The Reality of the Rural Idyll: An Examination into the English Landscape as a place for Tourism
Jan Ali, Newnham College Easter Term Essay 4: Pilot Study 5072 words An essay submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the MPhil in Architecture and Urban Design examination 2013-15
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Acknowledgments Supervisor: Andrew Hoolachan I would like to thank my supervisor Andrew Hoolachan for his enthusiasm, support and guidance. I would also like to thank Ingrid Schroder and Alex Warnock-Smith, who encouraged me to formulate an essay around a topic that I was keen to explore.
This dissertation is the result of my own work and includes nothing which is the outcome of work done in collaboration except where specifically indicated in the text
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Contents Introduction
9
We live here Rural Idyll Second Homes Affordable Homes Quantitative Data Demographic Housing Services Employment Land use Conclusion
11 11 13 13
Just looking Framed View Productive Landscape Adventure/Activity Attraction to the Landscape Holistic Approach to Tourism
25 27 33 39 43 45
Conclusion The Effect of Tourism on Rural Communities
53 55
References List of Illustrations
59 63
17 17 18 21 21 22 23
Figure 1
Map highlighting the rural areas in England, subdivided into six categories (data from gov.uk)
Rural: Town and Fringe Rural: Town and Fringe in a sparse setting Rural: Village Rural: Village in a sparse setting Rural: Hamlets and Isolated Dwellings Rural: Hamlets and Isolated Dwellings in a sparse setting
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Introduction
The industrial revolution transformed England into an urbancentric nation with the landscape idealised and romanticised for aesthetic consumption by the city dweller. However, this tendency to romanticise the countryside often only serves to obscure the reality of rural life. The countryside is changing more radically than our cities1 with 83% of England classed as rural landscape, a settlement with a resident population less than 10,000 (Figure 1).2 Yet, despite this expanse of land architectural conversations have been largely focussed on urban areas, relegating the landscape to a scenic backdrop gazed upon by city dwellers. This land is however very complex and ever changing, heavily subsidised by government policy and embroiled with nostalgia. Through a combination of quantitative and qualitative data, primarily focussing on England’s South coast, this pilot thesis identifies the shift in the use of the English landscape which is resulting from the pressures placed on farmers to diversify their incomes. A shift from traditional agricultural products to those of forestry and tourism. As such, this thesis seeks to address the English landscape as a place for tourism and sets up a platform for the continuation of this work through the potential impacts of this landscape on those who are ‘just looking’ and those that ‘live here.’ 1 Rem Koolhaas, interviewed by Rory Olcayto 2012 2 gov.uk
Figure 2
Personal photographs taken Whitchurch, Firle and Truro
in
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1
We Live Here
Through a series of personal interviews in three rural villages along the South Coast of England: Truro; Cornwall, Whitchurch; Dorset and Firle; Sussex it was apparent that there was a general consensus of pro building and development however, there were reservations over whether this should be in the form of new affordable housing. Rural Idyll The physical condition of the rural villages observed was one of stone, hipped roofs and symmetry (Figure 2); in fact the idyllic view that one may expect of a small rural village. The aesthetic that draws people to both live permanently and more notably to visit. Yet, the preservation of this romantic idyll for tourist consumption is resulting in what Howard Thomas (Figure 3) describes as ‘dead villages’ with very few services. A stagnant village trapped in time. It is pertinent that rural England is attracting increasingly more tourists, most notably resulting from an increase in the domestic tourism market, which can in part be attributed to the current times of austerity.3 However, in addition to the presence of a strong tourist population posing a hindrance to the development of services, the low population density of these villages must also be considered.
