The Somerset Levels

Largely a man-made landscape, the Somerset Levels is steeped in history and legend. It was the cradle of Christianity in England, the stronghold of Arthur and Alfred, and the scene of Monmouth's bloody Pitchfork Rebellion. Most enduring but perhaps most extraordinary is man's centuries-old endeavour to convert these flat tracts of land from low-lying sea marsh to brackish wasteland, then from semi-drained land to a completely controlled environment. This work considers the Somerset Levels' rich historical associations and its evolution as a landscape.