Introduction
‘Rare and beautiful Norfolk,’ as John Sell Cotman called it in 1841, is undoubtedly less rare and beautiful than it was, but we have some grounds for hope. An increasing number of people care about the county, its buildings and its landscape.1
The landscape of Norfolk is one of the most diverse in the British isles. While the sandy heaths of Breckland record some of the greatest daily extremes of temperature, the watery landscapes of the Broads and Fens provide habitats for some of our rarest species, such as swallowtail butterflies and bitterns, as well as rich feeding grounds for visiting waders. The salt marshes and pebble spits of the north Norfolk coast are home to some of the largest tern colonies in Britain, while the Halvergate marshes are the largest area of grazed grassland, outside Somerset, in England. The county as a whole, once the most prosperous and populous in the country, is rich in archaeology and landscapes dating back to prehistoric times, with the earliest evidence for man outside Africa recently discovered on the east-facing beach at Happisburgh. Across the county are areas of woodland, heath, historic parklands and commons. As a result of a growing appreciation of this diverse, but fragile, heritage the county now contains ten National Nature Reserves, four Special Protection Areas for birds, seven internationally important ‘Ramsar’ wetlands, over 430 Scheduled Ancient Monuments and 11,000 listed buildings.2
The history of the conservation movement since its early beginnings in the nineteenth century is not just a story of the preservation of natural landscapes, significant historical buildings and archaeological sites; it is more about changing social attitudes and priorities. While nineteenth-century landlords were primarily concerned with the conservation of their game birds to the exclusion of others, later generations have emphasised access to natural and cultural sites for the enjoyment of all. This in itself can lead to conflict between those who wish to preserve areas for research purposes, from which the general public are excluded, and those who advocate open access. Between these two extremes are many gradations, often in the past distinguished by class divisions. In the late nineteenth century, for instance, these could be characterised as ‘the battue of the plutocrats, the botanizing and ramblings of the middle class, often armed with cameras, and the hiking of the working class’.3 By the early twentieth century the extension of the rail network and the advent of the motor car meant that there were conflicts of interest between those who had recently moved to their ‘rural idyll’ and those wishing to build more houses and join them. What is noticeable through all these arguments is that the views of the country people, the majority of whom worked long hours for low wages and lived in overcrowded damp cottages, were never sought. They remained ‘idealised, but neglected’ and the arguments were between those wishing to partake in conflicting recreational activities.4
The development of interest in conservation in its many forms can be linked to the gradual increase in and widening of access to leisure time. Before 1800 the privilege of leisure was almost exclusively the preserve of the landed classes. They were responsible for laying out country parks and for planting them with trees for aesthetic and economic reasons, as well as to provide cover for foxes and game birds. These private worlds would then be surrounded with high walls and protected with man traps and spring guns. The enjoyment of the countryside involved keeping other people out.
As the eighteenth century progressed so did the nation’s wealth. Norwich was one of England’s most prosperous cities and the countryside was the home of wealthy landowners, although a wider section of the population was able to enjoy some leisure. The traditional landed families were joined by those who had made money in trade, the colonies and industry. The middle class did not aspire to own land, but they came to enjoy various aspects of the countryside. The mid-eighteenth century saw a flourishing body of amateur botanists in Norwich, many of whom were doctors or clergymen. Later in the century the romantic poets and the painters of the ‘Norwich School’ were contributing in a different way to interest in the countryside. Their works appealed to a wide audience who, using the newly developing toll roads, flocked to the areas their work made famous. Wild landscapes which in the past had been seen as places to be tamed and brought into ‘usefulness’ were now admired for their natural beauty. This new leisured class, following in the footsteps of the poets, would walk long distances among mountains and waterfalls and along cliffed coasts to sketch, paint and try their hands at versifying.
Some would take a more serious interest in their surroundings. While the sons of the aristocracy were travelling to the south to visit the roots of civilisation in Greece and italy, those less wealthy and without the luxury of long periods of leisure were studying the plants and antiquities nearer home. County volumes were being produced describing local sites, ruins and flora. Norwich painters were producing volumes of etchings depicting the antiquities of the county. Gentlemen would venture forth to open up burial mounds and unearth Roman villas. County archaeological societies were founded.
Others were more interested in the natural world. Botanising and producing plant lists became popular pursuits alongside bird watching and egg collecting. Sadly, though, to prove the existence of a species so that it could be included on a bird list a specimen had to be produced, thus hastening the extinction of some rare species. While the field sports of the aristocrats and gentry were exclusively enjoyed by the landed classes, others could enjoy a day rambling along the hedgerows and beaches looking for as yet unrecorded plants, fungi and mosses.
As transport became easier, firstly with the railways and later the bicycle, and in the twentieth century with the bus, coach and private car, participation in these pursuits became more general. The invention of the camera allowed for yet another hobby to develop. Not only were landscapes, castles, churches, plants and animals suitable subjects for pictures, but also the ‘quaint’ in the countryside, which was unfamiliar to many of these travellers from the towns. As travel became universal it also became cheaper. Trains and bicycles made hiking and camping possible and demands for access to land, particularly within easy reach of major industrial centres, increased. Conflicts between various interest groups ensued. The serious researchers wanted areas protected because of their natural or cultural interest, while the ramblers wanted open access.
The last years of the twentieth century saw new areas of conflict as modern farming methods were seen as threats to the countryside, leading to the development of government incentives to encourage ‘sustainable agriculture’ through a variety of environmental stewardship schemes, the most important of which were pioneered in the Broads.
Norfolk has many firsts in the history of conservation which have provided models for other parts of the country. It is the aim of this book not simply to chronicle the gradual development of an interest in conservation, from its origins in the researchers of the eighteenth century to the often pioneering work of the twentieth in conserving what is worth protecting in Norfolk, but also to chart the changing attitudes and social developments which have made this possible.
1 D. Dymond (1985) The Norfolk landscape. London, Hodder and Stoughton, 259.
2 Norfolk County Council (1994) Norfolk countryside conservation strategy. Norwich, NCC, 4. The main focus of this book is on rural conservation. Hence, there is little discussion of the great medieval city of Norwich with its cathedral –– one of the finest Romanesque buildings in Britain –– or Kings Lynn and Great Yarmouth, both with an important built heritage. Where mention is made of urban examples, it is when they represent milestones in the legislative process.
3 P. Lowe (1989) ‘The rural idyll defended: from preservation to conservation’, in G.E. Mingay (ed.), The rural idyll. London, Routledge, 117.
4 Lowe 1989, 117.