Farming

Farming practices over the centuries have had a tremendous influence on the social and economic life of the country. Yet in local histories farming is often passed over. Peter Edwards provides a comprehensive guide to the sources available to local historians, which contains information about the local changes in farming practice from the Middle Ages to the present day. The book falls into two sections. The first outlines a chronological survey of farming practices and the marketing of agricultural products. The sources available vary from estate accounts and tenures from the Middle Ages - irregular and often difficult to read - to the wide range of sources available from the mid-18th century onwards, ranging from newspaper advertisements and personal diaries to records of the Royal Agricultural Society and official crop and stock returns. Individual chapters are devoted to the marketing of agricultural products and the impact of farming on the landscape. The second section focuses on three of the most important aspects of farming: tenure, the workforce and technological developments. A selection of documents is provided in the appendices.
Throughout, Dr Edwards stresses the need for an appreciation of wider issues, which will give a local investigation a sense of direction, raising questions and providing hypotheses that can be tested against local source material.