During this period in question, agriculture was going through a period called the "Agrarian revolution", although historians dispute if it can be called a revolution as it lasted around 150 years, massive change took place that changed the face of agriculture. It is generally considered that the later half of the 18th Century brought the major changes to the agricultural industry, through the vast influx of ideas, machines and the enclosure system.

Up to 1760 much of the land was farmed in what was called the "Open field system", which was suited towards subsistence farming. The "Open field" system divided the village land into three great fields without hedges each lying fallow in turn. The cultivated area was divided into many strips each individually being farmed by the labourer, which had many disadvantages. The waste of land, the spread of weeds, plant diseases and crop damage from the unfenced animals, meant that farming could not progress. There was also a common land for which the labourer could breed his cattle. However all this changed with Enclosure. Between 1760 and 1793 1,355 parliamentary

After the War, there was a post war depression that lasted until about 1821. The agricultural market was under pressure, as there was now an established overseas market, meaning the already low market prices would crash. This lead to the "Corn laws" which was designed to prohibit imports of foreign food until home grown wheat reached 80s per Quarter.

As I have talked about in the introduction there was also a vast influx of new ideas. It is disputable how important these changes are in relation to enclosure, but there is no doubt they contributed to the progress of agriculture. Prior to the 18th C, the ideas of Weston who explored the new field crops, were beginning to grow. In the 18th C Viscount Townshend followed up Weston's ideas by introducing what was called the "Norfolk four course rotation" This consisted of wheat, turnips oats and clover, which got rid of the need for fallow land, provided fodder for animals and enriched the soil. He also used drainage, marling and manure, to improve his land. However although these were effective ideas they were only really appreciated by Townshend's neighbours and not those who lived outside of Norfolk. Jethro Tull (1674-1741) also contributed through his book "The new Horse Husbandry" (1733) and his invention "The seed drill" which sew seeds at a controlled. He also helped with the ideas of the Harrow and plough which by 1820 where wholly made of Iron. However Tull's idea were n

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Approximate Word count = 969
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)