22.
Brian Wood has sent some notes on his study of
Post War Field Boundary Changes in Mid-Essex
As a Nottingham University Dissertation,
Brian chose to examine some farms to the north-
east of Chelmsford in the Terling District
(TL71 21/2" map of the Ordnance Survey).
From looking at aerial photographs he was
able to establish that between 1947 and 1975
some 190 kms. of field boundary (mainly hedgerow)
had been removed, representing a decline in
boundaries of some 28%. The Boulder Clay land
suffered the greatest change, with relatively
little alteration on the steeper slopes of the
valleys.
The greatest rate of change occurred
between 1960 and 1970 coinciding with similar
removal in the rest of the country. As a
result, average field size increased by 69%
from nearly 4 hectares to 6.2 hectares.
Apparently it was on the larger arable farms
that most removal occurred. On larger farms
a good field size is 20ha enabling efficient
use of manpower and machinery. Smaller farms
with smaller manpower prefer nearer l6ha.
This was brought about by the need to be
able to use larger and faster machinery.
Reducing the number of boundaries lessens the
number of sharp corners, saving on time and
making turning easier.
A substantial area of land has been
recovered and farms have saved on the main-
tenance costs of the hedges (although this of
course may be to the cost of wildlife - Ed.).
The full manuscript is lodged at University of
Nottingham in the Department of Geography.