Thames through Time 4 presents the final episode of the series, taking the story of the Thames Valley through the second millennium to provide a new narrative of the medieval and post-medieval period

This final volume begins with the end of Anglo-Saxon political power in Britain and continues through the turmoils of the Norman invasion, the Black Death and the reformation, onto the considerable economic and landscape changes brought about by the agricultural revolutions of the 17th and 18th centuries, and up to the massive population and technological expansions of the 20th century. The volume examines themes concerning the role of the River Thames, transport, medieval and post-medieval towns, and the medieval and post-medieval rural landscape.

Together, the chapters provide a rich resource of interest to the public, students and academics alike. The volume presents the results of a wide-ranging synthetic study that illuminates the past 1000 years of social, cultural, political and economic history of the Thames Valley.

Click the links below to download the theme-specific chapters and accompanying illustrations.

Volume 4 was originally planned as a monograph comparable to the first three volumes. However, the range of material available proved too substantial to be adequately covered in a single volume and it was decided that the work would not be published as a book. Nonetheless, several chapters were at an advanced stage of development—these documents have been edited and are offered here as an online resource that we hope will be of benefit to researchers and the wider public. Much of the work was produced between 2008 and 2014, and although the authors have given permission for them to be made available, they have not revisited them since they were originally produced.