geographical Congress, held in Cambridge in 1928. This remained the standard

H.J. Mackinder: On the Scope and Methods of Geography, Proc. Royal Geogr. Soc., Vol. 9, 1887, pp. 141-174.

2 For example, "Cities in Evolution: An Introduction to the Town Planning Movement and to the Study of Civics" (London, 191 5).

3 Alan G. Ogilvie, edit.: Great Britain: Essays in Regional Geography (Cambridge, 1928).

> DR. KENDALL is professor of geography, and chairman of the department, at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio.



THE GEOGRAPHICAL REVIEW

work until 1962, when "Great Britain: Geographical Essays," edited by Jean Mitchell,4 appeared. The volumes are similar in that the treatment in both is regional. The decision of the Royal Society and of the British National Committee for Geography to present a different treatment in two works specifically designed as literature for the Twentieth Inter- national Geographical Congress is to be applauded. In the first of these, twenty-four geographers have contributed to a symposium on systematic geography, under the editorship of

J. Wreford Watson and J. B. Sissons;5 in the second, forty-five geographers, leaders of the

field-study tours held before and after the Congress, present essays on the subject or route to be demonstrated.6

The first volume contains twenty-two essays, on topics that range through the principal areas of both physical and cultural geography. In each essay the objectives are the presentation of the current state of knowledge, its analysis, and an assessment, by a leader in the study of the particular aspect of geography treated. The whole is bound together by two opening essays, Watson's "The Individuality of Britain and the British Isles" and R. W. Steele's "British Geographers and the Geography of Britain," which prepare the reader for the discussion to follow, and a closing essay, W. G. East's "The British Isles and Their World

Context," which evaluates the place of the British Isles in the present-day world. Rather

surprisingly, the cultural aspects receive greater emphasis (twelve essays) than the physical aspects (seven essays). Yet there appears to be little imbalance. Among the physical elements that are treated only cursorily are vegetation and soils, but sufficient reference is made to erase any feeling of serious omission. On the cultural side, three essays are of particular value in laying the groundwork for the explanation of much of the contemporary landscape: "Prehistoric Geography," by E. E. Evans; "Historical Geography from the Coming of the

Anglo-Saxons to the Industrial Revolution," by H. C. Darby; and "Historical Geography: The Industrial Revolution," by R. Lawton. The book is made even more effective by the use of fifty-one diagrams, charts, and maps, all well chosen and adequately presented, and

by the inclusion at the end of each essay of a selected, though substantial, bibliography. The second volume has an entirely different flavor. Its thirty-three essays focus on pro-

viding the needed background facts about the field-tour routes and the topics to be stressed, rather than on presenting complete unit studies that collectively would constitute a geography of the British Isles. The book is essentially a guidebook for professional geographers.

The field-study tours were chosen to present as much of the British Isles as possible in the allotted time. Fifteen of the essays are on England, seven on Scotland, five on Ireland, and three on Wales; one is on the Channel Islands; one covers England and Wales, and one

England, Wales, and Scotland. Subject matter ranges widely, from geomorphology to urban

problems, from regional geography to settlement. Eighty-five maps and diagrams provide minimal coverage of the areas, and a brief but useful bibliography is appended to each essay. The essays fulfill their stated function in a workmanlike fashion. They emphasize the well-

4J[ean] B. Mitchell, edit.: Great Britain: Geographical Essays (Cambridge, 1962). Reviewed, Geogr. Rev., Vol. 54, 1964, pp. 135-136, by John Fraser Hart.

sJ. Wreford Watson, edit., with J. B. Sissons: The British Isles: A Systematic Geography. xii and

452 pp.; maps, diagrs., bibliogrs., index. Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd., London, Edinburgh, etc., 1964. 45s. 9?2 x 6 inches.

6J. A. Steers, edit.: Field Studies in the British Isles. xxiii and 528 pp.; maps, diagrs., bibliogrs., index. Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd., London, 1964. 70s. 9H x 6 inches.

582



THE BRITISH ISLES

known variety of landscape in the British Isles and point up the extraordinary changes over short distances.

SPECIAL STUDIES

Two books of a different nature present particular aspects of the geography of England and Wales. Here again are demonstrated the diverse interests of British geographers, which, nevertheless, combine to amplify and clarify the understanding of the British Isles.

