History develops not only from our thoughts and actions but also from the physical and cultural environment which we mould for ourselves. Six essays, displaying the combined skills of historians, archaeologists and geographers, explore the creation of the South West across many centuries. Peter Fowler examines the similarities and contrasts between the South West and the North East. Mick Aston explores the creation of the medieval settlement pattern, while Harold Fox analyzes a further period of change in the later middle ages. Michael Turner looks at urban reconstructions in the eighteenth century. Steven Pugsley reveals the importance of grand Georgian country houses and their landscaped surroundings. Finally, Mark Brayshay shows how the idea of town planning can be traced to the mid-Victorian era. Between them these essays provide not only a fascinating subject for study in their own right, but also the backcloth against which all other aspects of the region's history were worked out.