New Distributed Titles Fall 2009 - Oxbow Books

Norton Priory
Monastery to Museum – Excavations 1970–87
edited by Fraser Brown and Christine Howard-Davis
The Priory of St Mary was moved from Runcorn to Norton in 1134 by William FitzWilliam,
third baron of Halton. Norton grew in size and stature to become an abbey in 1391.
The abbey met its end in April 1536 under Henry VIII’s dissolution of religious houses,
and in 1545 the site was sold to the Brooke family, who adapted parts of the abbot’s
quarters, kitchens and west range to provide a comfortable family home. In the mideighteenth
century, much of the house was demolished. Ground-breaking excavations
began in 1970, running until 1987, and exposing much of the site for investigation.
This book provides a full account of the results of the excavations.
474p, b/w and col illus, hardback, 9780904220520, $97.00, Oxford Archaeology, December 2008, Lancaster Imprints 16.
Farm Buildings of the Weald 1450–1750
by David and Barbara Martin
An ancient timber-framed house with its attendant farm buildings
nestling amidst a patchwork of tiny hedge-lined fields
makes an idyllic country scene. This volume is a study of these
underrated buildings, and the culmination of 25 years of research.
The aim is to give a clear overview of how the region’s barns and
ancillary farm buildings were designed to meet the needs of local
agriculture and to indicate how these needs changed during the
300 years up to the mid-18th century.
181p, illus, paperback, 9781905223244, $50.00,
Heritage Publications, July 2009.
The Rose and the Globe – Playhouses of Tudor Bankside, Southwark
Excavations 1988–91
by Julian Bowsher and Pat Miller
The excavation of two of the famous playhouses of Tudor London, the Rose and the Globe, provided
the first concrete evidence for the size, layout and development of these playhouses. The hundreds of
individual elements found in the excavations, together with newly researched documentary sources,
have been fully integrated into a narrative description and thematic discussions on every aspect of the
playhouses, the plays and the audiences.
280p, 172 col & b/w illus, hardback, 9781901992854, $59.95, Museum of London Archaeological Service,
December 2009, MoLAS Monograph 48.
Finsbury’s Moated Manor House, Medieval Land Use
and Later Development in the Moorfields Area, Islington
by Ken Pitt with Jez Taylor
Archaeological investigations at seven sites within the Finsbury Square area have revealed important
evidence for the medieval and post-medieval development of this area north of the city walls.
74p, 45 b/w illus, 11 tbls, paperback, 9781901992816, $18.00, Museum of London Archaeological Service,
May 2009, MoLAS Archaeology Studies 20.
british archaeology
Hill Hall
A Singular House Devised by a Tudor Intellectual
by Paul Drury and Richard Simpson
This is the complete history of a building that began as a hunting
lodge and grew to be the principal house of the manor of
Theydon Mount in Essex. In 1556, the house was acquired by
Sir Thomas Smith (1512–77). He rebuilt the house in Frenchinfluenced
classical style and decorated it with wall paintings,
conveying complex messages of morality and affinity as part
of a coherent program of images in paint, glass and tiles.
Archaeological excavation and detailed recording of the surviving
fabric took place prior to the restoration of the house and
its mural paintings, the results of which are now presented in
this copiously illustrated account of one of the most important
and influential houses to be built in Elizabethan England.
544p, 378 illus, hardback, 9780854312917, $110.00,
Society of Antiquaries, May 2009.
The Royal Ordnance Factory at Hayes
The Story of a World War II Gun and Tank Factory
at Hayes in the London Borough of Hillingdon
by Nick Holder
This is the fascinating story of a World War II tank and gun
factory in West London. Using wartime documents, specially
commissioned architectural photographs and - most importantly
- the recollections of some of the factory’s workers, the
book aims to tell the little-known story of how ROF Hayes
played its part in the war effort.
48p, col illus, paperback, 9781901992885, $15.95,
Museum of London Archaeological Service, October 2009.
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