Though most of us will have enjoyed strolling through beautiful British woodlands, we might not be aware of the ancient - and often complex - origins of our surroundings.

From medieval times, woodlands were carefully managed commodities with hotly contested resources: conflicting demands from landowners, the Crown, the peasantry and local and national wood-based industries have all left their marks on today's woodland.

Ian D. Rotherham here explains the various uses of British woods and their industries, such as coppicing, charcoal-burning, basket-making and bodging, and helps the reader to seek out the clues to their woodland's past.