A vision of Britain through time
A vision of Britain between 1801 and 2001.
Including maps, statistical trends and historical descriptions.
A vision of Britain through time
A vision of Britain between 1801 and 2001.
Including maps, statistical trends and historical descriptions.
This aspect of the Vision of Britain system presents data from two kinds of source: Agricultural Censuses, which gathered data on the kinds of crops planted and animals raised, usually from farmers; and Land Use Mapping, which actually surveyed land use, field by field. Work on this theme has been funded by DEFRA, the Environment Agency and the Frederick Soddy Trust. Our most detailed information on land use is, in fact, the complete set of the maps published by the Land Utilisation Survey of Great Britain, included in our 'Historical Mapping' section.
Our detailed statistics are held in structures called nCubes, which you can think of as tables with one dimension, or with two ... or with twenty. Their dimensions are defined by the variables each nCube combines, and each variable is made up of categories. These nCubes are available at national level for this theme:
| Available nCubes | Period covered | Variables (number of categories) |
|---|---|---|
| Total areas of reporting units | 1920 to 1970 |
Total Area (for Farm Census)
(1) |
| Land Utilisation in the 1930s (LUSGB data) | 1931 |
Land Utilisation Survey of Great Britain categories
(6) |
| Total area, in acres | 1931 |
Land Utilisation Survey of Great Britain Total
(1) |
| Farmland Use, as reported by the Land Utilisation Survey | 1931 |
Land Utilisation Survey farmland categories
(2) |
| Basic land use categories, as reported by the Agricultural Census | 1920 to 1971 |
Land Areas reported by the Agricultural Census
(6) |
| Farmland Use, as reported by the Agricultural Census | 1920 to 1971 |
Agricultural Census Categories for Farmland
(2) |
| Generalised Crop Acreages | 1920 to 1970 |
Generalised Crop Categories
(6) |
| Acreages of different crops, as reported by 1970 Agricultural Census | 1970 |
Agricultural Census Crop Categories for 1970
(31) |
| Acreages of different crops, as reported by Agricultural Censuses 1922-35 | 1930 to 1931 |
Agricultural Census Crop Categories, 1922-
(22) |
| Acreages of different crops, as reported by Agricultural Censuses 1940-42 | 1940 |
Agricultural Census Crop Categories, 1940-42
(30) |
| Acreages of different crops, as reported by Agricultural Censuses 1957-60 | 1960 |
Agricultural Census Crop Categories, 1957-60
(30) |
| Acreages of different crops, as reported by Agricultural Censuses 1961-3 | 1961 |
Agricultural Census Crop Categories, 1961-3
(29) |
| Acreages of different crops, as reported by the Agricultural Census for 1920. | 1920 |
Agricultural Census Crop Categories for 1920
(21) |
| Acreages of different crops, as reported by the Agricultural Census for 1950-51 | 1950 |
Agricultural Census Crop Categories, 1950-51
(32) |
| Ages of fowls (chickens) as recorded by the Agricultural Census | 1940 to 1961 |
Agricultural Census Categories of Fowl in 1950
(2) |
| Ages & usage of fowls (chickens) as recorded by the Agricultural Census | 1961 |
Agricultural Census Categories of Fowl in 1960
(4) |
| Categories of Cattle as reported by the Agricultural Census. | 1920 to 1931 |
Agricultural Census Cattle Categories for 1920-31
(7) |
| Categories of Cattle as reported by the Agricultural Census. | 1940 |
Agricultural Census Cattle Categories for 1940-41
(10) |
| Categories of Cattle as reported by the Agricultural Census. | 1950 |
Agricultural Census Cattle Categories for 1950-51
(11) |
| Categories of Cattle as reported by the Agricultural Census. | 1960 to 1961 |
Agricultural Census Cattle Categories for 1960-61
(14) |
| Categories of Cattle as reported by the Agricultural Census. | 1970 |
Agricultural Census Cattle Categories for 1970-71
