Bullock taking a drink from Cod Beck, Sowerby Flatts, Sowerby, North Yorkshire, England

            Sowerby Flatts is an open public space or common land preserved for the benefit of all. It is popular with people walking their dogs and farmers for grazing cattle and sheep. The lush pasture of the Flatts has its origin in medieval times when it was used for growing crops. The land still shows the ridge and furrow patterns of this much earlier cultivation. It was eventually given over to pasture. The evidence of this type of medieval farming can be seen in other fields along the Cod Beck.

In medieval times the land would have been cultivated using a wooden plough and a team of oxen or even as basic as digging with spades. The action of ploughing and digging over the years left furrows where the earth was cut along the length of the land and ridges where the soil heaped up beside the furrows. The corrugations increased the land surface in which crops could be grown and the furrows helped with water drainage in wet weather.

Seed was scattered by hand and local children acted as scarecrows over the following months by scaring away birds that would try to eat the seed and young crops, which were mainly wheat, oats, barley and peas. A much wider variety of crops would also have been grown in the past for local trade and manufacturing, including flax for weaving into linen, long-stemmed wheat for roof-thatching and hemp for rope making.

In 1798 an Act of Parliament was passed for enclosing the open village fields of Sowerby, most of which were converted from arable to grassland or "flatts", the term used for open grazing land.

Taken in: United Kingdom / England / Barbeck (show map)

Taken on: January 30, 2019

Tags:

Sowerby

Flatts

North

Yorkshire

England

medieval

ridge

furrow

ploughland

bright

sunshine

blue

sky

clouds

cattle

bullocks

grass

field

pastures

common

grazing

recreation

land

walking

hiking

cycling

horse

riding

Nikon

D5300

nikkor

outside

outdoors

winter

cold

snow

frost

Cod

Beck

ice

TheUKPhotoGallery

TheUKPhotographer

reflections « less

Sets appears in: • Sowerby • Bridges, Rivers & Waterfalls more » • Reflections « less

Groups appears in: • England • Reflections more » • Agriculture • Amateurs • North Yorkshire • Yorkshire • The British Countryside • Great Britain • Cool Britannia - The Best of British on Flickr • God's Own County • A Picture of Britain • Yorkshire Life • Pictures Of England • Yorkshire Landscapes • yorkshire based photographers • This Is England • england,uk • ONLY ANIMALS (POST1,COMMENT1) • Reflections in water • Images Of England • British Countryside • National Geographic | World Wide • I love Yorkshire • This Is North Yorkshire • The UK Photographer • England, Beautiful English Scenes • this_is_England • Hidden Hambleton (North Yorkshire) • "U.K. Photo Gallery" ( All Welcome ) • A Beautiful England • Yorkshire Photography • ***WATER REFLECTIONS *** • Days Out In Yorkshire • yorkshire photography uk • Strictly Yorkshire Photography Group • ❥ BRITAIN + BRETAGNE / BREIZH ❥ pls Comment svp • The Best of Yorkshire • Yorkshire Shots • ★ EUROPE ★ ЕВРОПА ★ ΕΥΡΩΠΗ ★ EUROPA ★ • A YORKSHIRE DREAM • WEBSHOTS COUNTRYPLACE COMMUNITY • Exploré • Countryside & Farming in UK & Ireland. « less

Camera: Nikon D5300, f/9.0, 1/100 sec, 18mm (=27mm), ISO 400 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D5300
Aperture:	f/9.0
Exposure Time:	0.01 sec (1/100)
Focal Length:	18mm (35mm equivalent: 27mm)
ISO:	400
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Not Defined
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Scene Capture Type:	Landscape
Gain Control:	Low gain up
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Windows Photo Editor 10.0.10011.16384
Show full info

Stats: 2,020 views / 9 comments