Agricultural History Review, Volume 70 Part 1 (2022), p. 129

The first modern description of the foldcourse appears in K. J. Allison’s article in the Review in 1957 (vol. 5, part I). In his introduction to this book, John Belcher defines what is meant by the foldcourse and in particular by foldcourse husbandry, the farming regime based around the foldcourse. Whilst focusing specifically on the western part of East Anglia, he notes the need to make inter-regional comparisons.

Chapter 1 commences with an examination of the environmental, social and agricultural contexts within which foldcourse husbandry existed. Starting with a review of the soils of East Anglia in terms of recognized soil associations, the correlation between the foldcourse and the differing soil types is considered, noting that the predominant link between foldcourse and light soils is a consequence of the nutritional poverty of those soils. However, Belcher does note some anomalies, where the foldcourse was practised on other types of soil. Different field systems are then examined and it is concluded that the field systems which developed in East Anglia were significantly different to those of the Midlands. In addition, there was also a range of pastures available in the region including fens, heathland and salt marshes.

In the second chapter, consideration is given to the overlapping boundaries of manors, vills and foldcourses. A single manor could have had multiple vills, whilst at the same time one vill may have belonged to more than one manor; over and above that, a single manor may have had multiple foldcourses. Looking at tenurial rights and customs and their complex linkage to the foldcourse, Belcher examines four features: the feeding of animals on the post-harvest stubble (shack); the right to put sheep in the demesne flock (cullet rights); ownership of the tathe (sheep manure) of the flocks; and the practice of the role of exchanges of arable lands between lord and tenants. He considers that it is this latter arrangement which provides a clear and unique distinction between the agrarian practices of the champion region and that of foldcourse husbandry. Further, the tathe was regarded as a commodity with financial value which also contributes to regional differences and emphasizes the market-driven methods employed in the region.

Chapter 3 examines the medieval foldcourse in detail. By examining the use of the term ‘fold’ and other related terms in Domesday Book, it is concluded that this provides evidence that the foldcourse was already established by the eleventh century: this evidence is focused on East Anglia and relates to feudal relationships at this time, rather than as an agricultural practice. Belcher then considers post-Domesday examples of folds, including requirements to tathe the land and the existence of stints, specifying the number of sheep permitted. The chapter ends with a consideration of folding arrangements in the medieval period in three townships across East Anglia. In his conclusion to the chapter, he notes that the flocks of East Anglia were not operating in the same sense of ‘common’, as described by Kerridge in respect of the downs of Wiltshire.

In the following chapter, the evolution of foldcourse husbandry is considered in the later medieval period, starting with the effects of famines and plagues in the mid-fourteenth century and the social disturbances of the sixteenth century. Belcher notes that medieval foldcourse husbandry had been a co-operative, and possibly a communal, activity involving lords of the manor and tenants as owners of sheep. However, the impact of changes over this period including the role that flock-masters played, and the acquisition of former monastic grounds and foldcourses, resulted in the foldcourse of the early modern period becoming what Belcher calls ‘a mirror image of its medieval predecessor’ (p. 112).

Chapter 5 examines the actual farming practices of foldcourse husbandry and the agrarian regime of which it formed a significant part. Infield-outfield agriculture was widespread across East Anglia, primarily in the Good Sands and Brecklands regions, and the foldcourse was an important agricultural practice. Further, the flexibility of these practices was facilitated by the smaller unit of land (furlong), as opposed to field, and the need to adapt practices which matched the soil. The final chapter considers the contribution which the foldcourse made to the improvement of land, along with the impact of engrossment and enclosure. This is examined for single estates as well as for the landscape of the whole of western East Anglia, thereby bringing the focus of the book to the landscape element of its title.

This is a well-presented book, although with numerous typographical errors, many of which would have been eliminated through use of spell-checking software: further, typesetting has resulted in the running head on odd-numbered pages in chapter 3 reverting to that of chapter 2 for part of the chapter (pp. 86–101) – all would have benefited from thorough proof-reading. As the commercial outcome of Belcher’s doctoral thesis (University of East Anglia, 2016), it appears to have been written for those who already have some knowledge of the foldcourse, rather than for the general interested reader: the latter would have benefited from explicit definitions of fold, foldcourse and foldcourse husbandry in an East Anglian context early in the book, rather than the implicit ones provided in the Introduction and throughout the text. The author attempts to excuse this in his conclusions, where he states that the differences between foldcourse husbandry and other regimes ‘cannot be framed in monocausal terms’, the former being a ‘complex system of interactions between the environment, social structures and agrarian practices’ (p. 179). However, this is an in-depth study into the subject of the foldcourse, drawing on a wealth of examples taken mainly from primary sources to provide a comprehensive understanding of its practice in East Anglia, thereby emphasizing the distinctiveness of East Anglian agricultural practices in the past. Whilst Belcher notes that the book removes some misconceptions about the foldcourse, he recognizes that there is still work to be done to understand fully this significant complex subject.