3
Office for National Statistics 2011b, pg 1
Figure 3
Personal interview with Howard Thomas, Whitchurch resident
“There is a conflict between people who think villages should be the living symbols they used to be, and the reality - its not what people imagine a village to be . . . (the other members of the village) feel that the villages are dying, whereas I consider them dead . . . we don’t have a school, we don’t have a shop, we don’t have a post office; we don’t have anything.” Howard Thomas: Whitchurch, Dorset
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Second Homes Cornwall has the largest number of second homes (10,169) followed by Dorset, with 14.1% of homes in Whitchurch classed as second homes.4 This growing culture of second homes within which to reside at weekends or over the summer months has been facilitated by low rural house prices, relative to those in the city, an elevated city income and increased mobility; combined with the nostalgia for the countryside.5 The second home owner is buying into the rural lifestyle, their own film fantasy, a place of tradition and stability.6 These second homes, as experienced on evening walks through the aforementioned case study villages, create a desolate and eerie place. The second home owners raise local house prices beyond the means of the local wage earner, increase the cost of living in line with their more affluent tastes and are commonly thought to create a loss of community and a decline in rural services.7 Affordable Homes In part, as a result of second home owners raising rural house prices, the need for affordable housing is exacerbated in rural areas.8 The building of which, will inevitably increase the strain on these limited services. Personal interviews reflect the concerns over this housing both in terms of its aesthetic and social impact (Figures 4 and 5). However, this new housing stock is not disputed in this thesis, rather it serves to highlight the effects of, and frictions between, those that ‘live here’ and those that are ‘just looking.’ It serves as a point of reference from which to examine and question further developments that are needed in order to sustain a growing population, and the effects that any development would have on these rural communities. 4 House of Commons 2013, pg 57 5 Gallent et al 2005, pg 19 6 Ibid 7 Gallent 2013, pg 6 8 House of Commons 2013, pg 44
Figure 4
Personal interview with Bert Biscoe, Cornwall council member Opposite
Figure 5
Personal interview with Beryl Anne Smith, Post Office worker
“One of the areas of conflict is around the aesthetic expression of place . . . they are standardizing what people live in to such an extent that the distinctiveness of place is being corroded, not eroded, corroded.� Bert Biscoe: Truro, Cornwall
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“If we had any on the affordable housing, which is council housing basically, it meant it would be people off the council housing list, it wouldn’t be locals that could go into them . . . I’ve seen everyone have to move away from the village when they grow up.” Beryl Anne Smith: Firle, Sussex
2
Rural England | Quantitative Data
The data collected in the case study villages across the south coast can be placed within the broader context of England; combining this qualitative data with quantitative data allows for both a more holistic view of rural England and the case study villages. Demographic: As was evident in the sample population the median age of rural England is older than that of urban areas (44.4 years in rural areas compared to 38.5 in urban areas).9 This is a result both of a larger proportion of people over state retirement age (purple component Figure 6) and a smaller proportion of those in the 16 to 29 age group (orange component Figure 6).10 It is notable that these statistics provide a simplified picture of rural areas, but they do serve to highlight the movement of the younger generation out of, and those of 9 CRC 2010, pg 19 10 Ibid
18.1%
23.5%
19.1%
21.1%
22.0%
25.7%
21.9%
21.3%
19.1%
13.7%
17.9%
Rural 0 - 15
18.8%
19.0%
18.8%
Urban >10K 16 - 29
45 - 64 (males) 45 - 59 (female)
Figure 6
20.0%
England
30 - 44 65+ (males) 60+ (female)
Age distribution in rural and urban England (data from CRC 2010, pg 19)
Quantitative Data
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Average House Price (ÂŁ)
350,000 300,000 250,000 200,000 150,000 100,000 50,000 0
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
Year Hamlet and isolated dwellings - Less Sparse Village - Less Sparse Town Fringe - Less Sparse Urban >10K - Less Sparse
Hamlet and isolated dwellings - Sparse Village - Sparse Town Fringe - Sparse Urban >10K - Sparse
Figure 7
Average house prices, 2000 - 2009 (data from CRC, 2010 pg 48)
retirement age into, rural areas.
Data from the Department of Communities and Local Government
(DCLG) shows growth in the number of second homes from 338,000 in 1996/97 to 563,000 in 2006/07.13 The definition of second home used in this survey related to a habitable property that was not occupied by anyone as their main residence. There was no distinction between urban and rural second homes in these statistics nevertheless, it is evident in Figure 8 that a high percentage of second homes are located within national parks, areas of outstanding natural beauty and
11 12
13 English Housing Survey Report 2010, pg 40
Housing: Average house prices in all rural area types, except Town and fringe - Sparse, have been higher than in urban areas since 2000 (Figure 7).11 There are several factors which contribute to higher house prices, one of which is the prevalence of second homes.12
CRC 2010, pg 48 House of Commons 2013, pg 57
Key: 0.00 - 1.24% 1.25 - 2.49% 2.50 - 3.74% 3.75 - 4.99% 5.00 - 24.23%
Figure 8
Percentage of homes that are second homes (data from CRC 2010, pg 52)
Quantitative Data
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0.3%
4.9%
5.1%
7.5%
3.9% 7.4%
6.6%
4.3% 4.5%
8.9%
11.0%
4.6%
8.3%
8.4%
1.2%
Rural
10.7%
11.9%
Urban >10K
8.5% 5.9%
16.1% 8.4%
20.0%
13.1% 1.1%
2.6%
0.5% 1.9% 2.0%
0.8%
Agriculture Construction Education Finance Health Hotels and Catering Manufacturing Mining/Quarrying
9.5%
Motor Trades Post and Telecommunications Property and Business Services Public Administration Retail Transport Wholesale
Figure 9
Percentage of employment by industry (data from CRC 2010, pg 108)
coastal regions, particularly the case study areas visited in October 2013.
