About

Table of Contents

The Society was founded in 1952, to promote the study of agricultural history and the history of the rural economy and society and to:

Officers and Executive Committee

PresidentProf. Nicola Verdon Sheffield Hallam University 
SecretaryDr Alex ‘Spike’ Gibbs University of Mannheim 
TreasurerMr Derek Shepherd University of Plymouth 
Agricultural History Review Editor (Articles) Prof. Paul Warde  University of Cambridge 
Agricultural History Review Editor
(Book Reviews)		 Dr John Morgan  University of Bristol 
Director of the Library of Rural and Agricultural Literature (LIBRAL) Prof. Richard Hoyle  University of Reading 
Chair of the Executive Committee Prof. Karen Sayer  Leeds Trinity University 
Deputy Chair of the Executive Committee Dr Sarah Holland  University of Nottingham 
Executive Committee Dr Jordan Claridge  London School of Economics 
  Dr Rebecca Ford  London 
  Prof. John Martin  University of Reading
  Dr Samantha Shave  University of Lincoln 
  Dr Danae Tankard  University of Chichester
  Prof. Annie Tindley  University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne
  Prof. Abigail Woods 

University of Lincoln 
  Dr Ollie Douglas Museum of English Rural Life
  Dr Bess RhodesUniversity of St Andrews
  Dr Jane RowlingCalder Rivers Trust
Prof. Pamela Riney-KehrbergIowa State University
Guy SmithFormer Deputy President, National Farmers’ Union

Constitution

The Constitution of the British Agricultural History Society as approved at the First General Meeting of the Society, held at the University of Reading on Monday 13 April l953, as amended in 1960, 1966, 1973, 1975, 1979, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2015, and 2024.

BAHS Constitution

Finance Policy

BAHS Finance Policy

Code of Conduct

BAHS Code of Conduct

Rural Museums

Minutes and Accounts

AGM minutes

AGM70 (2023)

AGM69 (2022)

AGM68 (2021)

AGM67 (2019)

AGM66 (2018)

Minutes are available as webpages for the following AGM years: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017. No AGM was held in 2020.

Accounts presented at AGMs

Accounts 2023-24

Accounts 2022-23

Accounts 2021-22

Accounts 2020-21

Accounts 2019-20

Accounts 2018-19

Accounts 2017-18

Accounts 2016-17

Accounts 2015-16

Accounts 2014-15

Accounts 2013-14

Work in Progress on British and Irish Rural and Agrarian History

This is a list of researchers working in the field of agricultural history and the history of rural economy and society—and related disciplines. Researchers listed here have reported contacts being made with them as a result of their entry, making it a valuable resource.

Filter by researcher name, keywords, centuries, regions, counties, or region. Click on the researcher’s name to get further details.

To create or update your entry in the list, please fill in the form.

