Between 1500 and 1800 the development of England and Ireland became closely intertwined, and the urban systems of both countries underwent changes of great long-term significance. This volume brings together historians and geographers from both Britain and Ireland to examine the common themes affecting provincial towns. The individual papers study economic growth, religious and cultural change, regionalization, landscape and planning, and the fate of different types of settlements (e.g. small towns, fair and market centres, county towns and regional capitals). A substantial introduction reviews the historiographical context of the subject, and discusses whether the trajectories of English and Irish urban development converged or diverged during the period. This volume complements Two Capitals: London and Dublin 1500-1840 (Proceedings of the British Academy, vol. 107; ISBN: 0-19-726247-3).
Review quote:
Provincial Towns has assembled an array of valuable research and commentary. (Journal of Urban History)
... the book provides much food for thought, and the comparative framework has much to commend it. Scholarly readers will find it a useful addition to the growing literature on the early modern town. (H-NET Book Review)
... a useful comparative framework for understanding urban life and culture on either side of the Irish Sea. (H-NET Book Review)
... adds to the growing literature, providing a rare comparative perspective. (H-NET Book Review)
... valuable for its interdisciplinary and comparative approach. (Northern History)
... this collection is a great success. Its constituent parts mesh together well, and the result is a readable and informative collection ... All the contributors, and the editors, are to be congratulated for a job well done. (Eighteenth-Century Ireland)
Between 1500 and 1800 the urban systems of England and Ireland underwent changes of great long-term significance. This volume brings together historians and geographers from both Britain and Ireland to examine the common themes affecting provincial towns and to discuss whether the trajectories of urban development in the two countries converged or diverged during the period.
Review quote:
Provincial Towns has assembled an array of valuable research and commentary. (Journal of Urban History)
... the book provides much food for thought, and the comparative framework has much to commend it. Scholarly readers will find it a useful addition to the growing literature on the early modern town. (H-NET Book Review)
... a useful comparative framework for understanding urban life and culture on either side of the Irish Sea. (H-NET Book Review)
... adds to the growing literature, providing a rare comparative perspective. (H-NET Book Review)
... valuable for its interdisciplinary and comparative approach. (Northern History)
... this collection is a great success. Its constituent parts mesh together well, and the result is a readable and informative collection ... All the contributors, and the editors, are to be congratulated for a job well done. (Eighteenth-Century Ireland)
Between 1500 and 1800 the urban systems of England and Ireland underwent changes of great long-term significance. This volume brings together historians and geographers from both Britain and Ireland to examine the common themes affecting provincial towns and to discuss whether the trajectories of urban development in the two countries converged or diverged during the period.