Laurence Mitchell
Laurence Mitchell is a travel writer with a number of guidebooks and walking guides to his name. He also writes features for magazines like Geographical, Walk and Discovering Britain. He has contributed to Echtrai Journal, Elsewhere: a journal of place and several anthologies, and was a regular guest writer for the Berlin-based magazine hidden europe for many years. His first book for Saraband, Westering, was published in 2021.
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Buy Flint Country
Laurence Mitchell uncovers the stories that flint has to tell us in this celebratory journey through the natural and cultural history of the stone.
Beneath the bands of chalk that cover the UK lies flint, a mineral that has shaped our landscape, history and heritage. Flint Country tells the story of this abundant resource’s formation, what we can learn from its fossil records, and how it has been worked with and prized through millennia – from our prehistoric and ancient ancestors through to the present day.
Formed over 80 million years ago in ancient sea beds, flint was crucial for early humans, empowering them to hunt, craft, and survive. Far more than simply a building block, this “glass of the stone age” fuelled innovation and became the cornerstone of the industrial and architectural heritage of our chalk regions: Roman engineers blended it with brick to construct roads and fortifications; medieval masons transformed it into dazzling flushwork, iconic landmarks and sculptures; and countless farmers and villagers built cottages of local flint.
Whether it is thanks to the seismic geological events that have shaped our landscape, the material we rely on for our homes, or simply the joy of picking up pebbles on the beach, this book shows how flint continues to be a touchstone in our lives.
REVIEWS OF Flint Country
“An enthralling and beautifully written biography of flint, whose story has been intertwined with humankind's since the very earliest times.” Fiona Robertson, author of Stone Lands
“A good read … it ventures widely across the various essences that make up the human and natural landscape of East Anglia.” Stephen Rutt, author of the Wainwright Prize-winning The Seabird’s Cry