home increasingly beyond people’s means.14
When considering the rise in house prices it is imperative to also examine affordability. Between 2001 and 2011 house prices in England rose by 94% however, during the same period wages rose by only 29%, making buying a
The ratio between the lowest quartile of house prices and the lowest quartile of earnings provides an indication of affordability and highlights the disparity between urban and rural 14
House of Commons 2013, pg 44
areas. In 2011, the average lower quartile house price in rural areas was 8.3 times greater than the average lower quartile earnings. This compares with an average of 7.1 in urban areas and 7.3 in England as a whole.15 Evidently, ensuring the availability of affordable housing is an issue common to both rural and urban areas but this problem is exacerbated in rural areas.16 All of the case study villages were anticipating new affordable homes; the region’s share of the 80,000 homes anticipated across England by 2015 under the Affordable Homes Programme and the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA).17 Services: Residents of rural areas travel much greater distances to access services and amenities,18 with less than 19% of outlets for the majority of services located in rural areas (banks, cashpoints, pharmacies, secondary schools, 19 supermarkets). Furthermore, only 50% of rural households, compared to 96% of households in urban areas, have an hourly or better bus service within 15 16 17 18 19
DEFRA 2013, pg 30 House of Commons 2013, pg 44 Ibid, pg 46 CRC 2010, pg 35 Ibid, pg 26
13 minutes walk.20 Employment Figure 9 highlights the variation between rural and urban employment sectors. It is pertinent to note that agriculture only accounts for 7.5% of rural employment, highlighting the current shift in land use due to the ever decreasing agricultural profit margins.21 In light of this, public funding is now available from the Rural Development Programme to help farmers diversify their incomes and supplement those from traditional farming practices.22 Consequently, in 2009 half of farms in England had a non-agricultural source of income, 17% of which exceeded that from their farming activities.23 In light of tourism providing a means to counteract economic decline,24 the most popular non-agricultural activities are the letting of farm buildings, sport and recreation facilities and tourist catering and accommodation.25 Furthermore, it is of note that the employment figures referred to here do not take into account the seasonal labour that is required annually in 20 21 22 23 24 25
CRC 2010,pg 39 House of Commons 2013, pg 29 CRC 2010, pg 155 Ibid, pg 155 Walford 2001, pg 331 CRC 2010, pg 155
Quantitative Data
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1%
Grasses and Rough Grazing Other Agricultural Land Urban Land and Land not specified Forest and Woodland Inland Water Crops and Fallow
14%
12%
Land Use
1%
52%
20%
Figure 10
Percentage of land use by sector (data from Office for National Statistics 2012, pg 3)
England, especially over the summer soft fruit picking months. Until September 2013 21,250 seasonal workers from Bulgaria and Romania were employed throughout the fruit picking season under the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme (SAWS) which has now ceased.26 The resulting effect on England’s fruit industry are yet to materialise. Land use Land use broadly follows an east-west 26 Migration Advisory Committee 2013, pg 55
split. The drier climate on the eastern side of England has resulted in the dominance of arable crops, while the wetter climate to the west of England has led to the dominance of mixed and more specialised livestock farming.27 The European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has been a major influence on England’s land use for three decades and, despite major reforms of the CAP in 2004, most agricultural sectors continue to be 27
CRC 2010, pg 138
heavily reliant on the CAP’s financial support.28 It is also notable that the CAP consumes one third of the EU budget29 and thus the English landscape is very dependent on foreign intervention. Over the last 25 years the conversion of agricultural land to woodland has signified a major quantifiable change in England’s land use; with forested areas increasing by 188%.30 Woodland now accounts for 12% of England’s land use (Figure 10), 98.7% of which is located in rural areas.31 The output from these English forests is primarily utilised in low grade industries, such as fencing, paper and wood panels, with only 10% of the total output reaching the construction industry;32 highlighting the vast quantities of timber imported by England. The desire to import can, in part, be attributed to the default sawn timber specification of C24, ruling out the majority of home grown C16 timber.33 However, research is now being done into the use of home grown timber in the construction industry and the structural dimensions that this 28 29 30 31 32 33
CRC 2010, pg 152 Greer 2013, pg 122 CRC 2010, pg 160 Ibid, pg 158 Smith 2013, pg 54 Ibid, pg 55
would entail. 34 Conclusion Rural England is in a state of flux, a complex interplay between the aforementioned elements. There is a shift in land use towards that of forestry and tourism, aided through the Rural Development Programme, and with it a potential change in employment patterns. The demand and need for affordable housing will impact upon the demographic of rural England and put existing services under strain, however it may provide the essential labour force required as a result of the apparent change in land use.
