History of agriculture in Cheshire facts for kids

Agriculture has always been a super important job in the English county of Cheshire. For a long time, dairy farming (raising cows for milk) was the main thing people did. Cheshire was especially famous for making delicious cheese!

Ancient Times: Prehistoric Farming

The land we now call Cheshire wasn't very crowded a long, long time ago, compared to southern England. The first signs of farming here are from the Early Neolithic period (around 4000 to 3001 BC). Imagine people starting to grow their own food!

Archaeologists found burnt bits of grain at a place called Oversley Farm. This was near a wooden building from that time. More burnt grain was found at Tatton, suggesting a temporary farm settlement around 3500–2900 BC.

Early farmers probably cleared forests to grow crops like emmer wheat and barley. They used simple tools made of bone or stone, like a mattock (a bit like a pickaxe). They also kept animals such as oxen, goats, sheep, and pigs, and used dogs to help them. They didn't have ploughs or horses yet.

Cheshire's wet weather and certain soil types might have made farming start a bit later here than in nearby areas like North Wales. Later, in the Bronze Age and Iron Age, farming mostly happened on higher lands, like the hills in the east of the county.

Roman Times: Farming and Salt

When the Romans were in charge, a lot of forests were cut down. This might have been to get wood for the salt industry in Cheshire, not just for farming.

We don't have much proof of Roman farms in Cheshire. But some places like Longley Farm and Birch Heath might have had Roman fields. They grew a type of wheat called spelt at a Roman settlement called Wilderspool.

At Eaton by Tarporley, the only known Roman villa in Cheshire had special ovens for drying corn. This shows they were definitely growing some crops!

The Domesday Survey: A Snapshot of 1086

The Domesday Book, made in 1086, is the first written record of farming in Cheshire. At this time, Cheshire was still not very crowded. Experts think there were only about 10,500 to 11,000 people in the whole county.

The survey recorded about 490 "hides" of farmed land. A "hide" was a measure of land, probably enough to support a family. It also mentioned 935 "ploughlands" (areas that could be ploughed), but only 456 "plough teams" (groups of oxen and a plough). This might mean that only about half of the good farming land was actually being used.

Back then, most farms did subsistence farming. This means they grew just enough food for themselves and their families. The main crops were wheat, barley, oats, and peas. They also kept cattle, pigs, and sheep.

Medieval and Tudor Periods: Growth and Changes

In the 12th century, people said Cheshire wasn't great for growing cereals. But by the 12th to 14th centuries, barley, oats, and rye were common crops. Wheat was also grown. Later, in the 15th and 16th centuries, peas, beans, hemp, and flax were added.

Cheshire didn't usually use the "three-field system" of crop rotation, which was common in other parts of England. Instead, they had different, less regular field patterns. Oxen were usually used for ploughing instead of horses.

Cheshire had three large royal hunting forests – Mara and Mondrem, Macclesfield, and Wirral. These forests covered about 40% of the county! They slowed down farming development inside their borders.

As the population grew in the 12th and 13th centuries, more food was needed. So, people started clearing trees in the forests and draining marshy areas to create more farmland. Farmers also got better at what they did. From the early 13th century, they started using a mix of clay and lime called marl as a fertilizer. This helped the soil grow better crops.

Gradually, farmers started growing more than they needed and selling the extra food at local markets.

By the early 14th century, cattle were common, and beef was even sent out of the county. There were also dairy farms. Many pigs were raised in the forests, eating acorns and nuts. Pork was also exported. Cheshire wasn't a big sheep-farming area, but it probably produced enough wool for local use.

The Black Death (a terrible plague) in the mid-1300s killed many farm workers. This paused the clearing of land for farming. Later, in the 15th century, people started to enclose land. This meant turning shared open fields into private fields for growing crops or raising cattle. This became more common during the Tudor period.

When the monasteries were closed down (the Dissolution of the Monasteries) between 1536 and 1540, their land was taken by the King. Monasteries owned a lot of land in Cheshire, and they usually managed it well. This land was then sold or leased to wealthy families, creating large estates.

17th to Mid-19th Century: The Rise of Cheshire Cheese

By the early 1600s, making cheese was a big deal in Cheshire. People knew Cheshire cheese was special.

