A Hertfordshire Demesne of Westminster Abbey

This pioneering contribution to the economic history of medieval England focuses on the Hertfordshire demesne farm of Kinsbourne (later Herpendenbury) and questions whether the farm's periods of economic success and failure were due to human factors or to the forces of nature. Originally written as a doctoral thesis in 1978, the history has now been edited and published as a memorial to its author who died in 1993. The detailed study is based on the meticulous analysis of numerous primary sources which, the author concludes, suggest that the weather had little impact on the efficiency, or otherwise, of the manor's management, accountancy or exploitation of the market. A lengthy introduction places the work within the context of meteorological debate and regional history.