Village Life and Labour
An Anthology

This 1939 volume captures some of the traditions of English rural life during a time of increasing agricultural mechanisation.

Cecil G. Hutchinson (Edited by), Frank Chapman (Edited by)

9780521166331, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 11 August 2011

188 pages
20.3 x 12.7 x 1.1 cm, 0.21 kg

Originally published in 1939, this volume attempts to capture some of the traditions of English rural life during a time of increasing agricultural mechanisation. Through descriptions gathered from a number of different authors, the reader is given the sense of rural communities as being held together by a shared understanding of these traditions, and of a shared heritage passed down through the generations. In separating the cultural life of villages from an increasingly rationalised system of production, modern farming techniques are seen as creating fundamental changes in this established existence. This fascinating book will be of value to anyone with an interest in British history and agricultural customs.

List of illustrations
Introduction and acknowledgements
Part I: 1. A farmer of the olden times
2. The 'gentleman' farmer a hundred years ago
3. Fleeceborough
4. Modern times
5. Cicely's dairy
6. Cowman and dairy
7. A winter morning
8. Corn-carting
9. Colt-breaking
10. The shearer
11. Rural technique
12. Scythes
13. Stacking
14. Harvesting in the old style
15. Gleaning
16. Hops
17. 'Bottles' and mole-catching
Part II: 18. Timber
19. A folk industry
20. The farm-waggon
21. Wind-mill repairs
Part III: 22. Straw
23. The lace-makers
A list of country industries and a list of books
Glossary.

Subject Areas: 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000 [HBLW]