9 Liverpool Historic Character - Analysis
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9 Liverpool Historic Character - Analysis 9.1 Field System Broad Type About 2.4% (approximately 269.5 ha) of the area of Liverpool has been classified as Field System. Extant field systems can be founding three peripheral areas in Liverpool - in the extreme northeast, the centre and extreme south of the district. Figure 17 Current (2003) Field Systems Sub Type in Liverpool (© Crown Copyright and database right 2003. All rights reserved. Ordnance Survey Licence number 100019088. English Heritage). Field shape and size Number of polygons Area (Hectares) Irregular small 2 24.58 Irregular medium 1 2.23 Regular medium 4 50.57 Semi-regular large 8 192.11 Total 15 296.48 Table 8 Liverpool Current (2003) Field System (Shape and Size Attributes 67 The MHCP only recorded the shape and size attributes of field systems within the borough of Liverpool. Further more detailed research would be required to define field types or possible origins. It must be noted that periods of origin assigned to areas of fields during the course of the MHCP are based on intuition and the interpretation of enclosure patterns shown on 20th century and later mapping and do not constitute a detailed or definitive study. The current agricultural landscape is a product of an often complex evolution. In the 19th century in particular large areas of the landscape were remodelled, fields were enlarged and boundaries straightened. However, as a general rule: • The smaller and more irregular the field, the more likely that it has medieval or post-medieval origins (as piecemeal enclosure). • Conversely, the larger and more regular the field, the likelihood is that it is of more recent origin (as surveyed enclosure). Because of their relative sizes and shape characteristics, in Liverpool the field systems can be grouped to form period subsets: • Piecemeal Enclosure (1540 to 1750 AD) • Surveyed Enclosure (1750 to 1900 AD) Historically, field systems were more visible in the landscape - even as late as 1939 field systems accounted for some 2600 ha of land. It is only during the last 60 years or so, that field systems have been consumed by urban expansion (particularly in the form of social housing and industrial development). 68 5000 4500 4000 3500 Irregular / Small 3000 Irregular / Medium s Regular / Large e r Regular / Medium a t 2500 c Regular / Small e H Semi Regular / Large 2000 Semi Regular / Medium Semi Regular / Small 1500 1000 500 0 1850 1893 1939 Current Epoch Figure 18 Graphical Representation of Field System Sub Type through time Current 1850 1893 1939 2003 Liverpool Sub type (Hectares) (Hectares) (Hectares) (Hectares) Irregular / Small 54.44 6.45 2.35 24.58 Irregular / Medium 71.27 3.66 0 2.23 Regular / Large 17.84 24.85 9.77 0 Regular / Medium 675.99 695.55 387.33 50.57 Regular / Small 4298.34 3926.42 1959.5 192.11 Semi Regular / Large 30.32 21.7 13.01 0 Semi Regular / Medium 719.92 324.02 166.24 0 Semi Regular / Small 1553.73 163.34 69.97 0 Table 9 Liverpool Field System Sub Type through time The earliest enclosure identified in Liverpool district is thought to have originated in the mid 19th and 20th centuries. However, there are some areas where earlier enclosure patterns are still visible within the landscape, including pockets of 69 piecemeal enclosure and small but significant areas of former small / irregular open fields at Croxteth in the north (as part of Croxteth Hall), and to the east of Speke. Figure 19 Liverpool Field System by Broad Period of origin (© Crown Copyright and database right 2003. All rights reserved. Ordnance Survey Licence number 100019088. English Heritage). 70 9.1.1 Small Irregular Fields 9.1.2 Medium Irregular Fields Piecemeal Enclosure Because of their irregular to semi-regular shape, these two field types can be grouped to comprise piecemeal enclosure. Piecemeal enclosure represents about 10% (26.81 ha) of the total area of field systems in the current Liverpool landscape. Irregular shaped field systems were limited to two main sites - a small parcel of land found within Croxteth Park (formerly part of the Croxteth Hall Estate) and two small fields to the east of Speke housing estate. It is recognisable by its erratic field boundaries, usually small field size, and irregular or semi-regular field patterns. Field shape and Number of Area size polygons (Hectares) Irregular small 2 24.58 Irregular medium 1 2.23 Total 3 26.81 Table 10 MHCP Piecemeal Enclosure in Liverpool (Current 2003 mapping The boundaries often respect topography or natural features such as gullies. Generally a default post-medieval origin date of AD 1850 was ascribed to this MHCP type during the project. The exact period of origin of these fields is difficult to determine, however. The