Agricultural History Gallery

Choose from 44 images in our Agricultural History Collection

Brill Windmill a081475
BRILL WINDMILL, Windmill Street, Brill, Buckinghamshire. Brill Windmill overlooking a farmstead and Aylesbury Vale landscape

Ploughing OP04506
A newly ploughed field near Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. The farmer on his tractor is sillouhetted on the horizon. Photographed by John Gay during 1950s 1960s

Rural landscape J910032
Reconstruction drawing of imaginary rural landscape, 2000 BC by Judith Dobie, English Heritage Graphics Team. Farming

Disc harrowing, Lincolnshire a98_09683
Disc harrowing near Honington, Lincolnshire. The mechanisation of agricultural practices made farming more intensive and productive

Harvest a97_05926
Harvesting with a mechanical harvester near Hellidon, Northamptonshire. Alfred Newton and Son July 1902

Farrier, Woodbastwick, Norfolk a98_13563
Woodbastwick, Norfolk. Interior of blacksmiths shop. A farrier shoeing a horse. A working horse would need re-shoeing about every five weeks

Rural landscape J910033
Reconstruction drawing of imaginary rural landscape, AD 200 Romano-British by Judith Dobie, English Heritage Graphics Team. Farming

Dovecote interior DP217184
Dovecote at Old Hall, Horse Shoe Lane, Barholm, Lincolnshire. Interior view from west

Iron Age farming N080555
OLD OSWESTRY HILL FORT, Shropshire. Reconstruction drawing by Ivan Lapper showing Iron Age arable cultivation

Iron Age farming J950067
SILCHESTER ROMAN CITY WALLS, Hampshire. Reconstruction drawing by Ivan Lapper. Recent research suggests that Iron Age Silchester was much more of an organised large town than the rural settlement

Iron Age Roundhouse N070430
CARN EUNY ANCIENT VILLAGE, Cornwall. Reconstruction drawing showing farmers and a herd of goats outside a roundhouse by Judith Dobie, English Heritage Graphics Team

Woad production, Algarkirk, Lincolnshire NMR02_01_00009
Algarkirk, Lincolnshire. A group of man and women cropping woad and collecting it in large wicker baskets. The earliest woad production in Britain dates from the Iron Age

Ibbetson - Three long-horned cattle J990019
KENWOOD HOUSE, London: The Iveagh Bequest. Three Long-Horned Cattle at Kenwood, 1797 by Julius Caesar Ibbetson. Oil on canvas 26 x 32 in. (66 x 81.2 cm). 88029298

Ploughing, Buckinghamshire BB98_10630
A view showing a horse and plough team at work possibly in Ilmer, Whiteleaf or Monks Risborough, Buckinghamshire. Photographed by Alfred Newton and Son. Date range: 1896-1920

Reed cutting, Norfolk a98_07734
Horning Ferry, Norfolk. Cutting reeds with a scythe on Woodbastwick Marshes. Photographed by Hallam Ashley in February 1949

Reed cutting, Norfolk a98_07731
Horning Ferry, Norfolk. Reed cutter bundling reeds on Woodbastwick Marshes. Photographed by Hallam Ashley in February 1949

Tulip picking, Lincolnshire a98_09310
Fulney, Spalding, Lincolnshire. The tulip was introduced into Europe in the 16th century from Turkey and takes its name from the French word for turban. It became an important cash crop

Farm wagons, Norfolk a98_15161
Freethorpe, Norfolk. These two traditional horse-drawn farm wagons would still have been in regular use when this photograph was taken. Behind, a portable elevator was used to build the haystacks

Hop poles a079959
Hop poles, stacked in tent shapes, arranged in lines. Taken in Kent. Photographed by John Gay during the 1950s

Medieval farming N070208
WHARRAM PERCY MEDIEVAL VILLAGE, North Yorkshire. Reconstruction drawing by Peter Dunn (English Heritage Graphics Team) showing villagers shearing sheep and planting and harvesting crops

Ploughing J910040
Reconstruction drawing of present day view of tractor ploughing field by Judith Dobie, English Heritage Graphics Team. Farming

Ploughing J910039
Reconstruction drawing of ploughing in Victorian times by Judith Dobie, English Heritage Graphics Team. Farming