34
Smith 2013, pg 56
Quantitative Data
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3
Just Looking
Juxtaposed to the first chapter are the views and opinions of those that come to visit rural England. Those for which the rural idyll is preserved and those that purchase the second homes and out-price locals. However, the tourism industry cannot be condemned as it contributes greatly to the rural economy, so much so that the tragic foot and mouth crisis in 2001 saw tourism’s loss to the economy three times greater than that of agriculture.35 Through a combination of design tests and an examination of relevant literature this chapter examines the potential of tourism, on a defined site in Dorset, as one of the ways in which to build upon the aforementioned Rural Development Programme (helping farmers diversify and supplement their incomes) and address the future sustainability of rural communities. Tourism is worth £29 billion to England’s rural economy36 and is the single area of the economy with the greatest growth potential.37 As such, England sees both international and home visitors spending anything from a night to several weeks in rural holiday homes, guest houses, hotels or camp sites. This temporality and the act of returning home is an essential aspect of being a tourist - ‘one goes 35 36 37
Howkins 2006, pg 232 House of Commons 2013, pg 41 Ibid, pg 40
Figure 11
Personal interview with Sam Pearson and Simon Gayle, tourists
“We live quite far away, a good few hours drive, and have come out here for a walk with Nel (the dog). . . the views, what can I say. It’s good to get out in the fresh air let Nel off the lead and not see another person.” Sam Pearson: Dorset
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only to return,’38 to break from the responsibilities of home and work and experience ‘otherness’.39 The tourism industry has changed from the early pilgrims of the thirteenth century and the elite Grand Tour of the seventeenth century40 with travel no longer limited to the upper classes, nor solely for reasons of business or work.41 The annual holiday, whether international or not, has become common in today’s society; a major consumer item and a way in which to identify that year in personal memory, ‘the year we went to X.’42 Framed View The first contact a tourist has with a destination is often not the place itself, rather an image on television or in a glossy brochure obtained at a travel agency that entices and encourages people to capture the same perfect picture, now with themselves in the foreground.43 This quest for the perfect framed view, the opportunity to be alone in nature and appreciate the tranquillity of England’s green rolling hills, is an example of one of the ways in which tourists engage with rural England and its landscape, exemplified in Figure 11. This image of the English landscape that has become so meaningful to both international and domestic tourists has undoubtedly been influenced by landscape paintings such as the work of Constable and Turner. Universal principles on the aesthetic criteria of beauty have developed from the Renaissance period, constructed around the principles of symmetry, geometry and proportions.44 These paintings, coupled with the prevalence of the Claude glass, have influenced people’s expectations and accustomed them to a framed 38 MacCannell 1996, pg 5 39 Ibid, pg 7 40 Urry et al 2011, pg 6 41 Ibid 42 Bell et al 2002, pg 3 43 MacCannell 1996, pg 10 44 Lowenthal 2007, pg 636
Figure 12
Physical model exploring the isolated unobstructed view of the tourist world
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view of the world whereby the natural world is a pleasant, static, painted picture.45 These well composed scenes, baron of people, facilitate an intrinsic sense of control and calmness; a separation from reality and observation.46 This isolation and limited view of the landscape have been explored on a defined site in Dorset, one of comparable scale to a renaissance garden (Figure 12 and Figure 13). Here the spatial qualities of such tourist requirements have been tested: the positioning and scale of accommodation such that controlled and unobstructed views are permitted, the design of contemplation spaces within the trees for spiritual enlightenment, a cookery school with restaurant facilities and the means by which to access such a tourist site. The landscape, when utilised in this manner, is carefully orchestrated and manipulated, much like the renaissance gardens and landscape paintings of this time. This manipulation of the English landscape is comparable to the concept Hunt, in his book Greater Perfections, describes as ‘third nature’: a combination of nature and culture, the desire to make a site beautiful.47 It is these cultural associations, reinforced by the current scenic settings of period dramas and film adaptations such as Downtown Abbey and the work of Jane Austin, that have allowed the idealised view of the landscape to linger in modern culture. Such imagery has facilitated the aforementioned design tests whereby the primitive cottage, that provides rural workers with shelter, is elevated and romanticised as a place of home48 where life is a trouble free escape from the stresses and uncertainties of urbanity.49
45 46 47 48 49
Lowenthal 2007, pg 635 Williams 1973, pg 120 Hunt 2000, pg 62 Gallent et al 2005, pg 19 Matthews 2000, pg 141
access to the restaurant via cable cars for daily tourists
Figure 13
Hand sketch exploring the framed view and the landscape as a place for leisure
cookery school and restaurant
1:500 @A1
allotments as a food supply for the restaurant accommodation with manipulated framed views spa and fitness centre roof top yoga site
Aerial photo of the site, Dorset
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access to the site
entry/admin office
buggies to transport the tourists to their accommodation
hammocks and contemplation lodges within the trees
Figure 14
Personal interview with William Radmore, farmer
“To supplement our income we have three bed and breakfast rooms. Most people who come to stay with us come for a weekend want to know how the farm works . . . they do not do the hard labour, they see the honey collectors and fill themselves a jar to take home.� William Radmore: Truro, Cornwall
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Productive Landscape As stated in both the qualitative data and in Figure 14, the diversification of farm practices to include tourism based farm activities is increasingly more common. Stepping through the framed view in this manner facilitates an alternative approach to the landscape, one of physical engagement with a productive resource: land that is ploughed, sown, grazed and built upon by human hands.50 Through further design tests on the same defined site in Dorset this relationship to the land has been explored through the desires of tourists who, in their quest for ‘otherness’, wish to work on a farm; and the need for a seasonal work force, the temporality of which classes these workers as tourists within the scope of this thesis. The reality of much of the English landscape is one of agricultural production (expanded on in the quantitative data), an extension of Hunt’s ‘third nature’ to what can be defined as Cicero’s ‘second nature,’ a cultural landscape created within ‘first nature’, the wilderness. Through the use of such classifications it is apparent that the productive use of the landscape is no less of a manipulation than the aforementioned tourist’s framed view. It is evident that much of the current agribusiness practices do not sit comfortably within the idyllic view of farming, not even for seasonal workers: the intensive pig pens, electric fences and the cows crying after their calves have been taken away are required to be hidden.51 Phillips et al classify agricultural contact into three areas: passive contact, indirect contact, and direct contact;52 each with a potentially increasing ‘authentic’ experience. Passive contact is explored through the design test (Figure 15) where the tourist experience of agricultural practice is from the safety of their accommodation. As a result of the location of livestock feeding troughs, which are 50 51 52
Urry et al 2011, pg 111 Bell 2006, pg 149 Phillip et al 2010, pg 755
Figure 15
Physical model exploring how one can go beyond the framed view. The framed view commonly located above the kitchen sink is replaced with the reality of cows eating - the tourist prepares food at the same level as the cows eat.