fields were formed by an agricultural system which may have been prevalent in the pre-medieval and medieval periods. Other field types, such as open fields or early surveyed enclosure, are easy to confuse with piecemeal enclosure, especially when boundaries have been altered in recent times. Within the scope of this study it is difficult to assess the antiquity of areas of piecemeal enclosure. Often the farming settlements associated with piecemeal enclosure were isolated in the landscape, or were dispersed along historic routes. Most farms that lie within this 71 landscape type in Liverpool were established by the time of the OS 6” First Edition map of Lancashire c.1850. The hall was at the centre of the land ownership system in the medieval and post- medieval periods. Estates contained dispersed tenement farms and hamlets. Early farms are often surrounded by curvilinear enclosures subdivided into fields, a pattern characteristic of woodland clearance or waste enclosure. As new farms were built, more land became enclosed. 17th and 18th century tithe maps frequently refer to individual tenants possessing fields in a loose block adjacent to their farm. The farmer may have also worked fields scattered through the wider landscape. Communal pasture was also present. 72 9.1.3 Small Regular Fields 9.1.4 Medium Regular Fields Surveyed Enclosure Surveyed enclosure represents about 90% of the total area of enclosed land in Liverpool (26.81 ha). The largest block is located towards the extreme south of the district immediately south of Speke Airport (106.5 ha), with the rest as somewhat scattered blocks towards the northeast near Croxteth Park (68.19 ha). Field shape and size Number of polygons Area (ha) Regular small 8 192.11 Regular medium 4 50.57 Total 12 242.67 Table 11 MHCP Surveyed Enclosure in Liverpool (Current 2003 mapping) It reflects a change in the agricultural system which occurred after c.1750. Land that had previously been open or common was enclosed by Parliamentary consent through Enclosure Acts. Such enclosure was carried out by commissioned surveys, principally with the aid of maps, a ruler and surveying equipment. As a result, boundaries are straight and patterns geometric, with ditches and hedges (often with hawthorn) forming a barrier. At the same time, older fields were enlarged and existing boundaries were straightened. This process of field agglomeration and reorganisation persisted throughout the 19th century. The system favoured the wealthy and more influential landowners and resulted in a loss of the common lands which were of economic importance to many smaller farms and crofts. 73 9.2 Woodland Broad Type From the MHCP study, Woodland comprises just over 0.68% (just less than 76.4 ha) of the total Liverpool area. However, recent estimates of woodland habitats put the figure nearer to 5.5% of the total area (Liverpool Space for Nature, Phase 1 Habitat Survey, Liverpool City Council, 2006). This discrepancy can be explained: • The Phase 1 Habitat Survey included habitat types that have been assigned to different broad or sub-type categories within the MHCP (such as scrub or parkland). • The Merseyside Historic Characterisation Project is a 'broad-brush' exercise and that not all woodland areas or habitats were recorded - some stands or plots of woodland were deemed too small to be given separate records and polygons. • The MHCP study mapped out large or historically contiguous plots of woodland as a single broad or sub-type polygon - the study did not go into detail regarding the various niches or sub-niches that may have been present within an area (polygon). In contrast, the Phase 1 Habitat Survey includes all 'woodland habitats' (or niches / sub-niches) within and area or as a group of areas. For the MHCP findings, extant woodland appears to be limited towards the eastern half of the district - notably around Croxteth Park to the north, Childwall Woods in the centre and Stockton's Wood (Speke Hall) to the south. The largest Sub Type is the rather generalist 'Woodland' (which comprises all woodland that could not be assigned a distinct character type - see Section 9.2.5) at 33.16% (25.33 ha), followed by Plantations at 25.06% (19.14 ha). 74 Woodland Sub Type Number of polygons Area (ha) Percentage Ancient Woodland 2 17.10 22.39 Managed Woodland 3 14.80 19.38 Plantation 5 19.14 25.06 Woodland 8 25.33 33.16 Total 18 76.38 100% Table 12 Current (2003) Woodland Sub Type in Liverpool Figure 20 Current (2003) Woodland Sub Type in Liverpool Much of the present woodland has origins before 1850 (i.e. it is depicted on the First Edition Ordnance Survey 6" map of Lancashire 1850). Pre-1900 woodland constitutes over 86% of the Woodland recorded in Liverpool. Some, like Childwall Woods, has been designated 'Ancient Woodland' by English Nature.