Squash covered in frost in an roadside honesty box, Stoke Ferry, Norfolk,uk
Honesty boxes are common in the countryside and in particular in the Fens. Indicative of a cohesive community they facilitate small-scale, trust based transactions for locally produced goods in a way which would be impossible in urban areas.
The honesty box is a throwback to pre-capitalist society. They eliminate the intervention of an intermediary between the producer and the consumer, echoing the direct exchange method of earlier economic systems. In pre-capitalist communities, such as feudal villages trade often occurred without middlemen; producers bartered or sold goods directly to neighbours within tight-knit, localised networks where social relationships were deeply embedded within familial and blood ties.
Governments, of course dislike economic systems without intermediaries because the lack of paperwork limits their revenue raising opportunities.
Police and citizens of Boston, Lincolnshire face off in the town centre over the Government's reluctance to trigger Article 50 and commence the formal process of the UK leaving the European Union. The town recorded the country's highest vote for Brexit in 2016 with over 76% expressing the wish to leave the union.
The invocation of Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union marked the formal beginning of the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union, a process commonly known as Brexit. On March 29, 2017, then Prime Minister Theresa May triggered the article by sending a letter to Donald Tusk, the President of the European Council, notifying the EU of the UK's intention to withdraw. This action followed the 2016 referendum, where 51.9% of UK voters opted to leave the EU, driven by concerns over sovereignty, economic control, and immigration.
Towns like Boston experienced huge social and economic changes as a result of the A8 enlargement legislation. Much of this change was negative, creating parallel communities and tension between the indigenous and migrant populations. In 2015 Boston was declared the murder capital of England based on Home Office figures. The majority of these murders were perpetrated by the migrant community on the migrant community.
Article 50, introduced under the Lisbon Treaty, provided a mechanism for a member state to leave the EU voluntarily. Once invoked, it sets a two-year negotiation period, unless extended by mutual agreement for the departing state and the EU to agree on withdrawal terms and outline their future relationship. For the UK, this meant a deadline of March 29, 2019, to finalize the process, though delays and complexities later extended this timeline.
Theresa May’s decision to invoke Article 50 came after months of legal and political wrangling, including a Supreme Court ruling that required parliamentary approval. The notification letter outlined the UK’s intent to pursue an "orderly withdrawal" and establish a "deep and special partnership" with the EU post-Brexit. However, the process quickly became contentious. Negotiations proved challenging, with key issues like the Irish border, citizens' rights, and the financial settlement fueling uncertainty.
Theresa May’s decision to invoke Article 50 came after months of legal and political wrangling, including a Supreme Court ruling that required parliamentary approval. The notification letter outlined the UK’s intent to pursue an "orderly withdrawal" and establish a "deep and special partnership" with the EU post-Brexit. However, the process quickly became contentious. Negotiations proved challenging, with key issues like the Irish border, citizens' rights, and the financial settlement fueling uncertainty. .
The two-year period saw intense political turbulence in the UK. May’s draft withdrawal agreement, finalized in November 2018, faced backlash for being too soft on EU ties, leading to her resignation in July 2019. Her successor, Boris Johnson, renegotiated the deal, and after further extensions beyond the original deadline, the UK officially left the EU on January 31, 2020, entering a transition period until December 31, 2020. The invocation of Article 50, while a procedural step, became a lightning rod for broader debates about democracy, identity, and governance in Britain.
Early morning Shift change at Fleet Hargate, Lincolnshire.
Early morning shift change at Superflora on Washway Road, Fleet Hargate, Lincolnshire. The company which supplies flowers in bulk to supermarkets and wholesalers around the UK is a major employer in the area and part of the Dutch Flower Group, a significant player in the global floriculture industry.
The Dutch played a foundational role in shaping the flower trade in South Lincolnshire, particularly through their expertise in land reclamation, which over several hundred years brought employment and skills to the local economy.
In the 17th century, engineer Cornelius Vermuyden led drainage projects in the Fens, transforming the marshy expanse into fertile land with silt soils. This reclamation, continued by Philibert Vernatti, created the conditions for agriculture, including flower growing, by providing well-drained, nutrient-rich ground ideal for bulbs like tulips.
