An arcadia

Above: a meeting with a local historian who talked about the work she has done in her village, particularly on researching the field system. She had meticulously recorded each field and traced its history. It was fascinating talking to her.



Above: the English landscape is an artificial design imposed upon nature. Agricultural life was hard, but there was the compensatory feeling for the country folk that they inhabited an arcadia. This idea of a rural arcadia has profoundly influenced the way people think about England.



Above: the historian had carefully identified each field with a particular farming family and looked at the houses where they lived. Continuity of ownership of the land is one of the most remarkable aspects she had discovered. Even when enclosure or sale of a field had indicated a change of ownership, by tracing the farmer's family connections a link with the previous owners was often proved.



Above: so far as she was able, the local historian had traced traditional farming methods and how they applied to each field.



Above: she had carried out minor excavations in the gardens of village residences, uncovering evidence of occupation that went back to medieval and even (in a few cases) prehistoric times.



Above: in the churchyard she had identified the graves of the farming families and put up little biographies. Almost everyone in the village was related. In a Forsyte-like web of connections the gentry were related to the blacksmiths and the millers.



Above: further reading - I think this book is now out of print but you can pick up copies in second-hand bookshops.



Above: even in the heart of London the rural romantic dream is kept alive.