This study grew out of the archaeological field survey of the parish undertaken in the early 1980s. The discovery of a series of distinct medieval sites suggested that some correlation might be possible with the 1577 manorial survey already published.
The wealth of documentary sources for Walsham includes an important series of manor court rolls, rentals and wills which have enabled the names of a significant number of the fields and tenements to be traced to the early 14th century. It has been possible to link the archaeological fieldwork with a hypothetical medieval map of Walsham drawing on the manorial surveys. The standing buildings, the surviving hedgerows and the few remaining earthworks have provided valuable fragments of information which have been incorporated into an overall view of the landscape history of the parish.