Researchers in British and Irish Rural and Agrarian History

ResearcherKeywordsResearch interestsCenturiesRegionsAffiliationSupervisor
James AkpuReligion, women, medicine, agricultural history, vermin control, colonialism, veterinary, seed improvement, agricultural policy, social history, environment, rural electrification, transportation and technology19th, 20thNigeriaDublin City UniversityDr Daithi O'Corrain
Sally Finn-Kelceywool tradeMedieval Irish wool trade12th, 13th, 14th, 15thIrelandTrinity College DublinDavid Ditchburn
Mrs Jane Aubinpigsties, pigs, pig breeding, smallholdings, liquid manure systemsUnderstanding the social, economic and architectural impact of pig rearing in the island of Jersey, Channel Islands, including a comprehensive island survey of current and former pigsties, recording and analysing their distribution and design.10th and earlier, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20thJersey, Channel Islands
Neil Wiffenagricultural depressionEssex agriculture during the late eighteenth/early nineteenth centuries. As a subsidiary also the the agricultural depression of the late nineteenth century18th, 19thEngland EssexUniversity of East AngliaTom Williamson
Ms Julia MerrickSt Julian's, mixed farming from Leper hospital to 1950s, economics, biographies, farm records, oral history, the press13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20thEngland Hertfordshire
Ms PreetiAgrarian Science, agricultural educationHistory of Agrarian Science, History of agricultural education19th, 20thIndiaUniversity of SussexProf Vinita Damodaran
Ruth Tittensorrabbit warrensRabbit Warrens in Scotland; 'Free Warren' grants in Medieval Scotland. [Rabbit = Oryctolagus cuniculus]10th and earlier, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th, 21stEngland, Scotland, Spain; France
Mr Owen CarlstrandSeasonal transportI am researching the demise of UK seasonal transport by rail using a case study approach applied to small, fragmented but regionally important industries such as Cornish broccoli, or Scottish soft fruit. This will include the rise of road transport and retail power and the associated changes to logistics and retail influence resulting in almost total supply chain dominance by supermarkets and the absence of seasonality in our food. This is a little researched subject, particularly in the area of small local agricultural producers.20thEngland Scotland WalesUniversity of YorkKevin Tennent and Shane Hamilton
Richard Glasshigh farmingHigh Farming in Suffolk19thEngland Cambridgeshire, Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk
Linda Thorleyagricultural improvement, social history18th, 19thEngland Somerset
Thomas D. IsernPastoralism Grassland regions Small grainsGreat Plains of North America (Canada and US) South Island of New Zealand
Max Longscience, film, radio, BBC, cinema, countryside, circulation, knowledge, education20thEngland Ireland Scotland Wales
Dr Rosemary Shirleyconnectedness, countryside, craft, cultural history, culture, electrification, environment, farming, folklife, food, health and the countryside, landscape, modernity, national parks, peasants, picturesque, rural communities, rural electrification, village, Women's Institute20th, 21stEngland Scotland Wales
Mr Darryl ArmitageBig Wind of 1839, Oíche na Gaoithe Móire, hurricane, storm, tempest19thEngland Ireland Wales Scotland
Dr Mary Fraserpolice, ploughmen, food shortages, wheat, potatoes, First World War, government control of farming, Plough Policy, increased crop production.20thEngland, Scotland Cheshire, Sussex, Essex, London, Liverpool, Birmingham, Newcastle, Lothians, Glasgow, Ayrshire, Fyfe, Lanarkshire, Berwickshire
Dr Aditya RameshEnvironment, colonialism, British India, water, rice19th, 20th, 21stBritish India, British Ceylon and British Malaya
Dr Donnah LewisWomen, farming, rural areas, Wales19th, 20thWales Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion
Dr Tony PrattCattle plague, rinderpest, newspapers, rural communities, local history, walled gardens, agricultural education18th, 19th, 20thEngland Wiltshire, Cheshire, Norfolk
Dr David Postleshistorical atlas, Leicestershire10th and earlier, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20thEngland Leicestershire
