Documentary, cartographic and archaeological sources suggest that agrarian practice in the north east of Scotland from the late sixteenth to the mid eighteenth centuries was more diverse, dynamic and targeted than often supposed. The evidence suggests that Strathbogie saw extensive agricultural expansion throughout the entire period, especially in areas demonstrating earlier under-utilisation. Real improvement and expansion occurred as a result of developing existing traditional systems of agriculture, which was socially at odds with the later and much vaunted ‘Improvements’. These practices maximised productivity by targeting the production of a range of commodities at their most appropriate ecological zones within the overall landscape of the estate, the Lordship of Huntly. Such a model for production appears to have influenced the settlement strategy within those individual ecological zones. However, an over-emphasis upon grain production may, ultimately, have resulted in unsustainable practices, contrasting with earlier more ecologically-targeted ones.

The Victorian open space movement is accounted for variously by nostalgia, progress, and a changed conception of national identity, but explanatory factors are generally understood in secular ways which take little account of the pervasive influence of contemporary Christianity. These explanations overlap with discussions of nineteenth-century leisure which stress its links with secularisation. Christianity however was a significant motivation for some open space campaigners whose theology explained how nature was to uplift those who experienced it. This paper considers the Commons Preservation Society, founded in 1865; the preservation of Epping Forest for recreation between 1865 and 1880; and the forest's management in the 1880s and 1890s. It argues that although histories of the Commons Preservation Society and the Epping Forest campaign describe them in secular, rational terms, many prominent campaigners were motivated by religion, in the sense of orthodox Christianity. Practical religion significantly affected the development of mass recreation for the poor in the forest. Explanations of the open space movement which ignore religion thus seem inadequate.

In 1899 the Victoria County History (VCH) was established as a ‘National Survey’ of England which was intended to show the present day condition of the country and trace the ‘domestic history’ of all English counties to the ‘earliest times’. Natural history was seen as a key component to be included in the first volume for every county. In this paper we examine the reasons for the prominence given to natural history and demonstrate how the expert knowledge of natural historians was marshalled and edited. We use the contrasting counties of Herefordshire and Nottinghamshire to examine key intellectual debates about the role of the amateur and the expert and concern about nomenclature, classification and the state of knowledge about different groups of species. We emphasize the importance of the geography of the natural history and the way in which the VCH charted concerns about species loss and extinction. We examine the reasons why the VCH later abandoned natural history and finally we assess the value of its published output for modern historical geographers, historical ecologists and environmental historians.

In 1976 the RSPCA finally adopted a policy of opposition to fox hunting and the shooting of birds for sport after a long history of highly controversial internal debate and external lobbying by pressure groups. This article explores the possible long-term historical reasons behind the change of policy. It seeks to begin to fill a gap in the historical literature and explain the changes in public opinion towards hunting that occurred during the course of the twentieth century by looking at key episodes in the history of the RSPCA up to the 1970s. It shows there was a decline in aristocratic dominance on the ruling council of the RSPCA after the 1920s, but other reasons for the change in policy included the increasing influence of an urban/metropolitan view of the countryside after the 1950s; changing public attitudes towards farmers, who had been traditional supporters of hunting; and the increasing importance of environmentalism and ecology after 1960. By the end of the twentieth century it was no longer possible to argue that hunting was an essential feature of rural society and culture, despite the continuing popularity and survival of fox hunting with hounds.

This article reflects on the striking economic changes recently experienced in a part of peripheral south-west rural Ireland. In 1960, west Cork's economy was largely dependent on low-productivity agriculture and was undergoing long term decline. Unexpectedly the region began to be revitalised from the turn of the 1990s, reflected in a rapid reversal of chronic depopulation and growth of employment in the service sector. Important to this process was the area's ability to capitalise on several familiar national and global socioeconomic changes, including the ‘Celtic tiger’ macroeconomic boom and the rise of counter-urbanisation and rural-urban commuting. A pioneering regional brand network has been one notable local initiative. However west Cork's historic east/west division in affluence persists, and the adverse impacts of the national economic downturn during 2007–9 highlight that the fortunes of the area are somewhat fragile and still linked to those of the macroeconomy.