Published online by Cambridge University Press: 31 October 2008
In the Yorkshire Dales, where the destruction of the rural setting is less advanced than in most other parts of England, countrysides frequently exist as historical palimpsests that incorporate elements from various earlier phases of colonisation and exploitation. The region is noted for the survival of antiquities of many kinds. In places, pollarded trees are significant components in the scenic pastiche, though prior to this survey there was no general recognition that their distribution is closely linked to the main themes that have conditioned the process of landscape development. The survey, which collected details on 186 ancient trees within a study area around 17 miles long by 8 miles wide, was undertaken according to the perspectives of landscape history. These not only seek to discover the evolution of landscapes, but also recognise that evidence is embedded in features like trees, fields, trackways and so on.