Alterations to the landscape have been of historical importance for many centuries. Changing patterns of agriculture and forest management and the requirements of hunting had substantial impacts from early times. From the 18th century onwards, in many places in the county improvements to the surroundings of country houses were also significant. Examples of these and other factors that crafted the appearance of the countryside can be found in the works listed below.
- A traveller through Northamptonshire in the 1670s by Anthea Jones [1670] (page 27) Extracts from accounts by Thomas Baskerville of his three visits to the county. His life and personality are also discussed.
- Characterizing Rural Settlement and Landscape: Whittlewood Forest in the Early Middle Ages by Richard Jones & Mark Page [2003]
- Designed Landscapes of the Central Northamptonshire Gentry c.1770-c.1840 by Stephen Radley [2023]. Thesis studying four designed landscapes at Finedon, Barton Seagrave, Brockhall and Harlestone.
- Little Houghton 1972 - A Parish Field Survey by David N Hall [1976] (page 295)
- Rockingham Forest: An Atlas of the medieval and early-modern landscape by Glenn Foard, David Hall and Tracey Partida [2009]
- Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe: Two unexecuted projects for Walter, 8th Duke of Buccleuch and 10th Duke of Queensberry, at Boughton House and Drumlanrig Castle by Sara King [2019] (page 68) Features extensive drawings and correspondence for landscaping and related developments that were abandoned with the outbreak of war in 1939.
- The Details of the Anglo Saxon Landscape: Badby Revisited by A E Brown, Margaret Gelling and Cristine Orr [1990] (page 95)
- The Early Hunting Landscapes of Northamptonshire by Tracey Partida [2007] (page 44)
- The Fish Ponds in Harringworth Parks by Jack Rodney Laundon [2007] (page 61)
- The Forests of Northamptonshire in the Early Middle Ages by J M Steane [1973] (page 7)
- The Historic Landscape of Rockingham Forest by Glenn Foard, David Hall and Tracey Britnell [2004] (page 83)
- The Medieval Parks of Northamptonshire by J M Steane [1975] (211)
- Thomas Cowper Land Surveyor by William Franklin [2019] Includes transcriptions of the diary and other papers of a Wellingborough-born surveyor who was deeply involved in creating the measurements and plans that enabled enclosure of the open fields and created much of the modern landscape of Northamptonshire.
- The Woodland Landscapes of Southern Northamptonshire by David Hall [2001] (page 33)
- Transitional Hunting Landscapes: Deer Hunting and Foxhunting in Northamptonshire, 1600-1850 by Amanda Jayne de Belin [2010]