Farming as Fashion
The sheep breeding
industry found a new use for sheep, food. As Britain’s population grew, they
looked for other dishes to suit their ever-increasing palate. Mutton became
popular in the early nineteenth century, which created another form of sheep.
Robert Bakewell bred sheep with large flat bodies, and small heads. Getting the
most meat from each animal created a physically different form of beast.[1]
Bakewell had been very proud that he performed this service for his countryman,
this was obvious by the painting that he had commissioned.
Eighteenth century
cattle breeding created the beef, dairy and oxen categories. Bakewell also bred
cattle, of which he was better known. He advertised thorough out England for
sales of his cattle. He also advertised for breeding purposes. These advertisements listed genealogy of his
best beef, but only listed “working oxen” for animals that were not of his own
breed.[2]
Every breeder boasted of his animal’s appearance, no matter if his quality or
sales price had warranted it, or whether there was no reason whatever.
Just as in sheep,
beef cattle were bred with small heads, large bodies, and short feet. Again,
the fatter the meat, the better. Milk cows bred by local dairyman supplied most
of the population of England. Pastures promoted fattening livestock and also
dairying.[3]
The more popular byproduct of the dairy cow industry was cheese. Cheese making
became a main concern in many areas. Areas of specialization of cheese also
became fashionable. Some of these areas, such as Stilton, were so proud of
their product that they named their cheese after their town. Apparently this
cheese became so popular that it made the town famous. [4]
The famous
President, George Washington, loved his mules so much that he boasted of their
qualities with alacrity. Washington received some great stock of mules from the
King of Spain of which he bred with his horses to receive, in his opinion, some
of the best riding animals around. One
of these animals from Spain he thought “very fine” indeed.[5]
He was so enamored of them that he bragged that he would rather they drove his
phaeton, than his horses. Cheaper than horses, and because these had been the
first mules bred in America, Washington had been very proud of them. He even
had the offspring of his “royal asses” tour the United States. The Democratic
Party symbol became the mule because of these grand tours.[6]
Symbols of being a
gentlemen included breeding hunting dogs. Washington, among others, bred
foxhunting hounds. These men also bred dogs that were partial to hedge and
water foul. Washington, in fact, built up an entire pack of hounds that began
succeeding his interest in his horses.[7]
Hunting dogs dominated the entire breeding industry throughout Britain for a
long period of time. Men paid large sums for hounds in the eighteenth and early
nineteenth century, which continued into the Victorian and Edwardian eras.
The Georgians held
the height of horse breeding. Horses began being bred for racing centuries
earlier. It was a gentleman’s honor that had been at stake if his horse won, or
worse, if it did not win, any given race. Horseflesh became even more important
in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Horses were then being bred for the
purpose of pulling carriages as gentlemen were always on show. Bakewell bred
working horses that “improved the local breed of black working horse by
crossing it with Continental stock from Holland and Germany” which had later
become known as the Shire Horse.[8]
Besides racing, working, and buggy horses, hunting horses were also bred. These
became some of the most profitable horses due to their ability to run and jump
agilely, all the while having to run along side baying hounds. After all, the
Georgian elite’s primary interest in the countryside was the sport of
foxhunting.[9]
Ornamental
Improvements
Georgians
of the eighteenth century found that they could reclaim even more wasteland
than their ancestors, not only for the betterment of agriculture, but also for
social standing within their society. The Romantics loved “natural” tree lines,
as long as they had been cultivated. Capability Brown destroyed what he and his
followers considered as unsightly. The copses and formal gardens changed into
romantic natural-esque parks for the elite. “Where a manor house lacked a park,
it often gained one” for the enjoying the scenery by gentle society folk.[10]
Many
times the park was not just a scene of tranquil grass, but was also the home of
animals that turned the environment from grassland to a display that equaled
that of a Romantic panoramic painting. Deer parks became a fashion for the
Georgian estates. They not only created beauty, but also instilled an easy
