Allotment - the Where, When, Why and How - Allotment History

The arrival of the allotment system was a very British process, coming from the twin desires to save money and be pure at heart! Essentially the Victorians were instrumental in the allotment process because they believed it would enable the urban working classes (who until fairly recently had been the rural poor, remember!) to feed themselves cheaply, and it would keep the 'idle poor' from more socially destructive activities like drinking gin and beer, standing on street corners and going to the music all! Later, the two world wars acted to dramatically boost the number of allotment plots. In 1916, The Cultivation of Land Orders Act was passed and local Councils were granted the legal obligation and powers to take over waste land and create allotments. By the end of the First World War, there were over one million plots throughout England and Wales.

Winston Churchill's famous 'Dig for Victory' campaign was a national high point for allotments, with the number of plots rising to 1.5 million. As the British Isles were blockaded and most agricultural workers went into the army, it was up to those left at home to produce food to feed the nation. But when food rationing came to an end, the allotment became a relic of the past, people were more affluent, and less willing to spend their leisure hours in food production. By the year 2000 allotment numbers had dropped to around 250,000.

Recently, there has been a groundswell of interest in allotments, which has arisen from the awareness of GM crops, food miles, dietary concerns and a general return to self-sufficiency, not to mention the upsurge in gardening programmes which has restored allotment popularity. This means there has been a wider range age, gender and ethnic background in those applying to take on allotments and women are the fastest growing group of allotment holders, according to the Allotments Regeneration Initiative.

Dig for Victory allotment photograph author's own