(16) |
| Categories of horse as reported by the Agricultural Census. | 1920 to 1931 |
Agricultural Census Horse Categories for 1920-31
(5) |
| Categories of horse as reported by the Agricultural Census. | 1940 |
Agricultural Census Horse Categories for 1940-51
(6) |
| Farmworkers, as reported by the Agricultural Census | 1930 to 1931 |
Agricultural Census Categories for Farmworkers in 1930
(6) |
| Farmworkers, as reported by the Agricultural Census | 1940 |
Agricultural Census Categories for Farmworkers in 1940
(7) |
| Farmworkers, as reported by the Agricultural Census | 1950 |
Agricultural Census Categories for Farmworkers in 1950
(9) |
| Farmworkers, as reported by the Agricultural Census | 1960 |
Agricultural Census Categories for Farmworkers in 1960
(10) |
| Farmworkers, as reported by the Agricultural Census | 1970 |
Agricultural Census Categories for Farmworkers in 1970
(8) |
| Farmworkers, as reported by the Agricultural Census | 1930 to 1970 |
Agricultural Census Generalised Categories for Farmworkers
(5) |
| Generalised agricultural crop classification for 1866-1970. | 1920 to 1970 |
Agricultural Census Generalised Crop Categories
(13) |
| Generalised Categories for Horses as reported by the Agricultural Census. | 1920 to 1940 |
Agricultural Census Generalised Horse Categories
(2) |
| Generalised Cattle Categories as reported by the Agricultural Census. | 1920 to 1970 |
Agricultural Census Generalised Cattle Categories
(3) |
| Generalised Pig Categories as reported by the Agricultural Census. | 1940 to 1970 |
Agricultural Census Generalised Pig Categories
(3) |
| Generalised Sheep Categories as reported by the Agricultural Census. | 1920 to 1970 |
Agricultural Census Generalised Sheep Categories
(3) |
| Ownership of rough grazing land | 1940 to 1970 |
Agricultural Census Categories for Rough Grazing
(2) |
| Pasture Use, as reported by the Agricultural Census | 1921 to 1970 |
Agricultural Census Categories for Pasture
(2) |
| Sizes of farms as reported by the Agricultural Census. | 1920 to 1931 |
Agricultural Census Farm Size Categories for 1920
(7) |
| Sizes of farms as reported by the Agricultural Census. | 1950 to 1970 |
Agricultural Census Farm Size Categories for 1950-70
(12) |
| Sizes of farms as reported by the Agricultural Census. | 1920 to 1970 |
Agricultural Census Farm Size in four categories
(4) |
| Sizes & tenure-type of farms as reported by the Agricultural Census. | 1910 |
Agricultural Census Tenure-type Categories for 1891
(2) Agricultural Census Farm Size in four categories (4) |
| Total Farm Workforce, as reported by the Agricultural Census | 1930 to 1970 |
Variable for total number of farmworkers
(1) |
| Total number of farms & smallholdings | 1920 to 1970 |
Total Number of Farms
(1) |
| Types of Animal reported by the Agricultural Census | 1920 to 1970 |
Types of animal listed by the Agricultural Census
(6) |
| Types of goat as reported by the Agricultural Census. | 1961 |
Agricultural Census Goat Categories for 1961
(2) |
| Types of pig as reported by the Agricultural Census. | 1920 to 1931 |
Agricultural Census Pig Categories for 1920-30
(3) |
| Types of pig as reported by the Agricultural Census. | 1940 to 1970 |
Agricultural Census Pig Categories for 1940-41
(8) |
| Types of pig as reported by the Agricultural Census. | 1950 |
Agricultural Census Pig Categories for 1950-51
(9) |
| Types of poultry as recorded by the Agricultural Census. | 1930 to 1961 |
Agricultural Census Poultry Categories
(4) |
| Types of sheep as reported by the Agricultural Census. | 1920 to 1931 |
Agricultural Census Sheep Categories for 1920-30
(4) |
| Types of sheep as reported by the Agricultural Census. | 1940 to 1950 |
Agricultural Census Sheep Categories for 1940-50
(6) |
| Types of sheep as reported by the Agricultural Census. | 1960 to 1970 |
Agricultural Census Sheep Categories for 1960-70
(6) |