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attached to the perimeter of the accommodation, the framed view commonly located above the kitchen sink is replaced with the reality of cows eating, thus the preparation of food is at the same level as the eating cows. Direct contact, which potentially offers the most authentic experience,53 is tested through the spatial requirements required to harvest soft fruit and fell the site specific coppice; and indirect contact, a secondary connection to agriculture, through the spatial requirements of the production and sale of juice, jams, sawdust and wood chippings (Figure 16). The question of authenticity within the context of tourist experiences are clearly defined by MacCannell who presents a continuum of authenticity based on the concept of ‘front’ and ‘back’ regions.54 By classifying ‘front’ regions as the stage set where actors perform and ‘back’ regions as the restricted, unseen preparation areas, it can be argued that for a tourist to experience authentic agricultural activity they must go ‘back-stage’.55 However, MacCannell notes the extreme difficulty in identifying an authentic experience, observing the common illusion whereby the entrance to the ‘back’ is in fact the entry to the ‘front’, a stage set prepared in advance for touristic consumption.56 Phillip et al expands on MacCannell’s staged authenticity, identifying the differing agricultural knowledge (between the farmers and that of the tourist) as a key element in altering ones perceptions of authenticity.57 As such, agricultural activities staged by the farmer may be perceived by tourists as providing a genuine insight into farming practices. The act of picking fruit, felling trees and processing jams and wood chippings (Figure 16) may indeed leave the tourists satisfied in their quest for authenticity. However, ultimately an authentic experience of agriculture is rare and, in the majority of cases, there will be at least some element of staging. 53 54 55 56 57
Phillip et al 2010, pg 755 MacCannell 1973 Ibid, pg 597 Ibid, pg 597 Phillip et al 2010, pg 756
Figure 16
Hand sketch exploring a productive relationship with the landscape 1:500 @A1
storage shed
March through to July strawberries are picked and March through to November apples are picked mobile saw mill for the preparation of the felled timber
Aerial photo of the site, Dorset
tourist accommodation focussed around the provision of communal shared space
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area in which to juice, jam and package sawdust and chippings for commercial sale
access point
December through to February trees are felled
Figure 17
Personal interview Gregory, tourist
with
Laura
“I spend most of my weekends cycling, climbing, walking. Last weekend I did the three peaks, so this is more subdued. . . I spend all day in a lab so like to get out at weekends.� Laura Gregory, Dorset
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Adventure/Activity For some, the idyllic framed view remains inadequate and this tranquil scene possesses the potential for a more heightened sense of experience, ‘the desire to get off the beaten track’58 (Figure 17). This desire for an adventure and activity based relationship to the land has been tested on the same defined site in Dorset (Figure 18). It is notable that the first attempts to gain access to the English landscape for pursuits such as climbing, rambling and cycling were during the interwar period, central to which were frictions between the lower social class desiring access and the wealthy upper class land owners who historically restricted access.59 A reexamination of these frictions, in light of the Countryside and Rights of Way (CROW) Act of 200060 and precedents such as Glastonbury Festival (held annually in the small farming hamlet of Pilton), have facilitated an investigation into the spatial qualities required for a more harmonious relationship in which cycling, climbing, fishing, adventure playgrounds, music festivals and camping can take place (Figure 18). Through combining elements of adventure and activity, such as cycling and a music festival, Figure 18 has served to highlight the similar falsified landscape required for both components. The ‘wilderness’ within which one seeks to cycle, climb and walk can again be depicted using Hunt’s hierarchical classifications of nature: ‘first nature’, a wilderness within the realm of the Gods where land is the purest of human pleasures.61 However, one persons wilderness is another’s backyard62 and, in the quest to find wilderness, roads, rail networks and airports are built to facilitate the journey; in some regards invalidating this definition of ‘first nature.’ Placing the English landscape in this context questions whether it is ever even possible to reach ‘first nature’ in that it is no longer ‘first nature’ when 58 59 60 61 62
MacCannell 1973, pg 595 Urry et al 2011, pg 111 CRC 2010, pg 169 Hunt 2000, pg vii Ibid, pg 54
Figure 18
Hand sketch exploring a consumptive experiential relationship with the landscape
bike track and hire facilities
1:500 @A1
stage and backstage facilities
camping facilities
lockers and wash facilities
model farm for children - tractor rides, piglet pen and petting zoo
Aerial photo of the site, Dorset
bar
40 | 41
boating lake access to the site
entry/admin office
canteen adventure playground
Figure 19
Personal photograph, Dorset
42 | 43
one arrives.63 Rather through the design test (Figure 18) it is evident that much like the manipulated landscape of the aforementioned framed view, the landscape created is comparable to Hunt’s concept of ‘third nature’: a combination of nature and culture, the desire to make a site beautiful.64 Attraction to the Landscape The tourist presence in rural England has thus far been examined in light of three isolated relationships to the landscape. Yet, regardless of this relationship, it is evident that a level of manipulation is required in order to create a landscape that is culturally legible for tourist consumption.65 This follows from the tourist acknowledgement of an almost sacred connection between people, places and their symbols - Switzerland and its alps, Egypt and its pyramids and England and it’s landscape (Figure 19).66 Hunt describes the phenomena whereby society attaches meaning and significance to the earth’s terrain, making land into landscape;67 and it is this concept of landscape and the attachment that man has to the land, that has allowed the English landscape to persist as a symbol of national identity. Similarly, this national identity has embroiled the landscape with a particular set of implications and associations that are personal to the observing English, strengthening the land as landscape. Landscape and nationalism thus reinforce each other and the English landscape encapsulates ecological, economic, political and aesthetic concerns that are relevant for England.68 The landscape has become a cultural image: a pictorial way of representing, structuring and placing oneself within the context of the wider world.69 63 64 65 66 67 68 69
