The English Urban Renaissance: Culture and Society in the Provincial Town, 1660-1770 (Oxford Studies in Social History)

In the century after the Restoration of 1660, English provincial towns experienced a cultural renaissance. This penetrating study examines the economic and social origins which stimulated the most striking features of that revival: the transformation of the urban landscape under the influence of classical architecture and the emergent forces of planning; and the remarkable expansion in the provision of public leisure. Concentrating on the interaction between urban culture and society as a whole, Peter Borsay draws on a wide range of disciplines, shedding new light not only on the development of the early modern town, but also on the relatively neglected period of English history between the Civil War and the Industrial Revolution. Reference material is included, in a detailed town-by-town appendix. In the century after the Restoration of 1660, English provincial towns experienced a cultural renaissance. This book offers a guide to the most striking features of that the transformation of the urban landscape under the influence of classical architecture and the emergent forces of planning, and a remarkable expansion in the provision of fashionable public leisure. Drawing on a variety of disciplines, including architecture, music, historical geography, English literature, urban studies and history, the book concentrates on the interaction between urban culture and society as a whole. It sheds new light not only on the development of the early modern town, but also on the relatively neglected history of England between the Civil War and the Industrial Revolution. In the century after the Restoration of 1660, English provincial towns experienced a cultural renaissance. In this lively and perceptive history, Peter Borsay examines the most striking features of that revival, both architectural and social, and penetrates the new culture's elegant facade to explore its economic origins and the mixture of social forces that propelled it. After the Restoration of 1660, English provincial towns experienced a cultural renaissance. This book offers a guide to some of the striking features of that revival, concentrating on the interaction between urban culture and society and looking at its origins and the forces which stimulated it