Shadowlands: A Journey Through Britain’s Lost Cities and Vanished Villages
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- Create Date：2022-02-28 00:51:33
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Matthew Green
- ISBN：057133802X
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Summary
Drowned。 Buried by sand。 Decimated by plague。 Plunged off a cliff。 This is the forgotten history of Britain's lost cities， ghost towns， and vanished villages。 From a Neolithic settlement submerged in sand to an abandoned Black Death hamlet， a Norfolk village requisitioned and zombified by the military to a medieval city swept off a shingle island， these are Britain's shadowlands。
Rising star historian Matthew Green excavates these lost settlements in unusually vivid detail， telling the extraordinary tales of their demise。 We experience life before， during， and after oblivion， meeting the humans who lived and died in these unique places， and explore the lingering， beautiful remains。
At a time when our settlements are threatened by pandemics and global warming， its story of human fragility could not be more powerful。 Whether evoking the Atlantis myth or Romantic ruins， an ancient Roman metropolis or the modern coastline， Shadowlands peers through the cracks of history at Britain's secret landscape， transforming our understanding of history by giving a truer sense of the progress of time and presaging our future。
Rising star historian Matthew Green excavates these lost settlements in unusually vivid detail， telling the extraordinary tales of their demise。 We experience life before， during， and after oblivion， meeting the humans who lived and died in these unique places， and explore the lingering， beautiful remains。
At a time when our settlements are threatened by pandemics and global warming， its story of human fragility could not be more powerful。 Whether evoking the Atlantis myth or Romantic ruins， an ancient Roman metropolis or the modern coastline， Shadowlands peers through the cracks of history at Britain's secret landscape， transforming our understanding of history by giving a truer sense of the progress of time and presaging our future。
Reviews
Amanda
，
A fascinating account of some of the many British settlements lost to time。Green's meticulous research takes us around the British Isles on a quest to uncover the history of villages， towns and even cities that are no more。 While some settlements were abandoned due to isolation， plague， and for political， ecclesiastical or military reasons， others succumbed to cliff erosion。 A fascinating account of some of the many British settlements lost to time。Green's meticulous research takes us around the British Isles on a quest to uncover the history of villages， towns and even cities that are no more。 While some settlements were abandoned due to isolation， plague， and for political， ecclesiastical or military reasons， others succumbed to cliff erosion。 。。。more
Alwynne
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Up-and-coming author， and social historian， Matthew Green undertakes a personal journey through Britain’s lost places， the shadowlands of which only scant， mysterious traces survive。 These sites tell stories of climate change; monumental shifts in ways of living; of war and conquest; devastating plague; and rumours of hellfire。 His destinations include: Skara Brae， the haunting relics of an intriguing， neolithic settlement， found in the Orkney Islands， its outline exposed during the vicious stor Up-and-coming author， and social historian， Matthew Green undertakes a personal journey through Britain’s lost places， the shadowlands of which only scant， mysterious traces survive。 These sites tell stories of climate change; monumental shifts in ways of living; of war and conquest; devastating plague; and rumours of hellfire。 His destinations include: Skara Brae， the haunting relics of an intriguing， neolithic settlement， found in the Orkney Islands， its outline exposed during the vicious storm of 1850; Trellech in Wales， possible medieval boom town and ongoing source of heated battles between its amateur excavator and entrenched academics; Wharram Percy the Yorkshire village whose demise was set in motion by the Great Death or Pestilence that spread across the world in the mid-fourteenth century; Dunwich gradually consumed by the sea， its ruins once a place of pilgrimage for writers such as Swinburne and Henry James; Capel Calyn in North Wales drowned in the 1960s to make way for a reservoir， a potent symbol of Welsh Nationalism and English oppression; and St。 Kilda with its tragic history， so isolated it was used for banishments， its inhabitants once fuel for debates over the nature of “man”。 It’s a meticulously-researched， frequently fascinating account， lucid， evocative， erudite but accessible。 Matthew Green's book's a wonderful blend of social and cultural history that draws on a variety of sources from local records and interviews to art， myth and literature， but also looks forward to consider the future and what losses might be yet to come。Thanks to Netgalley and publisher Faber & Faber for an ARC 。。。more
Joanne
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If we’re out on a walk in the countryside， I’m always fascinated if we come across a ruined cottage or hamlet。 I wonder about the people who lived there， how they lived， why they left， and why the houses ended up abandoned and in ruins。 So Shadowlands is a book that really appealed to me telling the story of how entire villages， towns and indeed cities disappeared over the years， and how they were rediscovered。Matthew Green explains that abandonment or loss could have been because of changing cl If we’re out on a walk in the countryside， I’m always fascinated if we come across a ruined cottage or hamlet。 I wonder about the people who lived there， how they lived， why they left， and why the houses ended up abandoned and in ruins。 So Shadowlands is a book that really appealed to me telling the story of how entire villages， towns and indeed cities disappeared over the years， and how they were rediscovered。