the battle of the field

This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England

-William Shakespeare

Engineered and produced by John Wood
Recorded at Sound Techniques Studio and Island Studio, St. Peter's Square, London
Album cover by Ian Logan Associates
Photography by Keith Morris

Martin Carthy, vocals, acoustic guitar;
Sue Harris, vocals, oboe, hammered dulcimer;
Ashley Hutchings, vocals, electric bass guitar;
John Kirkpatrick, vocals, anglo-concertina, button accordion, melodeon, electric piano;
Simon Nicol, vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, electric dulcimer, synthesiser;
Roger Swallow, drums, percussion

Dave Mattacks, percussion on Reaphook and Sickle;
Martin Nicholls, John Iveson, Colin Sheen and Paul Beer, sackbuts on Gallant Poacher

Albion Country Band on this recording

the never-to-be-duplicated Albion line-up of

Simon Nicol,

Martin Carthy, Roger Swallow,

Sue Harris and John Kirkpatrick.

Ashley Hutchings missing in action

Remembering The Land

The census of Britain taken in 1851 showed a total population of 20.9 persons, where 10 3/4 million had been counted in 1801 ; in the intervening years, the population had almost doubled and the country had become the largest manufacturer of industrial products in western Europe. Of this population, some 1 3/4 million were engaged in the cultivation of the soil, in the rearing of animals and the care of woods. Those employed on the land were, infact, already a minority of the British people, representing only about one -fifth of the total occupied persons, or one-quarter of the males over twenty years of age. Thus for every adult male engaged in agriculture or forestry, there were three others working in trade, domestic service, or in the professions....The Battle of the Field was already joined.......

The system of appropriating common land as private property. The changing of open field systems to enclosed fields began in the 14th century and became widespread later, resulting in poverty, starvation, homelessness, and rural depopulation. The first laws were passed in 1515, and there were revolts in 1536, 1569, and 1607, and many government measures to prevent depopulation were introduced 1489-1640, including the first Enclosure Act [1603] but these were sabotaged at a local level by land-owning magistrates. There were many popular riots against the enclosures, such as those led by John Reynolds, alias Captain Pouch, in Northamptonshire in 1607. The government passed Enclosure Acts in response to a petition which had been signed by 80% of the owners of the land. Tenants, who rented their land, had no rights in this respect. A new wave of enclosures by Acts of Parliament 1760-1820 during which period about 3500 acts were passed reduced the small land-owning farmers to agricultural labourers, or forced them to leave the land entirely. The Enclosure Acts applied to about 25% of the land in England, and about 17 million acres were enclosed without any parliamentary act. Under the Enclosure Acts, the enclosers had an obligation to create a road-way past the newly enclosed meadows. In most cases, the Enclosure Acts specified the width of enclosure roads as 40 ft. From 1876 the enclosure of common land in Britain was limited by statute. The last major Enclosure Act was in 1903.

The Prospect Before Us

The Battle of the Field. [click for larger image]

Island Records HELP 25 (LP, UK, 1976 (recorded 1973))

Albion Sunrise

Morris Medley
* Mouresque
* London Pride
* So Selfish Runs The Hare
* Maid Of The Mill
* Sheriff's Ride

I Was A Young Man

New St George / La Rotta

Gallant Poacher

Cheshire Rounds / The Old Lancashire Hornpipe

Hangèd I Shall Be

Reaphook And Sickle

Battle Of The Somme

Island Records HELP 25 (LP, UK, 1976 (recorded 1973))

related internet links

Flora Thompson.

1876-1947

our webpage on this

truly wonderful author

and chronicler of a vanished

way of life.

the page was later expanded

to a full website, a link to which

can be found through

the above picture of

Flora Thompson

Information available for

the parish of Rowner

near Portsmouth,

southern England

in 1642.

a truly fascinating insight

into an area of southern England

in the 17th century

The Deserted Village

an annotated version of

Oliver Goldsmith's famous poem,

with associated articles

and illustrations

massive thanks go out to

coramunroe for the you tube video feeds

to be found on this site