The English Model Farm: Building the Agricultural Ideal, 1700-1914

During the Agricultural Revolution, the landowners of Britain constructed an enormous range of picturesque or classical buildings on their farms, inspired by Enlightenment ideals. These model farms, a phenomenon unique to Britain, are a significant yet largely undiscovered aspect of our heritage. This book is richly illustrated with interior and exterior photographs, most of them specially commissioned, as well as plans, paintings and historic photographs. It examines the architecture and landscape context of the farmsteads themselves and considers the motives of the people who built them, drawing on the first comprehensive national survey of model farms, recently completed by English Heritage.