The Allotment

The standard work on allotment history and culture, rich in anecdote and detail on one of the last vestiges of our once everyday contact with the land. Allotment gardens (or community gardens as they are called here) are taken for granted as party of the everyday scene on the fringe of very city, town and village. This unique and fascinating book explores the culture and landscape of the allotment and the part it has played in Britain for 150 years. The old mental image of the cloth-clapped plot-holder, sitting in his shed on a Sunday morning and pedaling home with a bunch of carrots over his handlebars is no longer valid. Recent research is showing that more and more plot-holders are young, or women. However, the allotment is under threat and long-held sites have been taken over. A new introduction describes these changes. Rich in local history and anecdote, The Allotment explores regional variations like pigeon-fancying and leek competitions, as well as alternative uses and international comparisons. Are allotments simply a recreation like tennis or golf, or the last precious vestige of everyone’s natural right to a patch of land to produce food?