Agricultural History Review, Volume 57 Part 1 (2009), p. 141

In attempting to trace the history of agricultural labour in Wiltshire over more than seven millenia the author has set herself a remarkably ambitious task. This is agricultural history for the non-specialist, with information and examples culled from numerous secondary sources which are listed in the bibliographies, but without detailed references to any other sources. The long time-scale means that each period has had to be considered briefly. Prehistoric, Roman and Saxon agriculture in the county is inevitably dealt with rapidly, although with good examples and numerous illustrations, as well as considerable supposition. The wealth of surviving archaeological evidence which Wiltshire possesses has been carefully considered, and there is interesting discussion of Saxon landscape developments and estate boundaries, with examples drawn from all parts of the county.

Detailed examples from a range of secondary sources are provided for the medieval period, with examination of manorial farming systems, the effects of the Black Death in the county and labourers’ discontent, protests and riots during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The influence of the church on the social and economic life of rural communities is discussed, again with numerous examples. This recognizes the fact that much of Wiltshire was dominated by the estates of the west-country monastic houses. The importance of the large sheep flocks and the sheep fold in the farming of the county, especially on the chalklands is discussed.

For later periods the author can provide much more local detail and includes material on the part played in labourers’ lives by the parish church, seasonal festivities and the poor law. Again, it would have been useful to have references to some of the sources. The labourers’ lot from the sixteenth century onwards is depicted as a slow inexorable decline, until the county became notorious for low wages, poor housing and a demoralized work force. There are numerous illustrations and examples, with material drawn from the author’s detailed study of Cocklebury, near Chippenham, her earlier study of cheese production in the county and personal experience of farm work, The bibliography for the modern period is more selective than for the earlier chapters and does not mention such crucial sources as John Aubrey or Thomas Davis, although both are referred to several times in the text, and there are no detailed references to other sources. More use might have been made of the authoritative General view of the agriculture of Wiltshire by Thomas Davis (1794).

The life of rural workers during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries is discussed, together with the influence of religious nonconformity, especially in the ‘cheese’ area of north Wiltshire. The author provides details of workers’ lives on the large tenant farms of the chalklands during the nineteenth century, with discussion and examples of rural housing, village schools and allotments. This includes material culled from the numerous reports of parliamentary commissioners on many aspects of Wiltshire farming and rural society. More stress might have been laid on the profound changes in chalkland farming during the later nineteenth century as grain prices collapsed and farmers turned to milk production, using the recently-built railways to transport the produce to the towns. The account is continued up to the mid-twentieth century with illustrations and descriptions of the author’s own experiences of farming, working alongside Land Girls and Italian and German prisoners-of-war.

This is a clearly-written general overview of farm life in Wiltshire, based on a mass of secondary sources which will appeal to local readers and others interested in the long story of what has always been by far the most important economic activity in the county. The well-produced book is published by the Hobnob Press, based near Salisbury which, during the past few years, has produced an impressive list of books on aspects of the history of Wiltshire.