Matthew Green explains that abandonment or loss could have been because of changing climate and landscape， for political reasons， for socioeconomic reasons， because of human intervention or for reasons historians and archaeologists can only speculate about。 And there has been plenty speculation about some of the sites， often controversial such as in the case of Trellech in the Welsh Marches。Shadowlands was such an interesting book to read with its mixture of history of the era， the social history of how people lived at the time， the mix of theories and facts about what happened to the people who lived in the places which had vanished， and what we can learn for our times from what happened back then。There was such a variety of places included in the book from places I’ve actually visited， such as Skara Brae on Orkney the， places I’ve heard of like St Kilda and places completely new to me like Wharram Percy in Yorkshire。 The book is packed full of fascinating facts and written in a really accessible and compelling way。 There is a coda section to the book which mentions places which may suffer similar fates to some of the towns in the book。 I watched a short and sobering video on YouTube showing coastal erosion at Skipsea， situated on one of the fastest eroding coastlines not just in Britain but in Europe。 It was scary to see how close to the edge some of the houses are and sad to think it is inevitable that before long， they too， will be lost to the sea。 A similar situation is happening at Fairbourne in north-west Wales where rising sea levels and flooding threatens the village。If， like me， you look at old abandoned， ruined cottages and think ‘I wonder…’， then this is a book for you。 。。。more
Jenny H
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A fascinating story of lost villages and towns and the reasons they were abandoned。 There is a good mix， both in time and location and it makes you want to visit the areas described， just see see what's left of these vanished places。 A good book to dip into。 A fascinating story of lost villages and towns and the reasons they were abandoned。 There is a good mix， both in time and location and it makes you want to visit the areas described， just see see what's left of these vanished places。 A good book to dip into。 。。。more
MarmottanReads
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Absolutely loved this exploration of disappeared places。 The author not only retells the history of the missing villages but does so in such an evocative way。 I now want to go to all of these places （or at least， where they used to be）。
Carlton
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A series of essays about a selection of British towns and villages abandoned due to economic change or lost to environmental changes （loss to the sea or changing river access）。 I found the book interesting， but too uneven in tone， insufficiently detailed and fragmented。 I learned some fascinating facts， but was dissatisfied with the book as a whole。Written by a historian， although at times the writing seemed to be more enthusiastic amateur， with the disadvantages that the book can veer off into A series of essays about a selection of British towns and villages abandoned due to economic change or lost to environmental changes （loss to the sea or changing river access）。 I found the book interesting， but too uneven in tone， insufficiently detailed and fragmented。 I learned some fascinating facts， but was dissatisfied with the book as a whole。Written by a historian， although at times the writing seemed to be more enthusiastic amateur， with the disadvantages that the book can veer off into purple prose （The top of the pines floated in the wind， lofty and conspiratorial， the faint paths pathetic against their might”）， peppered with fragmented personal descriptions， reminiscences or suppositions （regularly using modifiers such as “likely”， “say”， “it is even possible”）。 On the positive side the writing is often lively， anecdotal and easy to read， although sometimes the background research feels as if it has been transcribed into the book so as not to have been wasted。To condense his exploration of these abandonments， Green necessarily simplifies his description of historic situations， which sometimes seemingly accept the determinism of hindsight， rather than the complexity and uncertainty of lived history。 For example:Fragmented into rival kingdoms， Wales， by 1066， was a very different cultural and political entity from the freshly conquered and already unified realm of England。 England was not unified by 1066， although the Norman invaders wished to make it so， and its borders were still fluid with the Normans for years stamping out rebellions （and their successors waging territorial wars of expansion upon Scotland， Wales and Cornwall）， but 1066 is a recognisable date。The book discusses eight main sites， one from prehistory， four from the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries and three from the twentieth century， whilst providing numerous further examples:1。 Skara Brae - about 5，000 years ago， possibly lost climate change with flooding of adjacent hunting grounds 2。 Trellech - 13th century iron making boom town on Welsh borders， reducing in size due to political change and the Black Death 3。 Winchelsea - 13th century East Sussex port and town lost to the sea between about 1270 and 1288， now called Old Winchelsea to distinguish it from the new replacement Winchelsea town founded about three miles away by Edward I in the 1280’s。 “It was the first major town in Britain to drown since the beginning of recorded history。” New Winchelsea becomes depopulated gradually from about 1350 as the estuary silts up and the wine trade， upon which its prosperity is founded， diverts to other ports。4。 Wharram Percy - deserted village - but also mentions Tilgarsley， deserted village north west of Eynsham， which was larger。 Green traces the desertion as being precipitated by the Black Death in 1348， but the village then shrinking over the following 200 years， as more labour intensive arable farming was replaced by enclosure and sheep farming。5。 