Committee, 2014 –

Benjamin Morton is a PhD student at Newcastle University. In 2014 he was awarded an AHRC studentship to complete a PhD. Before this, he worked as a local government Archaeological Officer.From the 16th century onwards writers began to record differences in the character of the English countryside. One key distinction lay between ‘champion’ landscapes of village settlement and vast open fields, and ‘bosky’ wood-pasture landscapes of hamlet settlement and enclosed fields. Benjamin’s research is focused on trying to understand the origins of these differences, which to varying degrees still underpin the character of the English landscape. In particular, he is focusing on evaluating existing models to account for medieval landscape change, specifically those explaining the origins and development of field systems, and systems of common governance over landscape resources.

For more information see: http://www.ncl.ac.uk/hca/archaeology/research/students/ben-morton