The Dutch model of fenland management didn’t just alter the landscape,it brought a mindset of precision agriculture to Britain. By the late 19th century, their influence deepened as farmers across the country looked to the Netherlands thriving bulb trade for inspiration.
The introduction of the Darwin Tulip around 1890, a Dutch-bred variety prized as a cut flower, spurred experimentation with forcing bulbs under glass—a technique borrowed from Holland's growers. The Fens eventually emerged as a rival to Holland, with production peaking in the early 20th century, when over a third of Britain’s bulbs came from the area.
Waiting for the first customer of the day at Baxter's chip shop window, Sutton Bridge, Lincolnshire.
Spudflation
In 2023, the UK experienced a notably difficult year for potato production. A summer drought followed by heavy autumn rain resulted in one of the lowest potato harvests on record. The poor weather was compounded by rising energy costs caused by the Russia-Ukraine war and labour shortages at home after the threat of compulsory vaccinations following the Covid 19 Pandemic saw an exodus of migrant workers from the UK.
Some farmers reduced or abandoned potato planting altogether in favour of more lucrative crops such as oilseed rape. The situation worsened in 2024, with the wettest 18-month period since 1836 (October 2022 to March 2024) causing significant delays in planting and harvesting. Waterlogged fields prevented machinery from operating effectively, and some crops were left to rot.
The National Farmers' Union and potato growers like Albert Bartlett warned of "spudflation"rising costs due to limited supply, with prices exceeding £1 per kilo at times, a 30-year high.
The 2024 harvest came in at around 4.14 million tonnes, one of the smallest in recent history, further strained by a reduced planting area ,down 10-15% from 2022.
The National Federation of Fish Friers noted that 2023 and 2024 were among the most expensive potato years since 1976 , with forecasts for spring 2025 suggesting chip shop prices could reach £20 per 25kg bag of potatoes, up from £15-£17 pre-drought.
A Tullos threshing machine up for sale at a dispersal auction of the late Jessie Watson, farmer of Littleport, Cambridgeshire. Mr Watson purchased the vehicle in 1946 and paid for it to be transported to the Fens by train from Aberdeen, Scotland. Then it required three workers to operate it and another to tow it by tractor. Today, its tasks can be completed by one person.
In the Fens, a slow and relentless transformation is unfolding, one that stretches far beyond the soil itself. The agrarian farmers, once the heartbeat of the flat, fertile land, are dwindling. As they pass away their modest plots are increasingly amalgamated into the vast, faceless holdings of large agricorps.
Each death marks not only the loss of a steward of the land but the quiet unraveling of a rich cultural tapestry that has defined the region for half a millennia.
When the late Jessie Watson of Littleport, Cambridgeshire purchased a Tullos threshing machine in 1946 he transported it by train from Aberdeen to the Fens – a distance of 490 mles. Then it was a symbol of modern engineering ingenuity, requiring three workers to operate it and another to tow it by tractor. Today, its tasks are managed by a solitary operator, an illustration of how technology has streamlined labour while stripping away the human bonds it once fostered. Of course, farm work is hard work and should not be romanticised but working together is much more enjoyable than working alone as this retired labourer testifies.
The Labour government’s new plan to impose inheritance tax on farm sales is poised to accelerate this erosion, piling financial strain onto families. For generations, farmers like Watson handed down not just land but a legacy and a rhythm of life tied to the seasons.
The tax makes succession untenable, forcing heirs to sell not to neighbours who might honour those traditions, but to agricorps that see the soil as little more than a balance sheet.
As these corporate entities sweep in, the patchwork of fields that once bore the imprint of individual hands is giving way to a sterile uniformity, erasing the dialects, folklore, and a culture that thrived in the shadow of the hedgerows.
For further reading see Justin Partyka's photographs of the agrarian farmers of East Anglia.
Alburgh Barley Queen, Jen Mead and the Rev Chris Sutton, vicar of All Saints, Alburgh, take turns in blessing the crop in the hope of a good harvest. Norfolk,UK.
Belt & braces for farmers this time of year as they employ both the old gods & new technologies in the hope of a bountiful year – and you're moaning about having to get up an hour earlier!
In pagan societies, early farmers relied on rituals and offerings to deities like Demeter or Ceres to ensure fertile soil and bountiful harvests, or in this case Jen, the local Barley Queen.
