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 | 1870 to 1961 |
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 | 1870 to 1961 |
Land Areas reported by the Agricultural Census
(6) |
| Farmland Use, as reported by the Agricultural Census | 1870 to 1961 |
Agricultural Census Categories for Farmland
(2) |
| Generalised Crop Acreages | 1870 to 1961 |
Generalised Crop Categories
(6) |
| Acreages of different vegetable, as reported by the 1961 Scottish Farm Census | 1961 |
Scottish Farm Census Vegetable Categories for 1961
(13) |
| Acreages of different small fruit, as reported by the 1961 Scottish Farm Census | 1961 |
Scottish Farm Census Small Fruit Categories for 1961
(3) |
| Acreages of different crops, as reported by the 1931 Scottish Agricultural Census | 1931 |
Agricultural Census Crop Categories for 1931
(20) |
| Acreages of different crops, as reported by the 1961 Scottish Agricultural Census | 1961 |
Agricultural Census Crop Categories for 1961
(18) |
| Acreages of different crops, as reported by the Agricultural Census for 1891 through 1901. | 1901 |
Agricultural Census Crop Categories, 1891-1901
(18) |
| Acreages of different crops, as reported by the Agricultural Census in 1871. | 1870 to 1877 |
Agricultural Census Crop Categories, 1871-
(17) |
| Acreages of different crops, as reported by the Agricultural Census in 1881. | 1884 to 1885 |
Agricultural Census Crop Categories, 1881-
(16) |
| Acreages of farms by type of tenure. | 1901 |
Agricultural Census Tenure-type Categories for 1891
(2) |
| Ages of fowls (chickens) as recorded by the Agricultural Census | 1961 |
Agricultural Census Categories of Fowl in 1950
(2) |
| Ages of sheep as reported by the Agricultural Census. | 1870 to 1885 |
Agricultural Census Sheep Categories for 1866-1891
(2) |
| Ages of sheep as reported by the Agricultural Census. | 1901 |
Agricultural Census Sheep Categories for 1900-10
(3) |
| 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. | 1870 to 1885 |
Agricultural Census Cattle Categories for 1866-91
(3) |
| Categories of Cattle as reported by the Agricultural Census. | 1901 |
Agricultural Census Cattle Categories for 1900-01
(4) |
| Categories of Cattle as reported by the Agricultural Census. | 1931 |
Agricultural Census Cattle Categories for 1920-31
(7) |
| Categories of Cattle as reported by the Scottish Census. | 1961 |
Scottish Farm Census Cattle Categories for 1961
(20) |
| Categories of horse as reported by the Agricultural Census. | 1870 to 1885 |
Agricultural Census Horse Categories for 1870-1885
(2) |
| Categories of horse as reported by the Agricultural Census. | 1901 |
Agricultural Census Horse Categories for 1900-10
(3) |
| Categories of horse as reported by the Agricultural Census. | 1931 |
Agricultural Census Horse Categories for 1920-31
(5) |
| Farmworkers, as reported by the Agricultural Census | 1931 |
Agricultural Census Categories for Farmworkers in 1930
(6) |
| Farmworkers, as reported by the Agricultural Census | 1931 to 1961 |
Agricultural Census Generalised Categories for Farmworkers
(5) |
| Farmworkers, as reported by the Agricultural Census | 1961 |
Scottish Agricultural Census Categories for Farmworkers in 1961
(8) |
| Generalised agricultural crop classification for 1866-1970. | 1870 to 1961 |
Agricultural Census Generalised Crop Categories
(13) |
| Generalised Categories for Horses as reported by the Agricultural Census. | 1870 to 1931 |
Agricultural Census Generalised Horse Categories
(2) |
| Generalised Cattle Categories as reported by the Agricultural Census. | 1901 to 1961 |
Agricultural Census Generalised Cattle Categories
(3) |
| Generalised Pig Categories as reported by the Agricultural Census. | 1961 |
Agricultural Census Generalised Pig Categories
(3) |
| Generalised Sheep Categories as reported by the Agricultural Census. | 1901 to 1961 |
Agricultural Census Generalised Sheep Categories
(3) |
| Pasture Use, as reported by the Agricultural Census | 1870 to 1961 |
Agricultural Census Categories for Pasture
(2) |
| Permanent Grassland, as reported by the 1931 Scottish Farm Census | 1931 |
1931 Scottish Farm Census Categories for Permanent Grassland
(3) |
| Sizes of farms as reported by the Scottish Agricultural Census. | 1961 |
Scottish Agricultural Census Farm Size Categories for 1961
(13) |
| Total Farm Workforce, as reported by the Agricultural Census | 1931 to 1961 |
Variable for total number of farmworkers
(1) |
| Total number of farms & smallholdings | 1961 |
Total Number of Farms
(1) |
| Types of Animal reported by the Agricultural Census | 1870 to 1961 |
Types of animal listed by the Agricultural Census
(6) |
| Types of pig as reported by the Agricultural Census. | 1901 |
Agricultural Census Pig Categories for 1900-10
(2) |
| Types of pig as reported by the Agricultural Census. | 1931 |
Agricultural Census Pig Categories for 1920-30
(3) |
| Types of pig as reported by the Agricultural Census. | 1961 |
Agricultural Census Pig Categories for 1940-41
(8) |
| Types of poultry as recorded by the Agricultural Census. | 1884 to 1961 |
Agricultural Census Poultry Categories
(4) |
| Types of sheep as reported by the Agricultural Census. | 1931 |
Agricultural Census Sheep Categories for 1920-30
(4) |
| Types of sheep as reported by the Agricultural Census. | 1961 |
Scottish Farm Census Sheep Categories for 1961
(5) |