Alan DigweedGuaranteed prices, CAP, EU, average size of holding. Contribution to the UK economy, manpower, mechanisation, livestock20th, 21stEngland, Wales
Paul Maneuvrier-HervieuEconomic History, France, Food riots, Prices, Production, trade, Globalization, Industrialisation16th, 17th, 18th, 19thFrance, Caribbean Islands, Normandy
Linda HendersonWomen, Science, Poultry, Duck19th, 20thEngland
Dr John E. Davieslandowners, estate agents, tenants, labourers17th, 18th, 19th, 20thScotland, Wales Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion, Nairnshire
Eloise Kanehunting, poaching, archaeology, landscapes, animal history, enclosure, commons, game laws, estates, parks, woodland, digital humanities16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th, 21stEngland
Penny LawrenceKnowledge transfer20thEngland Devon
Dr Rachel Murphylanded estates, landholding, emigration, family, women, environmental history, digital/spatial humanities17th, 18th, 19th, 20thEngland, Ireland Carlow, Cheshire, Cork, Tipperary, Wexford
Dr John Morganflooding, drainage, water, rivers16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20thEngland, Wales
Imogene Dudleywomen, work, gender, wages, life-cycle, tasks, south-west17thEngland Somerset, Devon, Hampshire
Phil BackScotland, country parks, recreation20thScotland
Yvonne HatchSuffolk Horse14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th, 21stBritain, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand Suffolk, Norfolk, Essex
Joy EdeCrewkerne, farms, farming11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th, 21stEngland Somerset
Professor Ted CollinsAnimal draught power, European agriculture, farm power economy19th, 20thEurope
Dr Debby BanhamFarming, gardening, diet, medicine, women, Anglo-Saxon, medieval, milling10th and earlier, 11thEngland
Gale GouldNew Forest, politics, commoning, agricultural enlightenment, Royal Navy, timber, forests, woods, Crown revenues, private property, enclosure, George III, law, gentry, peasantry, corruption, picturesque, landscapeEngland New Forest, Hampshire, Southampton, Wiltshire
Jacie-Ann ColeWartime, Second World War, rural, Kent, food, rationing20thEngland Kent
Dr Elizabeth Ritchieland use, livestock, settlement patterns, gender, family, religion, education, emigration18th, 19thScotland, Canada Argyll, Western Isles, Inverness-shire, Ross-shire, Sutherland, Caithness, Badenoch and Strathspey, Perthshire
Dr Cherisse Jones-BranchBlack women, Arkansas, Jeanes teachers, Arkansas Agricultural Extension Service, home demonstration agents20thUnited States
Mrs Carol Whatlingwomen farmers17th, 18th, 19th, 20thEngland Cambridgeshire, Norfolk
Mr Michael Hollandagriculture, poverty, protest, crime, poor laws, labourers, victims, offenders18th, 19thEngland Essex
Mr Patrick Grattanoast, hop kiln, brewing, hop drying16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th, 21stEngland Kent, Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire
Dr Elizabeth Scottscience, seed improvement16th, 17thEngland
Mrs Kim RobertsNorfolk, farming, superstition, rhyme,16th, 17th, 18thEngland Norfolk
Dr Inger Olaussonhorticulture, market garden, plant protection18th, 19th, 20thSweden, Nordic countries
Ms Caroline Nyelabour, farm worker, sustainable intensification, farm work, agriculture, connectedness, identity20th, 21stEngland
Mr Istvan Hegedusrural history, agrarian politics, dualist landownership, management of nobiliary estates19th, 20thHungary
Dr Philip SlavinMedieval, agriculture, famine, Black Death, food, arable farming, livestock farming, peasants, manorial accounts, ecocide13th, 14th, 15thEngland, Scotland, Wales
Mr Hywel LewisWoodland, industry, landscape history, charcoal17th, 18th, 19th, 20thEngland West Yorkshire, Lancashire
Dr Juliet Gaytoncopyhold mortgages, rural land transfer, sub-tenure of land and dwellings, customary tenure, copyholds, women and mortgages and land transfer16th, 17thEngland
Bob MasonFood production, Food processing, Food distribution18th, 19th, 20thEngland, Ireland, Scotland, Wales
Mr Christoph Ottemultiple estate, settlement pattern, settlement history10th and earlierScotland Dumfriesshire
Mrs Lucy Baileyretailing, shopping, shops, village, community, representations, culture, Victorian, Edwardian, nineteenth century19th, 20thEngland Bedfordshire, Kent, Northamptonshire, Gloucestershire, Buckinghamshire