Hunt 2000, pg 57 Ibid, pg 62 Bell 2006, pg 156 MacCannell 1996, pg 6 Hunt, 2000b pg 85 Lowenthal, 2007 pg 640 Cosgrove et al, 1988 pg 1
Figure 20
Jerusalem: William Blake 1808/Sir Hubert Parry 1916 overlaid onto a personal photograph, Dorset
“
JERUSALEM
And did those feet in ancient time. Walk upon England’s mountains green: And was the holy Lamb of God, On England’s pleasant pastures seen!
”
And did the Countenance Divine, Shine forth upon our clouded hills? And was Jerusalem builded here, Among these dark Satanic Mills? Bring me my Bow of burning gold; Bring me my Arrows of desire: Bring me my Spear: O clouds unfold! Bring me my Chariot of fire! I will not cease from Mental Fight, Nor shall my Sword sleep in my hand: Till we have built Jerusalem, In England’s green & pleasant Land William Blake,1808 Sir Hubert Parry, 1916
44 | 45
The English landscape as a symbol of national identity was notably recognised in the interwar period by Stanley Baldwin’s announcement of the end of the General Strike, followed by Sir Hubert Parry’s iconic anthem Jerusalem, climaxing ‘in England’s green and pleasant land’ (Figure 20). Baldwin had grown up in the countryside and believed that, at this time of uncertainty, the rural landscape epitomised the English nation.70 Keen for everyone to share similar childhood memories of green rolling hills Baldwin, resistant to the industrialisation and urbanisation of rural areas, aestheticised the landscape elevating it to a level of spirituality and purity.71 It is this nostalgia for, and the tendency to romanticise, the English landscape that continue to attract and influence the expectations of both domestic and international tourists. Holistic Approach to Tourism The design tests thus far have focussed on three distinct aspects of the English tourism industry however, it is important to acknowledge that this is a simplification of the industry, which in reality has far less clear divisions. As such it is imperative to place these tests within a broader context and consider the potential for a collective system. This potential combination of agricultural production and leisure is not uncommon in rural England where, in the case of village fairs, work and play are particularly intertwined.72 Detailed design tests have been conducted such that elements from the three aforementioned aspects of tourism have been unified by a similar architectural language (Figures 21, 22 and 23). All three typologies are structured around a similar module, the proportions of which refer back to the existing physical conditions observed in the rural village.
70 71 72
Miller 1995, pg 90 Mandler 1997, pg 155 Urry et al 2011, pg 6
Figure 21
Design test exploring an architectural language for the framed view and the landscape as a place for leisure. Influenced by the landscape painters, such as Constable Opposite
Figure 22
Design test exploring an architectural language for a productive relationship with the landscape. Axonometric 1:200 @A1 Elevation 1:500 @A1
John Constable Branch Hill and Hampstead Heath with a Cart and Carters c.1825
46 | 47
Figure 23
Design test exploring an architectural language for a consumptive, experiential relationship with the landscape Activities include bird watching, mud baths and swimming in two plunge pools Axonometric 1:200 @A1 Elevation 1:500 @A1
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Building upon the growing forestry industry, as discussed in the quantitative data, and overcoming the cultural preconception that forests are merely for recreation,73 a timber frame structure has been developed. Here the thickness of the timber relates to C16 timber, rather than the default C24 timber; a 13% increase in the depth of the structural components.74 Furthermore, it is through this structural frame that the buildings are anchored to the ground, creating a relationship with the landscape not dissimilar to Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House, where the landscape is allowed to continue underneath. Additional moments wherein the building elements meet the ground, such as the controlled full height window openings in Figure 21, serve to emphasize the manipulation of the landscape. This thesis is part of a larger ongoing project and thus has only begun to scratch the surface of what is a complex socio economic situation. These more detailed design tests are by no means the answer, rather they raise questions regarding the use of on site timber and the potential for those tourists looking for a productive relationship with the landscape to work with the agricultural calendar. Felling trees through the months of December to February, and consequently erecting the aforementioned structural elements in time for the height of the summer tourism industry. The acceptance of such a relationship, whereby the different aspects of tourism are working as a single unit, begins to envisage the act of forestry as a spectacle, blurring the division between MacCannell’s ‘front’ and ‘back.’ However, more extensive design tests and research are required to pursue this avenue of thinking in order to establish the extent to which these structures are permanent and their potential to work with existing agricultural practices. It is also important to note that the scope of this thesis has only focussed on a defined plot of land in Dorset, one which is owned by a single farmer. As such, the prospect of tourism aiding in 73 74
Smith 2013, pg 54 Ibid, pg 55
Figure 24
Physical model exploring the English landscape as a place for tourism
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the diversification and supplementation of farm based income, within the context thus far discussed, is therefore heavily reliant on the entrepreneurial business acumen of the farmer in question. However, most farmers have been educated to run a business where there is little new product development, limited control over price and little need for marketing. In addition to this, the required personality for framers, who spend long periods of the day alone or with animals, can be seen to be at variance with that desired for a tourist attraction manager.75 As such, the diversification of the land in terms of tourism will not be suitable to every farmer and is merely posited as one option.
