The Medieval Earthworks of Rutland By Robert F Hartley 2nd edition (2023), A4, 133 pages, Paperback. ISBN 978-0-9548200-4-6 Leicestershire Fieldworkers. Monograph series, 5 Forty years after the publication of the first edition, the Leicestershire Fieldworkers held the launch event for the second edition of Robert F. Hartley’s seminal work on The Medieval Earthworks of Rutland at Rutland County Museum as part of the 2023 Festival of Archaeology. This monograph is the result of many years of painstaking survey work and research. The author has revisited sites, redrawn most of his site plans and elaborated on his careful interpretations of the earthworks, drawing on new research and, occasionally, including new earthworks such as the site of a water mill and pond dam in Belton-in-Rutland discovered in the 1990s. Appropriately, the monograph is dedicated to Anthony Squires (1946–2021), a Loughborough man who had a passion for natural history and was a much respected landscape historian specialising in the ancient woodlands, deer parks and gardens of Leicestershire and Rutland. The talks at the book launch were engaging and knowledgeable. ‘Fred’ Hartley worked with Tim Clough and Peter Liddle for many years: Tim Clough was the Curator of Rutland County Museum and Oakham Castle and Peter Liddle was the Archaeological Survey Officer at the Leicestershire Museums Service and later Leicestershire’s Keeper of Archaeology. The three have been friends for more than 40 years and the warmth of this friendship enriched the anecdotes Messrs Clough and Liddle recalled about working with Hartley: Hartley’s talent for surveying historical landscapes, the enjoyment and satisfaction he got from it and how Hartley would ‘disappear’ for days doing fieldwork. Hartley spoke engagingly about how he adapted the ‘crosshead survey’ method so that he could work solo, and the process of drawing his site plans. He revisited his original work of 1983 motivated by three rising threats posed to Rutland’s earthworks: construction to meet the demand for new housing; high intensity, mechanised arable farming practices; and the expansion of quarrying in the county. The second edition of Hartley’s The Medieval Earthworks of Rutland is the fifth monograph published by the Leicestershire Fieldworkers. In the same format as the original, this A4, paperback monograph shares the same clear, crisp and highly readable typeset as the third and fourth in the Leicester Fieldworkers’ series of monographs. The front cover has a stylised reproduction of the plan of the manor of Lyndon which was prepared, probably in 1662, by the astrologer, astronomer and professional land surveyor, Vincent Wing, the uncle of the philosopher and astronomer, Tycho Wing. With 109 pages, the second edition is almost twice the length of the first. The A4 format allows for generous reproductions of plans, maps and photographs. In total, the monograph contains twice as many original site plans (more than 80), 17 landscape maps and five colour illustrations. Apart from the author’s site plans, treasures among its illustrations include an aerial photograph looking east over Brooke and ‘Town Park’ from 1986, the central part of the 1768 Ketton estate map, a colour reproduction of Vincent Wing’s plan of the manor of Lyndon and a reproduction of the 1687 map of the Clipsham cum Membris Lordship made by Wing’s nephew, John Wing. After a much-expanded introduction including a more detailed glossary describing the characteristics of the different types of earthworks found in Rutland, Hartley presents his gazetteer and site surveys, organised by the 1885 boundaries of the civil parishes introduced by the 1866 Poor Law Amendment Act. In Rutland, these boundaries were largely in agreement with those of the medieval parishes, except around Oakham, and have remained largely unchanged. Hartley ’s site plans are full of fascinating detail for the reader to repeatedly dip into, comprehensively covering Rutland’s historic landscape and features. He has maintained the conventions of marking parish churches in solid black and line shading other buildings, and continues the tradition of making accurate, objective, closely observed records of historical landscapes that was established by William Stukeley among others. Each site plan is accompanied by a concise, detailed interpretation, rich in references to other works, so that each becomes a starting point for those who wish to enrich their knowledge of the site and its context. (The new edition cites 45 works in contrast to the 13 books referenced in the first edition.) Although I moved to Rutland more than ten years ago, there were survey sites in this monograph that I had not heard of before, and I found it helpful to keep to hand an Ordnance Survey map (there are map references for each site) and my copy of An Illustrated Guide to the Printed Maps of Rutland 1576–1900 (Deadman and Brooks, 2012). Although readers’ enjoyment does not depend on having access to the works of the great antiquarians such as Thomas Blore, William Stukeley and James Wright, reading these alongside this monograph can only enrich readers’ enjoyment, notably Stukeley ’s Stanfordia Illustrata (1736–7). In conclusion, I would recommend the second edition of this monograph without hesitation to anyone who, like me, is fascinated by maps or interested in deepening their understanding of Rutland’s landscape, including owners of the first edition. It will also be an essential reference for landowners on whose properties these earthworks are situated, architects, planning officers and heritage professionals working in Rutland, helping them to understand what remains of individual earthworks, what has been lost and their wider context. Meantime, the monograph has wider appeal for anyone interested in Rutland’s landscape from walkers to social historians. The A4 format will appeal to walkers interested in the landscapes they are walking through, and the monograph will fit into many waterproof map cases. Although most of the survey sites lie on private property, many can be viewed to varying degrees from Rutland’s ancient footpaths and bridleways as well as its permissive ways. For those interested in the social history of Rutland, Hartley’s site plans, maps and interpretations are starting points. Study of this guide will enable the inquiring reader, as Tim Clough observes, ‘to begin to populate those fields and their strips and to visualise those village and manor sites’ (Hartley, 2023: xiv), further brought to life by following up the references in the text and reading the works of the great antiquarians such as Thomas Blore, William Stukeley and James Wright. Richard Hunt References: Deadman, D. and Brooks, C. (2012) An Illustrated Guide to the Printed Maps of Rutland 1576–1900. Leicester: The Landseer Press. Hartley, R.F. (1983) The Medieval Earthworks of Rutland. 1st edition. Leicester: Leicestershire Museums, Art Galleries and Records Service (Archaeological Reports Series, 7) . Hartley, R.F. (2023) The Medieval Earthworks of Rutland. 2nd edition. Leicester: Leicestershire Fieldworkers (Monograph series, 5).