Sources
Agricultural History
- The Board of Agriculture General View of the County of..., published from 1795 to 1814 describe the state of agriculture in individual counties at the time. They often include a map of agricultural regions and a section of farm buildings. They are inevitably biased towards the large, publicity-conscious and ‘improving’ farmers and estates.
- County Directories from the second half of the 19th century often include essays on different aspects of the county such as agriculture.
- The British Association for the Advancement of Science published regional studies to coincide with the venues of their annual meetings in the 1950s and ’60s. Many contain useful chapters on geology and agriculture.
- The various volumes of The Agrarian History of England and Wales (Collins, Hallam, Thirsk, Miller, Mingay, Whetham) include essays by leading scholars.
- James Caird (1852) English Agriculture in 1851–2 is a collection of county essays written for The Times.
- Haggard R. (1902) Rural England describes English agriculture county by county.
- Hall, A.D. (1913) A Pilgrimage of British Farming describes farming in various counties in 1913.
- The Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society has prize and regional essays on farming and farm buildings, especially useful for the mid- and late 19th century.
- The Victoria County Histories are of variable use. The more recent volumes contain chapters on agricultural history and buildings.
- The Vernacular Architecture Group has produced, besides its journal, a comprehensive national and regional bibliography (see Hall, Michelmore and Pattison for reference).
- Barnwell, P.S. & Giles, C (1997) English Farmsteads 1750–1914 contains a short general introduction, a general concluding chapter and regional studies from West Berkshire, South Lincolnshire, North Northumberland, East Cornwall and Central Cheshire.
- Brunskill, R.W. (1982) Traditional Farm Buildings of Britain gives a very useful farming and building overview.
- Darley, G. (1981) The National Trust Book of the Farm contains a general introduction followed by regional studies.
- The revised Pevsner’s Buildings of England, published county by county, often have useful introductions on landscape regions and building types.
Many county archaeological and historical journals include relevant articles. National journals of particular interest include those of the following societies:
- British Agricultural History Society
- Historic Farm Buildings Group
- Local Historian
- Society for Medieval Archaeology
- Society for Post-Medieval Archaeology
- Rural History
- Society of Architectural Historians
- Society for Landscape Studies
- Vernacular Architecture Group