UK Countryside history - 1750 AD
The period from 1600 to 1750 AD saw a dramatic change in the nature of agriculture in the UK. Subsistence farming which had dominated for much of the preceding 6000 years gave way to an industry in which innovation and technology became the drivers of output.
- Population
About 9 million with as many as 750,000 in London by 1750. The majority
remained engaged in agriculture or related trades although employment patterns
were changing with larger towns and new jobs - in particular retailing.
- Crops
From about 1650 arable yields increased and Britain became a net exporter
of food - a factor that resulted from an increased area under the plough
coupled with the maintenance of higher levels of stock and soil fertility.
There were many innovations in the arable farming sector. Prior to the invention
of the seed drill in 1701 by Jethro Tull, all seed was broadcast randomly
into the furrows by hand. This was deeply inefficient, in some areas high
distribution rates wasted seed while in others there was inadequate for
a crop at all. The seed drill distributed seed via a rotating cylinder into
ploughed furrows and then closed the furrow up - a process that created
a more regular and higher yielding crop. There were further innovations
in mechanisation and a four course rotation was developed: wheat, root crop,
barley and then grass where the root crop offered fodder to over-wintering
livestock that manured the ground. A number of new crops were being grown
more widely and these included: potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower and spinach.
- Livestock
The four course crop rotation which had been developed by "Turnip Townsend"
greatly assisted livestock farmers too. Whereas winter rations of hay and
straw were adequate to keep only a few stock, the much higher yielding root
crops allowed much larger numbers to be over-wintered. This meant that stock
could be slaughtered throughout the winter and fresh meat was available
for most of the year. Prior to this it had been custom to slaughter most
of the stock in the autumn so that they could be salted for preservation
over the winter months.
- Farming Systems
Aside from the many innovations and new crops that found their way into
practice the agricultural industry was changing. Specialisation became more
common and as farmers took fuller advantage of the soil and topography of
their own area, regional specialisation's emerged which to this day remain
largely unchanged. Agricultural societies and shows sprang up and these
communicated the innovations and technological advances to a wider farming
community. Despite the progress there remained an inherent conservatism
amongst farmers and many ideas were only adopted long after they had already
been commonly accepted in the Low Countries. The practice of enclosure reached
a new level of activity and small farmers often found themselves landless
and disposed having been forced to sell out to much larger capitalist farmers
who were now coming to dominate agriculture.
- Woodland & Hedges
The area of woodland remained broadly stable at around 10% while the total
length of hedgerow continued to grow as more fields were enclosed.
- Social Economy
By 1750 far reaching change to the social structure of Britain had taken
place through the growth of towns. Towns no longer acted as a market place
for local goods but now provided goods of both national and international
origin in addition to professional, cultural and recreational services.
International trade and financial services were well advanced and the South
Sea Bubble of 1720 is indicative of a moneyed sophistication, all too reminiscent
of the dot com crash. It was upon the back of this trade and the supply
of services that the professional middle classes emerged and where the primacy
of land declined within an increasingly commercialised economy.
- Climate
Colder than today in a period known as the mini ice age which lasted from
1550 - 1850.
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