Parish farms and the poor law: a response to unemployment in rural southern England, c.1815-1835

Finding a ‘solution’ for the seemingly intractable problem of unemployment in post-Napoleonic rural England was the Holy Grail for many vestries. Yet, whilst we know much about the depth and consequences of unemployment, parish-driven schemes to set the poor to work have been subjected to remarkably little in the way of systematic study. This paper focuses on one such policy that remains entirely obscure: parish farms, the hiring of pre-existing farms or fields by the parish on which to employ those out of work. Bearing a ‘family resemblance’ to allotments and other land-based attempts to alleviate poverty, parish farms were unique in that they were managed in all regards by the parish and were an employment strategy as opposed to a scheme to supplement the incomes of the poor. Whilst the archive of parish farms is often frustratingly opaque, it is shown that before they were effectively outlawed by the passing of the New Poor Law, many southern parishes, especially in the Weald of Kent and Sussex, adopted the scheme, occasionally with great success.

Theoretical and spatial limits to the value of rural environmental benefits: Evidence from the forestry sector

The valuation of environmental benefits has been well researched in the forestry sector. This is not generally the case in the agriculture sector although schemes to compensate farmers for provision of officially defined environmental benefits are already in place throughout the European Union. This paper draws on empirical findings from forestry and deductions from economic theory to challenge the notion of the universality of such benefits. Empirical findings from forestry suggest recreational use value is location specific rather than widely spread. Household utility theory predicts zero willingness to pay to maintain the status quo level of a previously unpaid for environmental benefit (when provision is not perceived as under risk) but a positive willingness to pay for an increase. Thus, non use values cannot be attributed to the major part of existing commercial forestry area but to spatially restricted schemes such as additional afforestation or preservation of ancient natural woodlands.