75
Di Domenico et al 2007, pg 27
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Conclusion
Through a combination of the quantitative and qualitative data it is apparent that the way that we use the English landscape has, and remains to, change. A decline in farm net profits has created the pressure for farms to diversify which, through the aid of the Rural Development Programme, has seen a shift in the use of the English landscape from traditional agricultural products to those of forestry and tourism. The English landscape, embroiled with ecological, economic, political and aesthetic concerns has the potential to be enjoyed in both a passive and active way. Yet, in order to promote tourism there remains a requirement to falsify reality, to create the image that one expects of the English landscape; and it this manipulation of the landscape has been discussed in relation to three distinct aspects of the tourism industry. The future of the English landscape as a place for tourism may hold cause for optimism,76 but this thesis does not purport to present tourism as the answer to the financial pressures faced by many farmers. Rather, design has been used as a method of testing tourism as one of the ways in which to yield profit from the landscape.
76
Di Domenico et al 2007, pg 31
Figure 25
Personal photograph, Dorset
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The Effect of Tourism on Rural Communities The diversification of farms is seen as an important future strategy for farmers to reduce their reliance on agricultural production as a source of income. However, the impact tourism will have beyond the single land owner discussed thus far is yet to be examined. It is imperative to examine the impact of tourism on the wider rural community, exemplified in the concerns highlighted in chapter 1, notably the lack of services, new affordable housing and second homes. It is naive to think that isolating tourism to areas outside of the immediate rural villages will remove their impact. However, tourism does not have to exasperate these issues, rather through a more holistic approach tourism can be the source of new jobs and a way in which to not only maintain existing services but also facilitate the development of new ones. This thesis has served as a pilot study, setting up a point of reference from which ongoing work can now progress. It is hoped that as this work develops it will be possible to reconcile the differences of those that ‘live here’ with those that are ‘just looking’ and it is anticipated that through a more holistic view of tourism the tourist industry can serve to balance the need to access and preserve the land, serving as one of the ways in which to rescue the ‘dying village.’77
77
Howard Thomas, Personal Interviews October 2013
Figure 26
Hand sketch exploring the potential of the English landscape as a more holistic place for tourism
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References Bell, C. and Lyall, J., 2002. The Accelerated Sublime. Praeger Publishers, United States of America Bell, D., 2006. Variations on the Rural Idyll, in Handbook of Rural Studies edited by Cloke, P., Marsden, T. and Mooney, P. Sage, London pg 149 – 183 Commission for Rural Communities (CRC), 2010. State of the Countryside. Cheltenham Cosgrove, D.E. and Daniels, S., 1988. The Iconography of Landscape: Essays on the Symbolic Representation, Design, and Use of Past Environments. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), 2013. Statistical Digest for Rural England 2013 Di Domenico, M., and Millar, G., 2007. Are plastic cows the future for farming? Implications of an alternative diversification model. In J. Tribe, and D. Airey (Eds.), Developments in tourism research pg 21–32. Oxford: Elsevier English Housing Survey Report, 2010. Household Report 2008 – 09., 2010. Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG). Gallent, N., Mace, A. and Tewdwr-Jones, M., 2005. Second homes, European Perspectives and UK Policies. Ashgate Publishing Company, Hampshire England Gallent, N., 2013. The Social Value of Second Homes in Rural Communities. Housing, Theory and Society. DOI: 10.1080/14036096.2013.830986
Greer, A., 2013. The Common Agricultural Policy and the EU Budget: Stasis or Change? European Journal of Government and Economics 2:2 House of Commons, 2013. Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee. Rural Communities. Sixth Report of Session 20132014 pg 1-135 Howkins, A., 2003. The Death of Rural England. Routledge, New York Hunt, J.D., 2000. Greater Perfections: The Practice of Garden Theory. University of Pennsylvania Press Hunt, J.D., 2000b. The Structures of Landscape in Structure edited by Pullan, W. and Bhadeshia, H. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge Lowenthal, D., 2007. Living with and Looking at the Landscape. Landscape Research 32:5 pg 635-656 Mandler, P., 1997. Against ‘Englishness’: English Culture and the Limits to Rural Nostalgia, 1850–1940. Transactions of the Royal Historical Society pg 155-175 Matthews, H., Taylor, M., Sherwood, K., Tucker, F. and Limb, M., 2000. Growing-up in the Countryside: Children and the Rural Idyll. Journal of Rural Studies 16 pg 141-153 MacCannell, D., 1996. Tourist or Traveller? London: BBC Education MacCannell, D., 1973. Staged authenticity: arrangements of social space in tourist settings. The American Journal of Sociology: 79 pg 589–603
