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Of all the features of the English lowland countryside, the humble hedgerow seems to be the most beloved by the wide spectrum of interests claiming to be concerned with conservation and the environment. But in farming terms they are now of little economic significance. (525 words)

It is this paradox that epitomizes the often uneasy relationship between the farmers and others interested in the English countryside.

There is nothing very natural about the hedgerow. It is a product of the much maligned enclosures which started in Tudor times and concluded with legislated land reform in the late eighteenth century. Indeed, it was hedgerows which defined the enclosures.

The advantage of moving from the previous open field, strip farming, system to one of small enclosures and, thereby, aggregated land tenure was to facilitate the adoption of productivity increasing farming practices. These included crop rotation and improved livestock husbandry.

Thorn was often selected as a hedgerow material as it provided an effective barrier to livestock if kept well trimmed and trained. The other characteristic of the hedgerow, the oak, was a result of naval ordinances designed to ensure that there would be a continuing source of suitable material for building battleships.

But the era when hedgerows served an essential purpose was relatively short. During the second half of the nineteenth century barbed wire was invented and the navy found iron a more effective material for ship building. For a hundred or so years, however, hedgerows were not regarded as an impediment, and while their quality in terms of enclosing livestock may have declined, they continued to have amenity value in terms of country sports, simple aesthetics and pride in ownership.

In the last 50 years with farm mechanization and the increased use of chemical fertilizers allowing specialization of arable and livestock farming, hedgerows came to be regarded as an obstruction. And most have long since been removed and forgotten by all but the oldest inhabitants. The image of the enclosed English countryside is preserved, however, in landscape paintings created no doubt with some artistic license.

Only roadside hedgerows and those marking boundaries of ownership generally survive. The countryside probably now appears very much as it did before the much maligned enclosures.

If land owners and farmers see value in hedgerows it may be because of their continued value in terms of the country pursuits of hunting and shooting. But it seems urban society would wish to deny them these. They may see well maintained and trimmed hedges as a haven for song birds and such. But those interested in the country side seem to want hedgerows allowed to grow rank and lose that function. They may regard hedges as a barrier to trespass, fly tipping and such. But greater access is sought.

If hedgerows were originally an investment to allow increased productivity and prosperity, their demise may be the consequence of a lack of confidence in the future by twenty-first century peasants, surfs and such. And while the government continues to play the role of the medieval manorial lord extracting what it can in political and economic rent the future of the remaining hedgerows appears to be doomed.

January 12, 2004