target for the fashionable hunter, as well as the lower-class poacher. The
grassing down of shires increased the gulf between the landed gentry and the
lower classes, for who could afford such luxuries as their own deer herd?[11]
The first lines of
Alexander Pope’s poem would certainly have been muttered by many a farmer as he
looked upon the large plantations of the elite, “At Timon’s villa let us pass a
day, Where all cry out, What sums are thrown away!”[12]
Deer parks used up huge sums of money throughout
Great Britain and her colonies. Washington loved his deer park “on the
hill on which the mansion stands... contained 100 acres… with Virginia deer”
then later held English Fallow Deer.[13]
Apparently they did not interbreed, but they all constantly got into the garden
eating the shrubs and plants for which the gardener complained, and Washington
said that he hardly knew “whether to give up the shrubs or the deer.”[14]
Huge sums of money had been spent on even more ornamental causes. Clumps and perimeter tree lines had been grown for the sole purpose of cover for the sport of pheasants.[15] Oriental pheasants had been imported into England and America for their beauty, as well as for sport.[16] Ornamental “improvements” to the estates had been the main focus here, and not the effects of the birds on the grain output. Englishmen tested their manliness and prepared for war by hunting animals. The sport allowed the man that shot the most game to carry boasting rights that the lesser shots could not claim. [17] This had also been the beginning of the elite’s interest in game animals.[18]
Interest
in game animals, along with the grassing of shires and parking of avenues,
brought the idea of foxhunting to the foreground of the elite. Thousands of
acres in England and her colonies had been deforested for this sport. In
America, the sport was the gray fox which had been the only indigenous fox to
Virginia. This was true at least until the great winter 1779-80, when the red
fox migrated south for better temperature and became the preferred animal of
the chase. Fox hunting had been such an expansive pastime that Lord Fairfax
traveled for days and stayed at inns for the sheer joy of foxhunting. Events
lasted anywhere from three to seven hours for a single chase. [19]
Lord
Fairfax was not the only foxhunter in Britain that enjoyed refined, dignified
hunting. Colonel Mason had an estate of 10,000 acres, called Guston Hall, that
allowed for this gentlemanly sport. Coverts had been built on farms so that the
fox would have a place to hide and populate. [20] These copses held shrubbery and artificially
felled trees, as well as intentionally hollowed trees for the fox to climb and
hide within. [21] Finding the
quarry at the end of the hunt had always been assured when the estate had such
a location.
Grand
estates had ornamental hedges planted for the purpose of hunting and beauty.
Hedges as enclosure containment changed from the earlier fruit trees to those
that had no fodder purpose whatever. Hedges were great for foxhunts. It added one
more element to the chase! Horses and dogs that were now being bred for the
hunt easily leapt these man-made articles. Washington, along with many of his
peers, bred horses for racing, as well as hunting. He, and others, had also
bred entire packs of dogs for his enjoyment of the sport. [22]
Copses
were similar to hedges and coverts, but not exactly the same of which small
groups of trees were planted for the benefit of hunting. These copses had been
beneficial for grouse, rabbits, and other small game. Grouse especially loved
these areas and were considered quite a delicacy. This was truer, of course, if
the bird had been shot on the estate where it was being served as dinner. [23]
Ornamental groves also lent a sort of wilderness allure to the great lawns of
the plantations.
Great
plantations also held areas for rabbits, another great sporting animal. Rabbit
warrens had been built so that these little creatures could procreate in peace.
The great thing about rabbits was that they did reproduce quickly, which gave
even the poorest aristocrat a sporting day’s worth of fun. Great men invited
friends to accompany them on their jaunts of shooting hares. [24]
Dogs had not been bred for this sport, but they surely had an innate ability to
hunt these animals, or perhaps the men simply went out with their guns on foot
for their own chase of glee. Entertainment of hunting had been the enjoyment of
men, typically. The ladies, however, usually did not enjoy this sport. There
had been a few women that took to foxhunting, but not many did so until the
nineteenth century, and none have been noted enjoying hunting rabbits.