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Migration Advisory Committee, 2013. Migrant Seasonal Workers. London Miller, S., 1995. Urban Dreams and Rural Reality: Land and Landscape in English Culture, 1920-45. Rural History 6:1 pg 89-102 Office for National Statistics (ONS), 2012. Measuring National Well-Being, The Natural Environment. pg 1-24 Office for National Statistics (ONS), 2011. Rural and urban areas: comparing lives using rural/urban classifications. Regional Trends 43 pg 1-77 Office for National Statistics (ONS), 2011b. Lifestyles and Social Participation. Social Trends 41 pg 1-33 Phillip. S., Hunter, C. and Blackstock, K., 2010. A Typology for defining agritourism. Tourism Management 31 pg 754-753 Koolhaas. R., interviewed by Olcayton, R., 2012. The countryside is not as empty as you think. Architects Journal. Vol 236 No. 14 Smith, S., 2013. Grown in Britain - A Review of the use of Timber in UK Construction. The Structural Engineer December 2013 pg 54-56 Urry, J. and Larsen, J., 2011. The Tourist Gaze. Sage Publications, London. Walford, N., 2001. Patterns of Development in Tourist Accommodation Enterprises in Farms in England. Applied Geography 21 pg 331-345 Williams, R., 1973. The Country and the City. Clarke and Windus Ltd, London
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List of Illustrations Cover image Personal photograph, Dorset Figure 1, pg 8 Map highlighting the rural areas in England, subdivided into six categories. Data from <https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/ system/uploads/attachment_data/file/86282/CAS_Ward.jpg> Accessed 10.12.13 Figure 2, pg 10 Personal photograph taken in Whitchurch, Firle and Truro Figure 3, pg 12 Personal interview with Howard Thomas, Whitchurch resident Figure 4, pg 14 Personal interview with Bert Biscoe, Cornwall council member Figure 5, pg 15 Personal interview with Beryl Anne Smith, Post Office worker Figure 6, pg 17 Age distribution in rural and urban England. Data from Commission for Rural Communities (CRC), 2010, State of the Countryside. Cheltenham Figure 7, pg 18 Average house prices, 2000 - 2009. Data from Commission for Rural Communities (CRC), 2010, State of the Countryside. Cheltenham Figure 8, pg 19 Percentage of homes that are second homes. Data from Commission for Rural Communities (CRC), 2010, State of the Countryside. Cheltenham
Figure 9, pg 20 Percentage of employment by industry. Data from Commission for Rural Communities (CRC), 2010, State of the Countryside. Cheltenham Figure 10, pg 22 Percentage of land use by sector. Data from Office for National Statistics (ONS), 2012. Measuring National Well-Being, The Natural Environment Figure 11, pg 26 Personal interview with Sam Pearson and Simon Gayle, tourists Figure 12, pg 28 Physical model exploring the isolated unobstructed view of the tourist world Figure 13, pg 30-31 Hand sketch exploring the framed view and the landscape as a place for leisure. 1:500 @A1 Figure 14, pg 32 Personal interview with William Radmore, farmer Figure 15, pg 34 Physical model exploring how one can go beyond the framed view Figure 16, pg 36-37 Hand sketch exploring a productive relationship with the landscape. 1:500 @A1 Figure 17, pg 38 Personal interview with Laura Gregory, tourist Figure 18 pg 40-41 Hand sketch exploring a consumptive experiential relationship with
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the landscape. 1:500 @A1 Figure 19, pg 42 Personal photograph, Dorset Figure 20, pg 44 Jerusalem: William Blake 1808/Sir Hubert Parry 1916 overlaid onto a personal photograph Whitchurch, Dorset Figure 21, pg 46 Design test exploring an architectural language for the landscape as a place for leisure. Axonometric 1:200 @A1, elevation 1:500 @A1 Figure 22, pg 47 Design test exploring an architectural language for a productive relationship with the landscape. Axonometric 1:200 @A1, elevation 1:500 @A1 Figure 23, pg 48 Design test exploring an architectural language for a consumptive, experiential relationship with the landscape. Axonometric 1:200 @ A1, elevation 1:500 @A1 Figure 24, pg 50 Physical model exploring the English landscape as a place for tourism Figure 25, pg 54 Personal photograph, Dorset Figure 26, pg 56-57 Hand sketch exploring the potential of the English landscape as a more holistic place for tourism