Of cabbages and kings : the history of allotments

This colourful and lively history book tells the story of allotments from their origin in the 17th century protests against enclosures to the present day. Will include the effects of the Napoleonic Wars, the Corn Laws, the Diggers, the role of allotments in both World Wars and the present-day revival. The author champions the history of allotments in the hope of protecting them for the future. "An excellent account" of Britain's tradition of parceling out land for the public to grow food on, and the colorful history behind it ( The Independent ). This lively book tells the story of the private garden plots known as allotments—from their origin in the seventeenth century, when new enclosures that deprived the peasantry of access to common lands were fiercely protested, to the victory gardens of the world wars, and into the present day, when they serve less as a means of survival than as a respite from the modern world. While delving into the effects of the Napoleonic Wars, the Corn Laws, and the utopian dissenters known as the Diggers, the author reveals the multiple roles of allotments—and champions their history in the hope of protecting them for the future. "Foley's book reminds us that the right to share the earth has always been an asymmetric struggle." — The Guardian "Fascinating and handsomely illustrated." — Daily Mail "Well-told . . . . [a] gallop through the history of useful rather than ornamental crops." — Spectator Australia This colourful and lively history book tells the story of allotments from their origin in the 17th century protests against enclosures to the present day. It covers the Enclosure movement, famine, black death, popular uprising and today's allotment revival and grow your own movement.