Dunwich - much lost to the sea from gradual coastal erosion after two “calamitous” sea storms in 1288 and 1328， including numerous ecclesiastical buildings and churches。 Green references visits by Henry James （English Hours） and W G Sebald （The Rings of Saturn）， as well as historical researches by Elizabethan writer Stow， who was commissioned by Day， whose early life was spent in Dunwich。6。 St Kilda in the Outer Hebrides - after perhaps 2，000 years of human occupation， the island was abandoned in 1930 due to depopulation （about 200 down to about 40） over the past 100 years or so， with discussion of the European Enlightenment and the idea of an ideal “primitive” man。7。 The villages of Breckland in Norfolk - requisitioned by the army in the 1940’s to allow training for the D-day landings， they were retained by the state and not returned to their owners， so that they could be used by the military to simulate Cold War Britain and Germany， Northern Ireland and Helmand Province。8。 Capel Celyn - a Welsh village drowned to provide a further source of water for the English city of Liverpool in the 1950’s。A short Coda muses upon the ruination of the future， caused by climate change and economic conditions。I received a Netgalley copy of this book， but this review is my honest opinion。 。。。more
Andrew Johnston
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Not what I was expecting， I was hoping for stories about the people who lived in the places long lost to disease， the sea and war。 It was about those things but mainly about how it effected the geography。 It is strongest when discussing events in the last 200 year mainly because of the surviving evidence。 Worth a go if you like geographical stuff。 Netgalley arc。
Mrs Karen Bull
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Very beautifully written book Matthew Green is wonderful author， very well researched and enjoyed every moment of this book
Stephen
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Shadowlands is a wonderful exploration of Britain's lost places and history。 Green takes you on a journey through this landscape， turning his stories of lost places into a reflection of loss - geographic， historical and personal。 The past has a lot to teach us， and the lessons of the forgotten becomes increasingly important。 Green writes his expedition in poetic and lyrical style evoking a haunted landscape Shadowlands is a wonderful exploration of Britain's lost places and history。 Green takes you on a journey through this landscape， turning his stories of lost places into a reflection of loss - geographic， historical and personal。 The past has a lot to teach us， and the lessons of the forgotten becomes increasingly important。 Green writes his expedition in poetic and lyrical style evoking a haunted landscape 。。。more
Jamie West
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This is not a book of facts and figures but a journey of discovery。 Contained within is not just the story of how these places were lost， but the adventure of how they were re-discovered。 As he does so the author does a good job of putting these places in their wider context。 Not just in place but in time。These are stories which engage the senses and spark your imagination。 Perhaps this should be no surprise， as the book is authored by a social historian， but at its heart this book contains stor This is not a book of facts and figures but a journey of discovery。 Contained within is not just the story of how these places were lost， but the adventure of how they were re-discovered。 As he does so the author does a good job of putting these places in their wider context。 Not just in place but in time。These are stories which engage the senses and spark your imagination。 Perhaps this should be no surprise， as the book is authored by a social historian， but at its heart this book contains stories about people。 The people that once lived in these lost places， the people who witnessed their demise， and the people that rediscovered them。It is also the story of the author and their visits to these places。 It’s captured well and the descriptions are evocative， allowing us experience them through the text as if we were there。He does what I think most of us do in these situations， try to imagine what life was like in these places and the reasons for their abandonment and demise。 Sometimes he can provide more definitive answers than others， but it’s always more than enough to get the imagination working。There is also a warning for the future contained within the pages of this book。 Whilst not man-made， like our current climate crisis， the Medieval Warm Period was responsible for the demise of two locations in this book。 Here the author presents a startling hint of what lies ahead for the towns and cities that are at risk from climate change。 。。。more
Emma Hardy
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An interesting and incredibly well researched read。 This takes you around the country and talks through fascinating hot spots and why they are so。 I particularly appreciated the Tryweryn story as I know how significant that still feels to the people of Wales。
Kid Ferrous
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Matthew Green’s prescient and exquisite book “Shadowlands” is a poignant and evocative of lost Britain， with a profound sense of regret running through it。 The book is well researched and sensitive to the subject matter， reviving ancient and modern places lost to various forces such as war， disease and the elements。 Green brings Britain's forgotten history into the light for a modern age， and in so doing proffers a warning for the future。 A sublime treat。 Matthew Green’s prescient and exquisite book “Shadowlands” is a poignant and evocative of lost Britain， with a profound sense of regret running through it。 The book is well researched and sensitive to the subject matter， reviving ancient and modern places lost to various forces such as war， disease and the elements。 Green brings Britain's forgotten history into the light for a modern age， and in so doing proffers a warning for the future。 A sublime treat。 。。。more
Annarella
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