In "THE COUNTRYSIDE OF EAST ANGLIA: CHANGING LANDSCAPES, 1870-1950", 2008, Susanna Martins and Tom Williamson, discuss the fate of farmland trees during the depression years of the 1930s and whether the number of hedgerow trees increased or decreased during this time:
"In theory it should be possible to throw some quantitative light on this question by comparing the numbers of hedgerow trees shown on the OS 6-inch maps surveyed in the 1880s and 90s, with those appearing on the RAF vertical air photographs of 1946. But in practice such a procedure is fraught with difficulties. The Ordnance Survey did not record every farmland tree — partly because the scale of the maps precluded the depiction of more than one specimen per fifteen metres or so of hedge line, and partly because the instructions given to the surveyors meant that trees with girths of less than 60 cm were omitted anyway. And even when the quality of the RAF photographs is sufficient to the task, it is not easy to accurately count trees in densely packed hedgerows, or to ascertain the size of the smaller trees shown. Nevertheless, when used with sensible caution these two sources can provide some indication, at the very least, of whether the number of farmland trees increased, or decreased, in this period: and by roughly what percentage.
……….
In spite of difficulties of interpretation and comparison, the 1946 aerial photographs confirm the impression of contemporary commentators. Rather than increasing, the density of farmland trees, principally growing in hedgerows, declined considerably during the depression period, although with marked variations from district to district. On the claylands, the decrease varied in sample kilometers squares from 5% to as much as 50 per cent, and averaged around 30%. … "[pp.124-125]
It would be interesting to apply their methodology to our study of trees in Felsham.
Do we have any Felsham photographs of the inter-war landscape and farmland with hedges and trees?
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