Ploughing J910038
Reconstruction drawing of family ploughing during the Iron Age by Judith Dobie, English Heritage Graphics Team. Farming

Foxash Estate EAW171546
Foxash Estate, Ardleigh, Essex. One of a series of Land Settlement Association schemes of co-operative smallholdings set up in the 1930s

Market garden 24032_13
Market garden near Sandy, Bedfordshire. Glasshouses near Sandy, some of which are derelict. Photographed in Auguest 2005

Watermeadows 24208_018
Lower Farm, Britford, Wiltshire. At Britford, just south of Salisbury on the River Avon, a complex system of leats is used to channel water over the valley bottom in order to encourage early spring

Harvesting at Trenance BB98_06122
Mr Richard Harvey and workers harvesting at Trenance, Mullion, Cornwall, 1900-'1. Alfred Newton & Son. Silver gelatin glass plate negative

Harvest time, Lower Cadsden, Buckinghamshire a97_05316
LOWER CADSDEN, Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire. View of people in a field, including farm workers taking a break from harvesting, with a smart lady and gentleman

Faringdon Cattle Market CC97_02236
MARKET PLACE, Faringdon, Oxfordshire. The cattle market underway, with the Salutation Inn to one side and the churchyard to the other. Faringdon was granted a market in 1218

Beekeeping, 1908 BB98_06002
BEEKEEPER AT STOW LODGE, Wyck Hill, Wick Rissington, Gloucestershire. People have kept - or at least exploited - bees for centuries, possibly since the first century BC

Drainage Mill, Ludham, Norfolk W610
DRAINAGE MILL, Ludham, Norfolk. Areas of wetland and marsh that are prone to flooding frequently use windmills to pump water and help agriculture

Farm Wagon a98_11487
Keswick, Norfolk. A traditional farm waggon on display at the Royal Norfolk Show. Usually pulled by two horses, it would still have been in regular use at the time of this photograph

Fields on fire, Norfolk a98_11587
Postwick, Norfolk. Barley fields on fire. A spark from a steam locomotive could have started a trackside fire. Farm workers are attempting to save some of the crop

Royal Norfolk Show 1947 a98_11521
Keswick, Norfolk. The horse and cart competition at the Royal Norfolk Show has drawn a good crowd. Photographed by Hallam Ashley in June 1947

Potato riddling, Norfolk a98_09647
Marshland St James, Norfolk. After harvest, potatoes were stored in clamps in the fields. As they were needed, the clamp would be opened and potatoes dug out with a special potato shovel

Harvest, Norfolk a98_14729
Ranworth, Norfolk. The harvest is seen from the church tower. Despite mechanisation, it is still a labour-intensive task with at least 14 men visible. Photographed by Hallam Ashley September 1954

Saddlers, Suffolk a98_14619
Halesworth, Suffolk. A typical saddlers shop displays horse collars and other horse equipment. Much of the rural saddlers trade came from the heavy work of the farms

Driven cattle, Norfolk a98_11670
Norwich, Norfolk. Driving cattle to the railway station, Heigham Street. Traditionally cattle were driven to market; then they were taken by train; today they are taken door-to-door by lorry

Steam engines, Norfolk a98_07546
Great Massingham, Norfolk. A group of derelict steam engines. Photographed by Hallam Ashley

Windmill, Suffolk a98_07336
Thornham Magna, Suffolk. The timber-clad post mill at Thornham Magna, with its sails, fantail and roundhouse, appears to be falling into ruin. Photographed by Hallam Ashley, November 1950

Harvesting flax, Norfolk a98_09093
Fields near Paston, Norfolk. Harvesting flax in July 1946. The strong fibre within the stalk of the flax plant is used to make linen thread and yarn

Stonehenge landscape c.2500BC H870003
STONEHENGE, Wiltshire. Livestock farming and Blue Stones in the distance shortly after 2500 BC. Reconstruction drawing by Ivan LAPPER

Rural landscape J910035
Reconstruction drawing of present day imaginary rural landscape by Judith Dobie, English Heritage Graphics Team. Farming

Rural landscape J910034
Reconstruction drawing of imaginary rural landscape, c1600 Tudor by Judith Dobie, English Heritage Graphics Team. Farming

Available as Licensed Images

Choose your image, Select your licence and Download the media