Ladies not
enjoying hunting did not stop the farmsteads of the elite from having a
beautiful yard. Great areas of space had been set aside for outdoors living.
Georgians enjoyed their outdoors more than either their ancestors, or their
progeny. [25]
“Englishmen: they are fond of English manners [and] fashions”, and entertaining
on the lawn was a fashionable way of showing neighbors how refined their
manners actually were. [26] Refined
manners on the lawn had been displayed by games such as badminton and croquet. [27]
Luncheon was another sport of refinement played upon the greenery of the grand
estates. [28]
Aristocrats, as well as the middle class farmers, made sure to prepare feasts
and entertainment to impress peers and superiors. Many a business deal of
leasing more farmland, and/or sales of produce, most probably had been
concluded on the lawns rather than inside the manor during this time in
history.
Leading
to the beautiful lawns were great expanses of greenery. Tilled farmland had
been seeded into grassland, preceded by ornamental pastures. Drives had become
as important as the rest of the farm, and in the case of the grand country
estates, they were even more important than those in town. Jane Austen’s
character, Elizabeth Bennett, felt the full draw of the character of the great
estate of Pemberly starting with the drive. She, in fact acknowledge that she
fell in love with Mr. Darcy when first “seeing his beautiful grounds at
Pemberley”, with her ecstasy actually beginning as she arrived on the drive of
the manor. [29]
The
awe inspiring drive led to the front of the estate manor. This was where the
man’s worth in society shined. Here was where the gentleman farmer had the
highest and best bragging rights. Haworth wrote of Washington that “He was the
owner of all this great estate, he was proud of it; it was his home”, speaking,
of course, of the great estate of Mount Vernon, which included at least five
full capacity running farms. [30]
Properties had “a certain kind of social or communal psychology of ownership:
The property not of his family but of his family-within-the community”, meant
that social factors prevailed in context of how the property (both land and
buildings) rested within the social structure of the man’s peers and his
surrounding vicinity. [31] The owner
presented his sense of beauty to the world by using the façade of his manse as
a personal statement of wealth and class.
Fashion
plating of the aristocratic farm combined personal and cultural ideals of
beauty along with the idea that they had to create a place to live out of the
environment that they either inherited or personally acquired. Beauty was
considered a value… it was an emotion, and an appreciation of nature. For an
object to have been beautiful if had to give pleasure to someone.[32] Therefore, the Georgian wanted to make sure that his
estate was pleasing not only to him, but also to the rest of those within his
social sphere. “With his ability to devise cultural devices to facilitate his
adaptation to environment, man can be freed from dependence on physiological or
genetic adaptation, and can move into and shape new environments: he can create
his own shields against physical environment.” The gentleman literally improved
his home with his singular idea of personal and cultural beauty.[33] When these two ideas were combined, the man, especially
the Georgian gentleman, was able to enhance his manor house to not only provide
shelter, to sustain a personal idealism, and to also provide his peers with
something to envy, as well as emulate.
The “universal spirit of
improvement” went further than just the house. [34] Barns had been improved for the betterment of cattle. Even
their facades had changed in many gentlemen farmer’s fields, not for any
purpose of the protection of the animals, but also for the aesthetic appeal of
the viewer. Dog kennels had changed for the same effect. The stables and
kennels at the Royal Pavilion were built to emulate the oriental style of the
rest of the palace. [35] True, this was a palace, and not a farm, but this does
show that men felt attachment to their estates as well as their animals.
Washington built a sixteen-sided circular barn that became famous simply for
the size and shape of the building.[36]
It wasn’t
just the buildings where people and animals lived that were important to the
Georgian gentleman farmer. Thousands of pounds had been spent on ornamental
buildings in landscape gardens. Follies had no purpose whatever, save ornamentation
and providing cover for viewing the landscape that they sat upon.[37] They were faux temples, or even faux ruins. These
buildings produced a sense of physical contact with the past that the Georgians
found intoxicating.[38] Elegant furniture had been produced specifically for these
ornamental buildings.[39] Many times they were placed in the midst of deer parks,
foxhunt grounds, and even within pastures for the delight of the viewer.
