Agricultural History Review, Volume 59 Part 1 (2011), p. 140

A study of allotments might appear to be rather a narrow field of research yet this study demonstrates how allotments can be used as a prism through which to explore broad issues in the nineteenth-century countryside. The major interpretative shift of the book is that allotments should be seen as a mainstream part of community life rather than just for the poorest members of the community.

The research project that underpins this book was set up by the Family and Community Historical Research Project (FACHRS) with Jeremy Burchardt as academic advisor. The research project and this book complement Burchardt’s research published in The allotment movement in England, 1793–1873. Volunteer researchers were recruited for 30 of the 39 historic English counties and they provided a mass of quantitative and very interesting qualitative material. This publication is in two parts; a book and a data CD containing the Combined Allotments Database.

The book has a tripartite structure. The first part is an introduction written by the two editors followed by an overview and summary of the project’s findings written by Burchardt. In the introduction the interplay of rural poverty, the New Poor Law and Captain Swing are examined, with Burchardt arguing that it was the persistence of rural unemployment and low wages that was the basis for allotment provision. The following overview and summary chapter contains a wealth of information (drawn from the quantitative and qualitative material amassed by the researchers) and analysis. An examination of allotment holders showed that they were not all held by agricultural labourers but that some craftsmen and tradesmen also rented allotments. Other areas explored are the roles of the provincial press, the clergy and the Labourer’s Friend Society in promoting and providing allotments. The second section of the book is a series of six county studies each written by the researchers for that county. The final section of the book contains eight themed chapters. One by Chris Leivers examines the provision of allotments in Derbyshire industrial communities, arguing that the provision of housing (with gardens and allotments) by employers was primarily driven by the need to attract and retain workers. This chapter also examines paternalism, which is a theme that echoes throughout the book.

The Combined Allotment Database includes the data gathered by Burchardt for his study and consists of 3503 records for 2281 unique allotment sites. Various chapters within the book demonstrate how an analysis of the data can be used to enrich local studies of allotments. For example the Allotment Tenants List contains records for 1124 individual allotment holders and it also provides some information on occupation derived from census enumerator’s books.

One minor complaint is that the definition of an allotment is not given until p.12 and would have benefited from being highlighted earlier in the book. A recent survey by the National Society of Allotments and Leisure Gardeners established that the minimum value of fruit and vegetables produced on a 250 squaremetre allotment was £1564, which gave a profit of £1362 until labour costs were taken into account, when the net profit would have been just £192. This contemporary survey illustrates the continuing role that allotments play in enabling an allotment holder to improve their living standard through their ‘free labour’.

This book, packed with primary research and analysis, will appeal to a wide range of readers. The editors, contributors and researchers are to be congratulated on the quality and depth of their research.