Dr Carl GriffinPopular protest, Swing Riots, radical politics, hunger, rural history, historical geography, more-than-human history, poor laws17th, 18th, 19thEngland, Ireland Kent, Sussex, Hampshire, Surrey, Dorset, Somerset, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire
Dr John Hareagriculture, rural society, small towns13th, 14th, 15th, 16thSouthern England Wiltshire, Hampshire
Dr Lowri Ann Reeslanded estates, social mobility, rural protest, Rebecca Riots18th, 19thWales Carmarthenshire, Cardiganshire, Pembrokeshire
Dr Jonathan Healeypoverty, poor relief, famine, common land, popular politics, imperialism, Asia16th, 17th, 18thEngland
Professor Eric Richardsmigration, highlands, estate management18th, 19th, 20thEngland, Ireland, Scotland, Wales
Professor Jane Whittlewomen's work, servants, material culture, wage labour, land tenure14th, 15th, 16th, 17thEngland Norfolk, Kent, Devon, Cornwall, Dorset
Dr Danae Tankardsocial history, clothing history, housing history, material culture, early modern Sussex17thEngland Sussex
Professor Donald Opitzeducation, science, technical instruction, women, gender, horticulture, domesticity, Lady Warwick, Swanley19th, 20thEngland, Ireland, Scotland, Wales
Dr Tom SmithChancery decrees, enclosure agreements, land tax, warping17th, 18th, 19thEngland Lincolnshire
Professor Andrew GodleyIntensive rearing, poultry, supermarkets20th, 21stEngland, Ireland, Scotland, Wales
Dr Abigail Woodslivestock, health, disease, welfare, veterinary, modernity, production, factory farming, policy19th, 20th, 21st
Mr Sebastian Keibekoccupational structure, probate, inventories, by-employment, men's work, labourers, agricultural labourers17th, 18th, 19thEngland, Wales
Professor John Martingovernment policies, rural sports, agricultural productivity, impact of the weather, rural life18th, 19th, 20th, 21stEngland, Scotland, Wales Leicestershire, Hampshire, Wiltshire
Dr Annie Tindleyland management, estate factors, land reform, agricultural technology19th, 20thIreland, Scotland Sutherland, Argyll
Susan Wilkinfruit cultivation, orchards, kitchen gardens17th, 18thEngland
Dr Carol Beardmoreland agents, estate management, agricultural rent, land tenure, agricultural labourers, rural community18th, 19thEngland Dorset
Mr Stephen Poddplace-names, Otley, Helmingham, Suffolk, haga14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20thEngland Suffolk
Dr Sarah Hollandhospital farms, health and the countryside, rural communities, relationship between town and country18th, 19th, 20thEngland Yorkshire
Catherine GloverNew Forest, landscape preservation, land reform; National Farm Survey19th 20th 21st 18thEngland Berkshire Hampshire
Professor Angus Winchestercommon land, upland landscapes, hill farming, agrarian bylaws10th and earlier, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th, 21stEngland, Scotland, Wales Cumbria, North Yorkshire, Lancashire, Co Durham, Northumberland
Dr Andrew WatkinsArden, cattle, livestock, dairying, small towns, village markets, inns13th, 14th, 15th, 16thEngland Warwickshire
Professor Paul WardeMaterials, Energy, Environment, Fuel, Wood, Folklife16th, 17th, 18th, 19thEngland, Ireland, Scotland, Germany, Sweden Armagh, Tiree, Cork, Cambridgeshire, Leitrim, North Yorkshire, Herefordshire
Dr Alan Wadsworthagriculture, farm histories, farm buildings18th, 19th, 20th, 21stEngland Wiltshire Worcestershire Durham
Mr Malcolm Thickvegetable consumption, gardens, William Ellis, Harwell, farming books, gardening books, seeds16th, 17th, 18th, 19thEngland Oxfordshire, London
Dr David Steadagriculture, agricultural policy20thIreland
Dr Paul Stamperflax, Podington, Schwaber19th, 20thEngland Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire
Dr Nigel Smithagricultural history, landscape history, evolution of settlement, enclosureEngland South Pennines, Yorkshire
Dr Richard Perrenfarmers, butchers, landowners, auctioneers, meat industry19th, 20thScotland
Dr Mark Pagelocal history, settlement, landscape, Bishops of WinchestermedievalEngland Oxfordshire, Hampshire, Northamptonshire
Mr Steve NunnSecond World War, military occupation, military requisitionEngland Norfolk
