Morphology as metaphor: facts and fairy stories

摘要

Haslam (this issue, pp. 166-8) claims that I have misunderstood his 'metaphor' or 'allegory' and that I am letting different kinds of evidence get in the way of alternative interpretations of the development of medieval town plans. This is despite the fact that I have always championed the necessity of using every kind of evidence in town-plan analysis. His Viewpoint however, is based only on his interpretation of the plot pattern in Bridgnorth (the critical case study) using the 1875 large-scale Ordnance Survey plan. He wishes this to be seen as independent evidence and his interpretation as unchallengeable. On neither count is he correct. The hypotheses (and that is what they are) which both of us have published are of equal value and based on the same evidence. Unless other evidence negates or diminishes one of the hypotheses neither can claim to be the 'best fit' solution. Haslam has provided no additional evidence to counter my critique of his interpretation of the supposed interlocking pattern of plots on the street corners of High Town, Bridgnorth.