Created by the Georgian elite, these buildings found enthusiasts in America,
the Continent, and also in Russia. These buildings represented wealth and
status, and had nothing to do with the functionality of the farm.[40]
Conclusion
Farming has occurred in the world
for over 7,000 years, and since that time there have been times of high profit,
and times of low. Men have found that high social status has come with the
accumulation of more and more land. Initially, the better farmers found higher
income and larger status than those that were unable to reap as much product.
New and remarkable farming techniques and technology began to formulate higher
output in the eighteenth century. Reclamation included draining of wasteland
and deforestation of forests to produce more arable land. Enclosure had began
after depopulation, but had increased dramatically in Georgian England.
Enclosure allowed the four-field system to increase better produce, including
the fattening of animals. The most important part of Enclosure was that it
visibly indicated to all that the area that lay within the walls was owned and
controlled by an individual. Many gains did occur within the timeline of the
agricultural revolution. Even with all of these advances, the gentlemen farmers
had really been more interested in bragging rights of their successes, than the
actual changing of techniques. Georgian husbandmen pursued improvements on
their farms simply because it was the fashion to do so.
Originally Written for class at American Military University.
[1] “New Dishley
Society, The.” Centre for English Local History at the University of
Leicester. (Leicester: University
of Leicester, n.d.). http://www.le.ac.uk/elh/newdishley/index.html. (accessed
September 27, 2012).
[2] Ibid.
[3] Williamson,
40.
[4] Ibid, 41.
[5] Haworth,
2603.
[6] Ibid, 1328.
[7] Ibid, 2408.
[8] “New Dishley
Society, The.”
[9] Manor
House.
[10] Ibid, 45.
[11] Ibid.
[12] Alexander
Pope. “From of the use of Riches.” (1793.) The Penguin Book of
Eighteenth-Century English Verse. Ed. Dennis Davison. (Baltimore, MD:
Penguin Books, Ltd., 1973.), 66.
[13] Haworth,
2486.
[14] George
Washington in Ibid.
[15] Williamson,
45.
[16] Lawrence
James, The Rise and Fall of the British Empire. (New York: St. Martin’s
Griffin, 1994.), 290.
[17] Haworth.
[18] Williamson,
45.
[19] Haworth,
2385.
[20] Williamson,
46.
[21] Haworth,
2402.
[22] Ibid, 2350,
2408.
[23] Williamson,
45.
[24] Williamson,
79.
[25] Manor
House.
[26] James, 101.
[27] Manor
House.
[28] Jane
Austen. Sense and Sensibility. 1811. in The Works of Jane Austen.
(Ann Arbor, MI: Borders Group, 2004.), 30.
[29] Jane Austen.. Pride and
Prejudice. 1813. in The Works of Jane Austen. (Ann Arbor, MI:
Borders Group, 2004.), 353.
[30] Haworth,
2675.
[31] Butlin, 32.
[32] Mary Ellen
Roach and Joanne Eicher. The Visible Self: Perspectives on Dress.
(England Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1973.), 77.
[33] Ibid, 57.
[34] Butlin, 7.
[35] “Royal
Pavilion, Museums & Libraries.” Brighton & Hove City council.
N.d.
http://www.brighton-hove-rpml.org.uk/RoyalPavilion/Pages/home.aspx.
(accessed January 2, 2012).
[36] Haworth,
615-618.
[37] Sarah
Rutherford and Jonathan Lovie. Georgian Garden Buildings. (Long Island
City, NY: Shire Publications, 2012.), 5.
[38] Ibid, 8.
[39] Ibid, 9.
[40] Ibid, 4-5.
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