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Landscape, Agriculture and the Rural Economy of Hockley, Essex, 1840–1916

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2015

STEPHEN MURRAY
STEPHEN MURRAY*
Affiliation:
Independent scholar [email protected]
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Abstract:

This article examines the local economy of a parish in south-east Essex during a period when economic, social and technological factors were transforming rural Britain. Record linkages are used to construct a microhistory of Hockley to analyse the exploitation of the landscape and rural livelihoods. Agricultural and occupational change reflected many national economic and social influences, but there are also counter examples to regional patterns of farming practice and large scale agrarian capitalist landownership. The agricultural depression of c.1875–96 effected a shift from arable to livestock farming and the development of market gardening facilitated by the railway. A reduction in agricultural employment opportunities, and the absence of a cottage industry for women, led to a significant out-migration of working-age people. The microhistory demonstrates that local factors, such as access to a tidal river, the timing of the arrival of the railway, the availability of brick-making clay and new trades provided livelihood opportunities and influenced the structure and operation of the rural economy.

Type
Research Article
Information
Rural History , Volume 26 , Issue 2 , October 2015 , pp. 201 - 226
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

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References

Notes

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