Victorian Agriculture and the Railway
The 19th century was a period of profound change for agriculture. The century started with agriculture absorbing the impact of the enclosure movement with farm labourers losing access to common land and ended the century with mechanisation and facing competition from farmers in Europe, North & South America and New Zealand.
We look at these events at a national level and their impact on the farmers of Skirlaugh.
The early 1800s
In 1801 agriculture employed a third of the UK working population with 75% of that land owned by Landlords. In Skirlaugh the growing population stood at 1,416. Wheat, oats
turnips and rape were the key crops representing 90% of the total crop. Whilst Britain was technically open to food imports these were not possible because of the Napoleonic wars. UK farmers alone fed the growing population. In 1815 at the close of the war with France the Corn Law was introduced to prohibit the import of grain protecting the landowners and their farmers from competition and falling prices.
Remarkably, despite the population doubling between 1750 and 1830, the population were all fed by the output of British farmers. The period also marked changes which would impact the farmers of Skirlaugh & the East Riding. The Great Reform act introduced new urban voters, whose influence repealed the Corn Laws opening up farmers up to foreign competition, whilst the Stockton to Darlington railway opened up new markets.
The Early Victorian Period
Skirlaugh was a thriving village in the first half of the 19th century. Between 1801 and 1851 the population of the village and surrounding area grew by more than 50%. The new parliament with a larger urban voter base voted to introduce the New Corn Law which removed the restrictions on grain imports allowing foreign farmers to challenge & supplement domestic cereal production. The new law had little immediate impact because of the cost of transport, it would however fundamentally change the situation later in the century.
Population of Skirlaugh:
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1801 | 1,416 |
| 1811 | 1,801 |
| 1821 | 2,091 |
| 1831 | 2,053 |
| 1841 | 2,196 |
| 1851 | 2,250 |
Agricultural changes
The 1840’s saw farmers starting to adopt a more scientific approach to agriculture. The use of fertiliser guano from South America leapt from nil usage to nationally consuming 200,000 tons per year. Nationally the period 1840 -1890 is noted for a big increase in agricultural land drainage using newly developed clay pipes opening up new land for crop cultivation. We don’t know precisely how this affected Skirlaugh, but this development would have been of particular benefit in our area with its boggy muddy ground.
The table below illustrates the growth of cereal imports during the Victorian period.
UK Wheat Imports (tons):
| Year | Wheat (tons) |
|---|---|
| 1840-1844 | 1,985 |
| 1860 -1864 | 7,205 |
| 1880 – 1884 | 14,400 |
| 1885 – 1889 | 14,030 |
The Railway
In 1864 the Hornsea to Hull railway line was opened with Skirlaugh a station on the route. Besides passenger traffic both business or leisure the line carried freight opening up new markets for dairy farmers getting their milk to market in Hull. The remains of freight platforms & areas for freight are still visible at stations on the line such as at Whitedale and Sigglesthorne.
Improved transport can only have been a benefit t.o Skirlaugh’s farmers.
Improved drainage to cultivate more land and easy access to new national markets was important as foreign competition saw the average price of grain halved during the period 1867 to 1898. As the Victorian population and economy grew agriculture still remained the largest employer, employing a quarter of the population in 1851. However, on average nationally 40% of the agricultural workforce migrated to the towns in the 19th century, but there was no decline in Skirlaugh’s population in a period suggesting the farms were doing well.
Skirlaugh farming from 1850
1872 has been called the peak of the golden age of UK agriculture. However, the farmers of the UK including those in Skirlaugh were about to face a new challenge brought about by mechanisation of cereal production in North America & Canada both producing crops for export. This mechanisation coincided with the development of steam-powered ships that reduced cost and time to transport grain to the UK. Later the Introduction of freezer ships would have a similar impact for livestock introducing meat from South America & New Zealand to again challenge UK farmers.
Closer to home in Denmark farmers, business and government were getting ready to launch Danish Bacon onto the UK market. The sole protection UK farmers had against foreign competition was their closeness to the consumer. UK farmers could not compete against farmers in Canada & America who were favoured by geography, farming the vast plains., or those with state support. The one advantage UK farmers had was their closeness to UK consumers with transport to the consumer by the railways. This advantage evaporated as road and air freight took over in the late 20th century.