In "An Agricultural Atlas of England and Wales"J. T. Coppock examines the geography of agriculture.7 The text comprises nine chapters: aims, sources, and methods; the physical basis of farming; the man-made framework of farming; tillage crops; grassland; horti- culture; livestock; agricultural enterprises; and retrospect and prospect. In addition, there are appendixes on sources and methods, on programming the computer, and on selected statistics for crop combinations, livestock combinations, and enterprise combinations. Of the 205 maps interspersed in the text, most are of the choropleth type, based on the 352 National Agricultural Advisory Service Districts and using data from the agricultural census of June 4, 1958. The districts are subdivisions of counties. Where data were not available by districts, the county was used as a unit. Where the material proved to be unsuitable for choropleth presentation or where the county constituted the unit, other cartographic devices were utilized: divided circles, proportional circles, bar graphs, and dot symbols are all represented. The maps, which are of high quality, tell their story clearly. Of special interest are three maps (Figs. 97, 192, and 201) that present a kind of summation of individual maps to show crop combinations, livestock combinations, and agricultural-enterprise combinations. The method used in establishing these combinations was, with slight modifications, that devised by John C. Weaver.8 The text is primarily concerned with drawing attention to the salient features of the maps, with outlining the changes in the preceding twenty years, and with suggesting explanations for distributions and changes. In these respects it forms a valuable complement to the maps themselves.

In "The Common Lands of England & Wales"9 W. G. Hoskins and L. Dudley Stamp present a fascinating, though somewhat popularized, consideration of this unique phe- nomenon of the English and Welsh landscapes. There are still some 1.5 million acres of common lands in England and Wales, but until this volume appeared no book had dealt specifically with them. The first part, by Dr. Hoskins, is a historical survey of the common lands from their beginnings as prehistoric grazing grounds down to the present day. It dispels many of the misconceptions about the nature of common land, such as the belief that it is public property and the public therefore has unlimited rights to its use. Contrary to wide- spread belief, all common land is private property, not public. It is peculiar in that, though privately owned by individuals or corporate bodies, a considerable number of people, called "commoners," have legal rights over the surface. These rights are exercised by the commoners acting together, and no change in management or use can legally be made without

7J. T. Coppock: An Agricultural Atlas of England and Wales. 255 pp.; maps, bibliogr., index. Faber and Faber Ltd., London, 1964. 63s. 10 x 7H inches.

8John C. Weaver: Crop-Combination Regions in the Middle West, Geogr. Rev., Vol. 44, 1954, pp. 175-200.

9 W. G. Hoskins and L. Dudley Stamp: The Common Lands of England & Wales. xvii and 366 pp.; maps, ills., index. (The New Naturalist [Series].) Collins, London. 1963. 42s. 834 x $5 inches.

583



THE GEOGRAPHICAL REVIEW

the consent of all the commoners; even one commoner can block change. The best known of the common rights is the right to graze animals; others are the right to gather wood for fuel, to dig turf for fuel or roofing, to fish in the waters, and to cut bracken for fuel or cattle

bedding. The second part of the book, by Dr. Stamp, discusses on a regional basis the present

extent and nature of the common lands. Detail is greater for England than for Wales, primarily because designation of common land has historically been less clear in Wales than in

England. An appendix lists the common lands of England by counties, giving acreage, type, and location for each of the commons regardless of size. The book is well illustrated with

maps and photographs. The authors write with authority, since both served for three years

(1955-1958) on the Royal Commission on Common Land, whose report revealed the lack of information concerning the nature, distribution, and extent of the common lands and the chaotic state of the laws relating to them.

A symposium volume on "South Wales in the Sixties," edited by Gerald Manners,'? consists of nine essays, which examine the changes, principally economic, that have occurred in industrial South Wales since World War II. Here geographers and economists have combined to study economic geography within a regional framework. The first essay is concerned with the evolution of the regional economy, and this is followed by a general survey of the existing economy within the national setting, particularly as it is affected by government policies. The coal and steel industries are analyzed, as is the geography of employment. Diversification of industry, one of the principal concerns of the last two decades, is then

examined, and the desirability of unqualified diversification of employment, an implied assumption of government postwar policies, is questioned. A suggestion is made for a more

attractive, alternative policy, "stratified specialization"-that is, the siting of secondary and

tertiary industries in areas where the basic industry to which they are related is preponderant. The discussion of the geography of transport includes not only a description of the present facilities and flows but also an assessment of future needs. The volume concludes with an

essay by the editor and W. E. Minchinton on "A Case For Regional Planning," in which the authors summarize the findings of the book and their implications with relation to governmental planning policy. The direction taken by this volume is that of regional planning. It assesses national policies toward an important industrial area, it questions the present approach to planning for that area, and it offers some suggestions on the general nature and

processes of regional economic growth.

