Field system

The study of field systems (collections of fields) in landscape history is concerned with the size, shape and orientation a number of fields. These are often adjacent, but may be separated by a later feature.

Drawing conclusions from analysis of field systems

Because fields were organised for the convenience of the farmer, the size of fields often gives an indication of the type of agriculture and agricultural implements in use when they were established. The shape and orientation of collections of fields provides clues about the date they were established. The extent to which the field system respects other features (or not) can be used as dating evidence for the other features or the field system itself. For example, a field system that doesn't respect a Roman road is likely to predate it. Similarly, a feature that respects medieval ridge and furrow is likely to post date it.

Types of field system

So called Celtic fields can date from the Bronze Age through to the early Middle Ages. These fields are typically small and rectangular^[1]. They are frequently coaxial - that is they form a system in which the boundaries of adjacent fields make a series of long, roughly parallel lines. The extensive coaxial field systems established by the Romans are described as centuriation.

Ridge and Furrow in Grendon, Northamptonshire

Open fields were very large fields in which many individual farmers cultivated their own strips. In England, enclosure of open fields during the 18th and 19th century produced field systems with larger rectangular fields, often with blackthorn hedges. Adjacent areas were often enclosed at different times, leading to a change in orientation of the field systems between the two areas. The pattern of ridge and furrow will often reveal the layout of the original open fields. In parts of England where enclosure took place early (or which were never enclosed), fields are often small and have an irregular shape, sometimes described as "pocket handkerchief".

Recent changes of agricultural practice are eliminating old field boundaries, particularly by removing hedges, to produce much larger fields reminiscent of traditional open fields.

Identifying former field systems

The boundaries of earlier field systems that have fallen out of use, can sometimes be deduced by studying earthworks (lumps and bumps), cropmarks or by using geophysics. Studying early maps will often show the field system in use at the time the map was prepared. From the mid 17th century, landowners began to commission estate maps that show the size and layout of the fields they own. However, for many English parishes, the earliest written evidence of their field system is from the enclosure maps or tithe maps.

Notes

1. ^ Christopher Taylor, Fields in the English Landscape. However, he says the term "celtic fields" is "totaly misleading and meaningless".