United Kingdom
The countrie enclosed I praise,
the tother delighteth not me,
For nothing the wealth it doth raise,
To such as inferior be.
There swineherd that keepeth the hog, [...]
there neatherd [i.e. cowboy], with cur and his horne,
[Champion]
There shepherd with whistle and dog,
be fence to the medowe and corne.
There horse being tide on a balke,
is readie with theefe for to walke. [...]
Example (if doubt ye doo make):
by Suffolke and Essex go take
[in contrast to Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, and Leicestershire] [...]
T'one laieth for turfe and for sedge,
Champion
and hath it with woonderfull suit:
When tother in euerie hedge
Seuerall.
hath plentie of fewell and fruit.
Thomas Tusser, A comparison betweene Champion countrie and seuerall in Fiue hundred pointes of good Husbandrie, as well for the Champion or open countrie, as also for the woodland, or Seuerall)
British agricultural landscapes
1. Cultural dimension
Considered in national planning and policy
2. Typical agricultural landscape types
- ‘Anciently enclosed’ land of dispersed settlement and mosaics of small irregular fields
- Recently enclosed land of villages and regular fields, containing the remains and traces of medieval open field strip farming
- Upland pastoral landscapes containing remains of prehistoric farming systems
- Enclosed fenland arable landscapes
- Industrially-farmed post 1950 arable landscapes
3. Cultural elements connected with national agricultural landscape
- Hedges and dry stone walls bounding enclosed fields
- Ancient semi-natural woodland of many types, from wood pasture to coppicing
- Visible remains of prehistoric fields and settlements in large areas of upland moorland
- Farmsteads, and other buildings spanning several centuries, including surviving medieval churches in most parishes
- A diverse and varied range of settlement types from dispersed farmsteads and hamlets to villages and market or service towns
4. Disciplines and professions dealing with agricultural landscapes as cultural heritage
- Archaeologists
- Historians
- Historical geographers
- Landscape architects
- Ecologists
- Planners
5. National governmental departments dealing with agricultural landscape and cultural heritage
- Principally Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
- Department of Culture additionally
- Department of Communities and
- Local Government