THREE VIEWS OF LONDON

Three books concerned with the London conurbation offer markedly different ap-

proaches. One is directed toward secondary-school teachers and students; a second provides more substantial fare for a more mature audience; and a third is a critique of certain aspects of

planning for London. "The Geography of Greater London,"" edited by R. Clayton, was prepared by the

IO Gerald Manners, edit. South Wales in the Sixties: Studies in Industrial Geography. xix and 265 pp.; maps, diagrs., ills., index. Pergamon Press, Oxford, London, etc., 1964. 50s. 934 x 6 inches.

11 R. Clayton, edit.: The Geography of Greater London: A Source Book for Teacher and Student, Prepared by the Standing Sub-Committee in Geography of the Institute of Education, University of London. xiii and 377 pp.; maps, diagrs., ills., bibliogr., index. George Philip and Son Limited, London, 1964. 45s. 94 x 7 inches.

584



THE BRITISH ISLES

Standing Sub-Committee in Geography of the Institute of Education of the University of London. In addition to the editor, himself a geographer, there are twelve contributors, of whom ten are geographers and two are specialists in education. The first seven chapters provide essentially factual material, beginning with a consideration of site and growth. This is followed by chapters on the Port of London, transportation and communications, industrial

geography, population, climate, and maps of London. The remainder of the book consists of

proposals for further study by teacher and student. One chapter treats of urban survey; another reviews materials available for work in local schools. Field excursions emphasizing various aspects of the urban scene are outlined, as are visits to various types of governmental and private institutions. Institutional sources of additional information and an extensive

bibliography complete the volume. The rather specific objectives of the book are certainly attained, not only through the text, but through the maps, diagrams, and photographs. With the possible exception of the chapters on urban survey, local work in schools, and field excursions, the book provides an excellent introduction to the geography of London for those who have little familiarity with the metropolitan area. The facts are presented carefully, and the concepts about them are simply and coherently expressed.

The volume edited by Coppock and Prince, "Greater London,"I2 is on a much more

professional level. Ten geographers, all of whom have engaged for a number of years in investigations of various aspects of London and its environs, have combined to produce a

survey of the major features of the city's geography. The idea of such a volume was directly inspired by the need revealed by the preparations for the International Geographical Congress. As the editors suggest in their Preface, the book falls into four parts. Two chapters are devoted mainly to the physical environment, but the first of these includes also a summary of the city's growth and character; four chapters describe the growth of London from the beginning of the railroad age to 1940; four chapters are concerned with three principal areal expressions of London's economy, the central area, the port, and industrial London; four chapters treat of the surrounding countryside; and a concluding chapter suggests the problems of the future. The book is excellently illustrated with seventy-eight maps and diagrams, thirty-one photographs, and twenty-two tables. One cannot fail to be impressed by the story told here of the great changes that have been accelerating in the past few decades and by their impact on the surrounding countryside. The immensity of the task of controlling London's growth is made crystal-clear. No specific solutions are proposed, but the basic problems are brought into focus. The book's primary objective, the presentation of a contemporary survey, is ac- complished in a thoroughly workmanlike fashion, yet with both general and professional interest.

The third of the books on London is not a concomitant of the International Geographical Congress but is included here because of its interest for geographers. Donald L. Foley's "Controlling London's Growth"I3 is by an American sociologist and is essentially a critique of the social ideas and implications of the London Advisory Plans. Groundwork is well laid in Part I. Briefly but adequately, the situation leading to the development ofthe plans is sketched. An account of the plans follows, with alternatives, particularly with respect to the social

12 j. T. Coppock and Hugh C. Prince, edits.: Greater London. 405 pp.; maps, diagrs., ills., bibliogrs., index. Faber and Faber Ltd., London, 1964. 63s. 8 M x 5Y inches.

13 Donald L. Foley: Controlling London's Growth: Planning the Great Wen 1940-1960. xvi and 224 pp.; maps, diagrs., index. University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1963. $5.oo. 9? x 6 inches.

585



586 THE GEOGRAPHICAL REVIEW

policies inherent in them. Part II is concerned with implementation and modification of the

plans and includes a thorough account of what has happened in redevelopment and in policy changes since the end of World War II. Part III considers the implications of what has gone on and offers conclusions. The subjective nature of this part is evident in the author's persuasions that "London is a great and very special metropolis" deserving "thoughtful guidance," and that it "deserves a most sensitive balance between continuity and change." Emphasis through- out is on social aspects, with little direct reference to specifically geographical matters other than physical size and transportation pattern. The book is of most value to students of urban

planning and design, particularly American students, for it does give a comprehensive factual and interpretive analysis of a unique metropolitan planning effort.

In the eight books discussed here, something of the wide variety of contemporary British

geography is suggested. Although they differ materially in scope and approach, in some instances to the point of being tangential, they are nonetheless cohesive in that they convey a sense of purpose and of constructive, practical contribution.



contributions to the geography of the british isles

Documents