Agricultural History Review, Volume 71 Part 1 (2023), pp. 66–86

The sale of timber has been recognized by historians as a key source of income for landed estates; this was the case at the Duke of Wellington’s Stratfield Saye estate in Hampshire in the early twentieth century. But the scope for independent sales by the estate was limited as the authority to sell timber was vested in the official trustees under unique arrangements. Following a boom in timber sales during the Great War, the funds were available for investment in fresh planting to rejuvenate timber stocks and guarantee their availability for sale in the future. But no such programme ensued and from 1920 the estate increasingly turned its woodlands to the benefit of game shooting. Despite the land agent’s efforts to promote timber investment, the final decision lay with the Duke, who was influenced by his son and heir, a keen country sportsman.