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Agriculture in the Bradford Hundred

Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire

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The land that comprises the Bradford Hundred lies on the boundary between the two classic Wiltshire agricultural environments: “chalk and cheese”.

The limestone uplands are the equivalent of the chalk land elsewhere in the county, producing grain and sheep.

The lowland clay-dominated vale was traditionally dairying country.

The steep valley sides of the Cotswolds have been used for growing fruit and for timber production.

An unusual feature of local food production was the farming of mushrooms underground.

In 1801 in the fields of the parish of Bradford (then including Atworth, Holt, Limpley Stoke, South Wraxall and Winsley) 1,237 acres were under wheat, 491 barley, 438 oats, 280 peas, 170 beans, 100 potatoes. More land was, of course, supporting cattle, sheep and the horses that were used in farm and transport work.