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Changes in Rutland's agriculture since 1800 Rutland water in 2006. As with the most of England and Wales, since 1800 agriculture in Rutland has undergone a complete transformation, shifting from a traditional, labour-intensive community-based activity to a highly-mechanised and specialised industry. Enclosure of medieval open fields had been underway since the later seventeenth century. The pace of enclosure agreements increased greatly in the second half of the eighteenth century so, by the middle of the nineteenth century, had effectively been completed throughout Rutland. Hedges and hedgerow trees became a conspicuous aspect of the landscape. The county now looked as it would do until the 1960s and, in many places, still looks almost the same. The Golden Age Simultaneously, 'improvers' such as Richard Westbrook Baker, steward of the Exton Estate, introduced novel techniques. This included land drainage using newly available clay pipes, the use of fertilisers, and the design of improved ploughs. The period between the 1840s and 1870s is often referred to as the 'golden age' of farming because of increased productivity and good prices. The small fields were suited for raising lifestock. Arable farming continued using crop rotation rather than leaving a field 'fallow' and allowing animals to manure the soil. Pastoral farming requires a smaller labour force than arable. And without access to common land to graze a cow and a few sheep it was difficult for the rural poor to sustain themselves. The 1830s and 1840s were especially difficult. After that families began moved to the growing industrial towns, reducing the rural population. The Great Agricultural Depression The 'golden age' ended with the Great Agricultural Depression from the mid-1870s, caused by cheap grain and meat imports from overseas, made possible by advancements with refrigeration and shipping. This led to a significant shift as arable land acreages fell, and many farms in Rutland converted to pasture for livestock. Dairy farming, which was less affected by imports at that time, increased in importance. However cheesemaking did not become as important in Rutland as in the Vale of Belvoir. Early mechanisation, such as horse-drawn mowing machines and steam ploughs, began to appear at the end of the nineteenth century, reducing the need for large seasonal labour gangs. More about nineteenth century farming in Rutland in Rutland Record No.2. A detailed study of Morcott, Glaston and Bisbrooke in Rutland Record No.14 is used to provide wider insights into Rutland during the nineteenth century. The author, Alison Awcock, stated: In 1851 there was a wide distribution throughout the county of rural crafts and tradesmen, ranging from cabinet makers to wheelwrights, and proportions were approximately the same in Rutland as in comparable rural areas. The highest numbers were employed in the building trade. There was also a surprising number of tailors, and no fewer than 236 men were employed in shoemaking, the second largest employment in crafts. By 1871 numbers were falling as trade fell and craftsmen sought work elsewhere. Taking millers as an example, the numbers fell from 65 in 1751 to 43 in 1871, to 26 in 1891. Although the figures seem to decrease only slightly in several cases, the loss of any one craftsman in a village, particularly the smaller settlements, would probably have made a considerable impact. Therefore the statistics and analysis of the county of Rutland reveal that in certain areas it followed the average patterns of demographic change occurring across the country. The population certainly began to fall at the same time as that of other rural counties. Rural crafts began to decline as demand fell. However, the ratio of males differed from the rest of the country, but this was probably linked to the lack of employment opportunities for women [before about 1890]. Unlike other rural counties, Rutland did not have significant industries which could have expanded to meet the demand for employment in the area Wartime optimisation Both the First and Second World Wars required agricultural outputs to be optimised. In the 1940s a considerable proportion of pasture was ploughed up and a variety of crops were grown, often by farmers with little or no experience of arable farming. Postwar changes In the 1950s increasingly-powerful tractors took over from horse-drawn implements. By the 1960s brand new self-propelled combine harvesters were exciting for schoolboys (like me!) to see in the fields at harvest time. Ploughs also increased in complexity, with the concurrent need to be drawn by increasingly large tractors. Larger