2000MNRAS.313..281D

Ground-based UBV photometry of two fields in the northern disc of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is presented. A distance modulus of (m-M)₀=18.41±0.04 and an extinction of A_V=0.30±0.05 have been calculated for these fields. The measurable star formation history of the LMC began no more than 12Gyr ago with a strong star-forming episode with [Fe/H]=-1.63±0.10 that accounted for approximately half (by mass) of the total star formation of the LMC in the first 3Gyr. The data do not give accurate star formation rates during intermediate ages, but there appears to have been a recent increase in the star formation rate in these fields, beginning approximately 2.5Gyr ago, with the current metallicity in the region being [Fe/H]=-0.38±0.10. The two fields have had very similar star formation rates until 200Myr ago, at which point one shows a large increase.