A century of change in the British countryside
A look back at the evolution of the countryside over the past 100 years
2010 marks the 100th anniversary of Country Living’s publishers, The National Magazine Company. To celebrate we decided to look back at the evolution of the countryside over the past century.
From wildlife protection and community matters to farming and environmental concerns, Britain's fascinating rural history touches us all. Compare the British countryside today with 100 years ago and what would you find? Bridges and houses, hedges and ditches that are much the same, but the droning motorways, fields of acid-yellow rapeseed and wind farms marching over the fells were absent in 1910. You would notice fewer railways and meadows in 2010 but more walkers, pubs and shops that are open on Sundays, and national parks and country estates that anyone can visit.
A century is a long time, and yet it isn't. Some pastimes have come full circle - growing your own, keeping hens and riding horses are again as popular as they were with our Edwardian ancestors, while certain features of the pastoral landscape never went away - second homes, vernacular architecture, ancient oaks and church spires, for example. This aide-mémoire is not only a look back through rural history but also a reminder that change is not unique to now. The events and decisions of the next 100 years will bring as much pioneering and preserving as the century gone by.
100 years of change in:
Wildlife has never been as popular as it is now, discover how protective laws and people's perceptions have changed over the last century.
Over the past 100 years the countryside has opened up for all and is now an opportunity for some peace and quiet whenever it's needed
As the rural-urban divide disappears, inevitable change has occurred in country communities.
The global issue of climate change has effected rural life in many ways, discover some of them here.
Discover how the public perception, and the practicalites, of farming have altered immeasurably over the past 100 years.
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