University of Hertfordshire Press

Many of London's Victorian buildings are built of coarse-textured yellow bricks - London stocks, produced in huge quantities through the 19th century. Whether visible or hidden, they form a major part of the fabric of the capital. This detailed history of the industry offers a fresh perspective on the social and economic history of the city.

Together, the eastern counties of Hertfordshire, Essex, Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire, Bedfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk have a tradition of fruit cultivation comparable in scale to that of the better-known west of England. For the first time the fascinating history of orchards in the east is revealed.

Mark Gorman examines the key role played by popular protest in the mid-Victorian campaigns to preserve Epping Forest and other open spaces in and near London at risk of its unbridled growth. He shows how such places were venues for both radical politics and popular leisure, helping to create a sense of public right of access, even 'ownership'.

Planning historian Stephen Ward offers a timely new history of garden cities and new towns with the Hertfordshire exemplars as its focus. Yet this is not just a work of history: The Peaceful Path also examines the contemporary relevance of Ebenezer Howard's vision.

Repton made a significant contribution to the landscape of Hertfordshire, working at 18 places in the county. This book - drawn from research by the Hertfordshire Gardens Trust - describes in detail all of these commissions, assessing in each case the extent to which Repton's ideas were actually implemented and how much survives of them today.