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REVIEW BY AB
Until the mid-20th century, England was covered with orchards. But these quintessential features of the historic landscape did not simply spring into being: the story of England’s orchards is filled with generations of people who cultivated them. Here, Gerry Barnes and Tom Williamson delve beyond the nostalgic image of ancient rows of twisted fruit trees to explore the orchard’s development over time, from the propagation of hundreds of new varieties of fruit by the late medieval period to the development of innovative techniques and expanding national markets that came with the Industrial Revolution, and the decline of domestic fruit-growing in the decades following the Second World War. The authors also examine the different types of orchard – from small, local farms to those on a commercial scale – and discuss how the practice differed regionally, highlighting areas like the cider-loving West Country, where England’s most-extensive orchards are still found. A fascinating overview of an underexplored aspect of landscape history, this book will doubtless be of great value, too, for those involved in the study and conservation of orchards today.
English Orchards: A landscape history Gerry Barnes and Tom Williamson Windgather Press, £34.99 ISBN 978-1914427190
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