Jennifer Holttenure, gentry estates, livestock trade, networkingpre-1750England North West, East Anglia
Dr Heather Holmescounty agricultural reports, agricultural implement and machine makers18th, 19th, 20thScotland
Dr Michael GilbertMedieval, economic, social, landscape, Fenlands, Wisbech, Spalding11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16thEngland Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk
Dr Mark Gardinervernacular architecture, field systems, upland settlement, transhumance10th and earlier, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15thEngland, Ireland, Scotland Shetland, Co. Antrim, Co. Derry, Leitrim, Lincolnshire
Professor Henry Frenchlandownership, subtenants, poor relief, estate ownership, estate management16th, 17th, 18th, 19thEngland
Professor Christopher Dyerpeasants, towns, landscapes, settlements10th and earlier, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16thEngland Gloucestershire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire
Dr Alisdair Dobieaccounting, estate management, finance, trademedieval
Dr Peter Deweyfarm machinery, copper miners19th, 20th
Dr Chris Briggscredit, mortgages, land markets, serfdom, household possessions, living standards13th, 14th, 15thEngland
Dr James Bowencommon land, pastoral farming communities, environmental history, climate, meteorology, extreme weather16th, 17th, 18th, 19thEngland, Ireland, Scotland, Wales Shropshire
Jean Birrellmanorial custumalsmedieval
Dr Duncan BerrymanMedieval, buildings, settlement10th and earlier, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15thEngland, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Europe
Mr John Belcherfoldcourse, agrarian practices, infield-outfield agriculture, cropping regimes, fallowingEngland East Anglia
Professor Mark Baileyeconomic history, social history13th, 14th, 15thEngland
Dr Nicola Whytelandscape history, social history16th, 17th, 18thEngland, Wales
Professor Karen Sayerlivestock, vermin, rural, countryside, farms, farming, farmers, intensification, electrification, boundaries, hedges, labour, labourers, cottages, women, wives, servants19th, 20thEngland, Scotland, Wales
Dr Alex Brownestates, institutions, economic change, social structure, rural society14th, 15th, 16th, 17thEngland Durham
Dr Briony McDonaghenclosure, landscape, women, property, protest, space, place15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19thEngland Northamptonshire, Yorkshire, English Midlands
Miss Anna Sznajderbobbin lacemaking, craft, women studies, ethnography19th, 20th, 21stEngland, Scotland, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia
Mr James Fishermeanings, experiences, agricultural work18thEngland
Mr José Luis Martínez-Gonzálezclimate change, agrarian revolution, nitrogen, organic matter, production approach, relative prices, Ricardian approach, livestock.17th, 18th, 19th, 20thEngland, Spain
Professor Clare Griffithsvisual art, rural politics, landscape, agricultural policy20thEngland, Scotland, Wales, USA
Professor Nicola Verdonfarm labour, women, poverty, farming families, living standards19th, 20thEngland
Ms Frances Richardsonagrarian change, peasants, women farmers, by-employment, common land, proto-industry, smallholdings, rural industry, poverty, welfare, poor law18th, 19thWales Caernarfonshire
Dr John Broadrural housing, Land Tax, rural social structure, dairying16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th
Dr Susan Kilbylandscape history, peasants, manorial documents, memory, cultural history11th, 12th, 13th, 14th
Ms Carrie de Silvaagriculture, education, research, women, Women's Institute19th, 20thEngland
Dr Paul Brassleytechnical change, rural electrification, intensive livestock, knowledge networks20th
Dr John Chapmanenclosure, rural landscapes, agricultural change18th, 19thEngland, Wales
Dr William D. Shannonlandscape history, agricultural history, cartographic history, dispute maps, mosslands, enclosure, approvement, antiquarians, north-west, Lancashire, Cumbria, Gough Map15th, 16th, 17thEngland Lancashire, Cumbria, Cumberland, Westmorland
Professor Brian ShortSecond World War, CWAEC, county war agricultural executive committees, wartime farming, 20th-century rural society18th, 19th, 20thEngland Sussex, Surrey, Kent
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