Settlement
Until the coming of the railways and, later, the motor-car, the Chilterns were largely rural with country towns situated on the main routes through the hills. The position of the hills, northwest of London, affected the routing of major roads, railways and canals. These were funnelled through convenient valleys (e.g. High Wycombe, Hemel Hempstead) and encouraged settlement and, later, commuter housing. As at 2002 there were 100,000 people living within the AoNB area of the Chilterns.
The western edge of the Chilterns is notable for its ancient strip parishes, elongated parishes with villages in the flatter land below the escarpment and woodland and summer pastures in the higher land.
Read more about this topic: Chiltern Hills
Famous quotes containing the word settlement:
“The settlement of America had its origins in the unsettlement of Europe. America came into existence when the European was already so distant from the ancient ideas and ways of his birthplace that the whole span of the Atlantic did not widen the gulf.”
—Lewis Mumford (1895–1990)
“A Settlement is above all a place for enthusiasms, a spot to which those who have a passion for the equalization of human joys and opportunities are early attracted.”
—Jane Addams (1860–1935)
“... if the Settlement seeks its expression through social activity, it must learn the difference between mere social unrest and spiritual impulse.”
—Jane Addams (1860–1935)