A new study comparing Victorian tithe maps with modern land cover data has revealed a dramatic decline in traditional meadowland across the lower Rother catchment in the South Downs since the middle of the 19th century.
The research, carried out by the University of Portsmouth and published in the journal Landscapes, found that some areas have lost almost all their once wildlife-rich meadows.
“Our findings show just how much the English countryside has changed since the 1840s,” says Dr Cat Hudson, from the School of Environment and Life Sciences at the University of Portsmouth.
“Meadows, once vital for haymaking, grazing and wildlife, have almost vanished. Understanding this transformation is essential if we want to restore biodiversity and build more sustainable landscapes.”
By digitising the 19th-century tithe maps, which date to around 1840, the team assessed how the patchwork of fields, commons and woodlands in the lower Rother catchment has evolved.
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According to their findings, meadows have seen the greatest losses of any land cover type, declining by between 75.6 and 99.9%.
Unimproved grassland, a valuable habitat for wildflowers and insects, has fallen by 86.5%. Arable land has also reduced, by around 45.5%.
Two land cover types have expanded, with improved grassland increasing by 135.8%, and woodland by 56.3%. Common land, meanwhile, has changed little in area – though it is now largely used as recreational woodland rather than communal grazing, say the study authors.
The study highlights how enclosure, agricultural intensification and government subsidies steadily reshaped rural land use after the Industrial Revolution.
Fields once shared for hay and grazing were converted into private, intensively managed farmland. While this improved productivity, Hudson explains, it reduced habitat variety and made the landscape more vulnerable to soil erosion, poorer water quality and biodiversity decline.
“The landscapes we see today are the product of centuries of adaptation,” says Hudson. “But the historical record shows that past changes often came at the cost of natural resilience.
“Using tithe maps helps us understand how to balance productivity, conservation and heritage in the face of climate change.”
Dr Harold Lovell from the School of Environment and Life Sciences at the University of Portsmouth believes that historical records offer a vital tool for land managers. “By recognising the cultural and environmental significance of features like meadows, hedgerows and field boundaries, we can encourage interventions that protect both the landscape’s heritage and its future ecological health,” says Lovell.
Top image: Landscape around Midhurst, Rother catchment, West Sussex
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