The Women who saved the English Countryside (Yale University Press, London, 2022)

Abstract

encountered when attempts are made to preserve landscapes. Many orchard landscapes are neither ancient nor traditional: rather they are a product of the significant economic expansion of the Victorian and Edwardian periods, resulting in the ‘orchard century’ defined in the book. Whilst orchards are a part of the historic landscape, they are not a longestablished feature. The book closes with recognition that further research is necessary and acknowledges that this may result in a need to re-write parts of the book. Finally, Barnes and Williamson present some reflective thoughts on the benefits, or otherwise, of the current trends towards re-wilding. The book does contain several typographical errors, for example ‘750 centimetres’ rather than ‘75 centimetres’ (p. 149), and ‘supress’ rather than ‘suppress’ (pp. 29, 44 and 102). There is also a curious reference to the ‘Vale of Pershore’ (p. 35), as opposed to the usual collective term of the ‘Vale of Evesham’ for the fruit-growing parishes of the area: the text also places Evesham and Pershore in Worcestershire on pages 76–7, but in Gloucestershire on page 149. Overall, this is a well-produced book with ample colour illustrations and presents a useful summary on the subject of English orchards, in particular the consideration of the four different types of orchards and a comparison of orchard development between the three key regions of orchard landscapes in England.