Guy Shrubsole’s latest book on land stewardship and the work of individuals and communities working to restore communal ownership
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From the 15th century, English landowners began to fence off the commons – land publicly shared among communities – as land became more valuable for agriculture. This appropriation, argues Guy Shrubsole, has encouraged an enduring myth: that townspeople should be kept out of the countryside to preserve it. ‘In fact,’ writes Shrubsole, ‘the greatest threat to the countryside comes from within it.’
Shrubsole’s The Lie of the Land is a compelling exploration of land ownership and stewardship in England. Building upon the same themes of his previous work, he delves deeper into the complex relationship between land, power and the environment.
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Central to his new book is a critical examination of the concept of ‘land stewardship’. Many English landowners, who collectively own a disproportionate amount of the country’s land, often claim to be the rightful custodians, asserting that their knowledge and expertise make them best suited to managing and caring for the land they possess. Shrubsole, however, lambasts this notion, calling it ‘self-serving bullshit’ and a justification for maintaining the status quo. He points to damage caused by so-called stewards, such as the recent dredging and straightening of the River Lugg in Herefordshire by local landowner John Price (who received a prison sentence for ‘grand scale vandalism’) as evidence.
In contrast, Shrubsole highlights the work of individuals and communities – most of whom don’t own their local land, yet who are nevertheless actively working to protect it. The examples we read about aren’t unique; in fact, they’re part of a growing movement that is helping to restore patches of land across the UK, often by bringing them back into communal ownership.
Shrubsole’s writing is persuasive, and The Lie of the Land is a timely and important book on land ownership and environmental stewardship.
