Books

Woodlands of Kent

Geoffrey Roberts, a member of the Society, has recently written Woodlands of Kent: Timber trees, coppice, and country park. Their absorbing chronicle, from wildwood axe to community planting. Published by Geerings of Ashford Ltd. 216 pp. Maps, line drawings, illustrations. Paperback. £16.95. ISBN 1-873953- 31-3.

Mr. Roberts trained in forestry. In his retirement, he has won an award for the conservation management of his own oak wood and has now produced this well-researched history of woodlands management in Kent. The book is intended to provide the general reader with a historical survey of the economic use of the woods and their products. He then outlines the present state of the county's woodland industries and their place in current ecological and recreational thinking.

Rackham has demonstrated that woodland clearance was much further advanced in the county by 1066 than the popular image of the impenetrable 'Wealden Forest' leads us to expect. However, today Kent has a greater acreage of ancient woodland than any other English county. Much woodland has gone out of production in other parts of the country, but in Kent, extensive areas of woodland are still actively coppiced in the traditional cycles. Mr. Roberts has given us an important snapshot of the woods at a time when their economic future is most uncertain. The average age of woodland workers is rising, and there appears little economic incentive for young men to enter the industry.

This is a useful and timely record which comes complete with a map and gazetteer of woodlands to visit in Kent.

L. Elliott