The Chilterns is an ancient landscape with traces still visible today of many eras and previous settlers. The area is littered with Bronze Age barrows and field systems, Iron Age forts, medieval churches and deer enclosures, 18th century sawpits in the woods and 20th century military trenches. All create layers of civilisation and settlement which provide a timeline for the evolution of the landscape and help define what is different and special about the Chilterns.

The concept of the historic environment is wide ranging and holistic encompassing all physical manifestations of mankind’s activities from earliest prehistory to the present day.  It includes buried archaeological remains and palaeo-environmental deposits, relict sites surviving as earthworks or ruins, historic buildings and villages, landscapes still in contemporary use such as farms and field boundaries, industrial and military structures, ancient woodlands and commons and country houses with their associated parks and gardens. 

Much work is going on at local and county levels to record the historic environment of the Chilterns, conserve it and help people to understand and enjoy it. You can find out about ongoing projects by looking at the presentations from the most recent Chilterns Historic Environment Conference

There is a wealth of history in the famous woodlands of the Chilterns. Find out more by visiting the Woodland Web pages and the Special Trees and Woods pages on this site.