In the mid-1600s, Cheshire cheese started to be sent by sea from Chester and Liverpool to London, and then to other parts of England. Dairy farming and cheese making grew very fast. Farms even started to combine their milk to make huge cheeses for export!

By 1729, about 5,860 tons of Cheshire cheese were being sent to London each year. Cheshire cheese was the most popular cheese in London until the mid-1800s. During this time, cheese was still made by hand using old methods.

The Cheshire Agricultural Society, a group for farmers, started in 1838.

Mid-to-Late 19th Century: Challenges and Changes

Around 1850, Cheddar cheese from Somerset started to become more popular than Cheshire cheese. Also, cheeses from the Netherlands and America began to compete. Cheshire cheese makers slowly started to use newer methods, but they were a bit slow to adopt the big factory-style cheese making that was happening in America.

Because cities nearby were growing fast and railways were expanding, more milk was produced in Cheshire. But cheese was still the county's main dairy product.

There were also serious outbreaks of cattle diseases, like foot and mouth disease and rinderpest (cattle plague). The rinderpest outbreak in 1865–66 was especially bad in Cheshire. Whole herds of cows died, and the county's economy suffered for a year and a half. Farmers formed groups to help each other during these tough times.

In 1877, a survey showed that Cheshire had over 500,000 acres of farmland. Most of it was permanent grassland, but a good portion was used for growing crops. There were also orchards, market gardens, and nurseries.

Around 1870, a book called Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales said that Cheshire farms were usually smaller than 100 acres. It mentioned that farming had improved, but still needed more work. Wheat was once famous, but less was grown now. Potatoes were important. It confirmed that cheese was a main product, with about 12,000 tons exported each year! Butter was also made.

Another book in 1887 described "excellent dairy farms" making the "celebrated Cheshire cheese." It also mentioned "extensive market gardens" that sent their produce to big cities like Liverpool and Manchester.

20th and 21st Centuries: Modern Farming

Reaseheath College, where students learn about agriculture.

Farming, especially dairy farming, remained Cheshire's main industry in the 20th century. However, fewer people worked in farming as machines took over more tasks. The number of full-time farm workers dropped by half between the 1920s and 1985. But farm workers' pay increased, as farming became more skilled and modern.

In 1921, the Cheshire School of Agriculture (now Reaseheath College) opened. This was the first time people could get a college education in farming in Cheshire.

Early in the 20th century, milk started to become more important than cheese. This was because of the demand from the big cities nearby. Producing milk needed more intensive farming (using more modern methods and technology). New rules about hygiene and testing for diseases led to changes. Farmers started using different breeds of cows, like Ayrshires and later Friesians, instead of the traditional shorthorns. Milking machines also became common.

The Milk Marketing Board was created in 1933. This helped farmers by making sure they got a fair price for their milk.

Farm-based cheese making started to decline. In 1914, about 2,000 Cheshire farms still sold cheese, but by 1939, this number had dropped to 405. During World War II, all cheese production moved to factories, and rationing meant Cheshire cheese had to be changed. After the war, farm-based cheese making never really recovered.

Outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease continued to cause big problems for dairy farmers in Cheshire, happening several times throughout the century.

Mechanisation (using machines) in farming started during World War I to make things more efficient, as there weren't enough workers. It sped up during World War II. During World War II, a lot of grassland was ploughed up to grow more wheat, potatoes, and other vegetables. Groups like the Women's Land Army, schoolchildren, and even prisoners of war helped with the farm work.

Farmers also started to grow different things, like vegetables and flowers for city markets. After the 1960s, soft fruit production increased, especially with "pick-your-own" farms.

In 1985, nearly 500,000 acres were used for agriculture in Cheshire, with about 8,500 farms. Some very large estates still existed. By 2007, the amount of agricultural land had slightly reduced, but it still made up 70% of Cheshire's total area. The number of people working in farming was about 8,744, with many working part-time. Most farms were small, but there were still some very large ones. The number of dairy farms has been going down, but Cheshire still has a lot of cattle.

See also

• Agriculture in the United Kingdom
• History of Cheshire