farm equipment required larger fields and while hedgerows alongside roads were usually retained, hedges between fields were frequently grubbed up. Older OS maps reveal what has gone. From the 1950s into the 1970s the size of farms usually increased as family farms were bought up. At the same time farms became more specialised, becoming exclusively dairy or only arable. However rearing and fattening livestock might be part of more mixed agricultural activities. During these decades artificial fertilisers, pesticides, and hybrid seeds became standard practice, boosting yields. However farm produce was no longer sold locally but according to contracts with large processors who supplied supermarket chains which squeezed profit margins, especially for dairy produce. This in turn led to the rise of niche markets such as organic produce, with the producers often running retail outlets and selling direct to the consumer. In recent years government schemes for environmental stewardship have influenced farming in Rutland, as elsewhere. And, as with the rest of Britain, using a field or two for a 'crop' of yurts for glamping is likely to be more profitable than grazing livestock. Opportunities for income from tourism is best for farms close to Rutland Water, or near main routes to such attractions. Back to top of this page     Back to home page   This website does not gather or store any visitor information. Copyright Bob Trubshaw 2026 No unauthorised copying or reproduction except if all following conditions apply a: Copy is complete (including this copyright statement). b: No changes are made. c: No charge is made. www.hoap.co.uk/rutland

Rutland's history home page what's new? glossary bibliography Rutland's geology Rutland's boundaries Rutland's rivers long, long ago prehistoric Rutland Roman Rutland long ago Anglo-Saxon Rutland Rutland's place-names waterborne transport around the sixth century Rutland's early churches Anglo-Saxon sculpture in Rutland The Matter of Rutland what the Normans did for Rutland Romanesque sculpture in Rutland Rutland's royal forests Rutland in medieval times Rutland's scratch dials Rutland's medieval carvings Rutland's sepulchral effigies Rutland's saltways Rutland in Tudor times Dissolution in Rutland not that long ago Rutland in the 17th century pinfolds and pounds in Rutland dovecotes in Rutland Rutland in the 18th century turnpiking Rutland Rutland's springs and wells changes in Rutland's agriculture since 1800 seems like yesterday Rutland's dialect Rutland's folk customs travellers in Rutland watermills and windmills in Rutland breweries in Rutland gasworks in Rutland ironstone quarrying in Rutland Zeppelins over Rutland redundant telephone exchanges in Rutland Second World War in Rutland WWII airfields and pillboxes in Rutland the making of Rutland Water Rutland Weekend Television free online history resources Victoria County History: Rutland volume one Victoria County History: Rutland volume two free PDFs of Rutland Record issues 1 to 50 old OS maps Historic England Listed buildings database Sepulchral Effigies of Leicestershire and Rutland Open Domesday English Place-Name Society database Wikipedia list of places in Rutland (with links to village entries) Wikipedia list of people from Rutland researching and writing local history getting started free advice from 2005 asking curious questions (YouTube video) local history groups in and around Rutland Belton-in-Rutland History Society Cottesmore History and Archaeology Group Langham Village History Group Lyddington Manor History Society Rutland Local History and Record Society with free PDFs of over forty issues of the Rutland Record Uppingham Local History Study Group you may also be interested in free PDFs written by Bob Trubshaw Earliest Churches in Nottinghamshire How Anglo-Saxons Found Their Way Anglo-Saxon Leicestershire Conversations in Churchyards Little-known Leicestershire and Rutland Bob Trubshaw's YouTube channel Introduction to medieval carvings Anglo-Saxon and Romanesque carvings How Anglo-Saxons found their way Anglo-Saxon shrines at fords Meetings at triangles Rota's Land and Franni's Land Reading Romanesque fonts Church and manor The significances of square headdresses Early churches and waterborne trade Charnwood slate gravestones and C18th trade routes Ironstone quarries of Leicestershire Roman roads in north-east Leicestershire Salt ways in Leicestershire Why Melton Mowbray needed to called 'middle town' Evolving Anglo-Saxon agriculture Nottinghamshire's earliest churches Ploughs not piety? Economic regeneration in the C7th Were Anglo-Saxon weaving huts women-only places? Vale of Belvoir Chronicle Barrowby Until Now website