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meadows
What is the history of hay meadows?
The wealth of flowers & grasses found in hay meadows originates from the woodland
glades and floodplains of Ancient Britain, at a time when most of the land was covered
in thick forest and humans were hunter-gatherers travelling from place to place.
As humans began to settle they cleared the trees and began farming these wild grasses.
By the 11th century hay meadows had become commonplace - part of a traditional
way of life and the Domesday Book records hay meadows in 8 out of 10 settlements.
By the 17th century, after the Enclosures Act, much of the land was divided with
dry stone walls and field boundaries. Hay meadows provided colour in the mosaic of
field patterns that we still see today.
As remnants of a farming system that is rapidly being lost, hay meadows form part
of our cultural heritage. They inspire romantic images of rural life and have been
celebrated in folklore, customs and literature
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| Haymaking in the past and in more modern times |
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