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Farmers needed to produce more food to feed a rising population.

The Agricultural Revolution 01

Discover how the Agricultural Revolution changed British farming, from new machinery and enclosures to selective breeding that increased food supplies and helped support growing towns and cities.

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Fascinating Fact:

Selective breeding of animals, encouraged by people like Robert Bakewell, produced larger, stronger sheep and cattle.

In KS3 History, the Agricultural Revolution is studied as a period of major change in farming. Landowners used enclosure to control bigger areas of land, new crop rotation systems kept fields productive, and inventions such as improved seed drills increased efficiency. Selective breeding helped produce animals that provided more meat, wool, and milk. These changes created more reliable food supplies and supported population growth as Britain moved towards industrialisation.

Key Terms

Agricultural Revolution: A period when farming methods in Britain changed rapidly, increasing food production through new ideas, technology, and land use.
Enclosure: The joining together of small, open fields into larger, fenced farms, usually controlled by one landowner.
Selective breeding: Choosing animals with desired features to be parents so that their offspring share those features, such as size or strength.

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

What was the Agricultural Revolution in Britain?

The Agricultural Revolution was a period from around the 1700s when farming in Britain changed through enclosure, better tools, new crop systems, and improved livestock, leading to higher food production.

How did the Agricultural Revolution affect towns and cities?

Higher food supplies helped the population grow, and many rural workers moved from the countryside to towns and cities to find paid work, especially in new factories.

Why do historians study selective breeding in this topic?

Historians study selective breeding because it shows how planned changes to animals increased meat, wool, and milk, and how scientific thinking influenced everyday farming practices.

Try These Related Quizzes

1 .

Before about 1750, farmers used what system?

1-field system

2-field system

3-field system

5-field system

Each field was divided into narrow strips

2 .

One of the 3 fields was always left...what?

Fallow

Farrow

Furlow

Meaning it was left empty - very wasteful!

3 .

Why was one field left fallow?

For the Lord of the Manor to use

To allow the soil to recover its goodness

To give the children somewhere to play

Villagers didn't have time to farm all three fields

Animals grazed on the fallow field to manure the soil

4 .

Why did farmers need to produce more food?

Appetites increased in the late 18th century

Low yields meant a government fine

They were in competition with each other

To feed a rising population

The Aricultural Revolution came about as a result of the Industrial Revolution

5 .

What was one advantage of the old 3-field system?

Animals could wander across the crops

Paths were needed to separate the strips

The land could be shared out easily

Time was wasted walking between strips

The paths in between the strips wasted a lot of land

6 .

By the early 1800s what had happened to the fields?

The three fields had merged into one

They had been burnt

They had been enclosed

They had been sold to the highest bidder

Enclosure was unpopular because the enclosed land then belonged to a single farmer and was no longer common land. Common land could be freely used by anyone to graze animals and grow crops

7 .

Who did not suffer as a result of enclosure?

Landowners

People who lived in the woods

People who lived on common land

Tenants with no legal rights

Common land and woods were swallowed up in the enclosures

8 .

Acts of Parliament of which year made enclosure compulsory?

1795

1801

1806

1812

They were called the General Enclosure Acts

9 .

Why did clay and lime come to be used on the land?

To improve the soil

To build animal pens

To clean farm tools

To make the fields look more colourful

They didn't have artificial fertilisers and soil improvers that are available to farmers nowadays

10 .

Which county gave its name to a 'Four-course crop rotation' system?

Devon

Kent

Norfolk

Somerset

There was always something different being grown on the land, either a crop that could be sold for profit or one that could be used to feed farm animals

Author: Jan Crompton (KS3 Geography & History Teacher, Professional Quiz Writer)