These acts, sowing seeds with prayers or blessing fields during seasonal festivals reflected a deep connection to nature’s cycles and a belief in supernatural influence over agriculture. With the spread of Christianity, these pagan traditions were adapted. Field blessings became tied to Christian rites, such as Rogation Days, where clergy and farmers prayed for divine protection against pests, drought, or floods. Saints like St. Isidore, patron of farmers, replaced earlier gods, but the intent, securing good harvests, remained unchanged. These blessings persisted into the medieval era, blending faith with practical land management.
The Industrial Revolution marked a turning point, introducing mechanised ploughs, fertilisers, and irrigation, shifting reliance from prayer to science. Today, cutting-edge technology drones, precision agriculture, and genetically modified crops maximises yields with data-driven efficiency. Daylight Saving Time (DST) complements this, extending daylight hours for farmers to work fields or manage livestock, especially during Spring planting and Autumn harvests.
While its usefulness is debated by the public at large, DST still aligns with modern farming’s need for flexibility. From pagan chants to satellite-guided tractors, husbandry’s journey reflects humanity’s relentless quest to master the land.
Agostinho from Portugal waits by the Britannia Cafe for the agency minibus to take him to work. A 'limb' worker in Wisbech, he has no contract of employment and is often employed on a daily basis for cash.
A demonstration against the prorogation of Parliament and a no deal Brexit meets opposition in King's Lynn, Norfolk.
In defiance of the clear and unequivocal instruction by the British electorate to leave the European Union in the 2016 Referendum, opponents, many with undeclared interests in maintaining the federal relationship sought to overturn the democratic will of the country and reverse the decision. Despite the efforts of then Prime Minister Boris Johnson to avoid a no deal Brexit many obstacles were put in his way. As such, with the October 31st deadline for leaving looming, on September 10th 2019 he prorogued Parliament effectively cancelling the sitting of the House and further discussion on the issue. This led to demonstrations across the nation and was subsequently declared unlawful. As a result, Parliament resumed sitting on September 25, 2019.
Britain eventually left the EU on 31st January 2020 at 11am.
The Cross of St George painted on a the door of a home at 11 Falcon Road,Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, the day before the Brexit Referendum in 2016.
Exodus 12:23 "And when He seeth the blood upon the lintel and on the two side posts, the Lord will pass over the door and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you."
Members of the Spalding Lithuanian Society celebrating their annual Day Of The Restoration Of Independence with a picnic of traditional foods and the red, green and yellow colours of the Lithuanian flag.
Lithuania's independence began on 11th March 1990 when it officially rejected the rule of the USSR which had occupied its territories since 1944. Subsequently the day has become a celebration for Lithuanians around the world.
Prospect House, Southery, Norfolk. Built in 1907 for a farm manager and their family in such a way that the land in cultivation and in particular its workers could be continually observed. The home was ultimately abandoned due to subsidence
which was a fate that similar properties in the Fens suffered. In subsequent years such buildings were reinforced with concrete underpinnings to attenuate the effects of the wet land, but often to little effect.
After his resignation as prime minister in September 2022, Boris Johnson's portrait is removed from the wall and Winston Churchill resumes his place of prominence at King's Lynn Conservative Club, Norfolk.
A room (kolhata) to rent advertisement in a newsagents window. The text is in Russian cyrillic and deliberately designed to appeal to prospective East European migrants tenants of a certain age. Anyone who went to school within the USSR before its collapse 1991 learned Russian as part of the curriculum, and as part of the Soviet cultural domination of its occupied territories. Although widely loathed and abandoned after the fall of communism, the practise of having a common language proved useful for migrants when those countries joined the EU under the A8 accession rules in 2004 and they were given the right to come to live and work in the UK. That meant Czechs, Latvians, Lithuanians, Slovakians, Slovenians, Poles, Hungarians and Estonians could communicate with each other. Useful if you’re trying to make yourself heard on a factory floor or field in the Fens. Even today If you go into any of the East European shops in the town the transaction will often complete with the assistant exclaiming “spasiba”, the Russian word for thanks.
A room (kolhata) to rent advertisement in a newsagents window. The text is in Russian cyrillic and deliberately designed to appeal to prospective East European migrants tenants of a certain age. Anyone who went to school within the USSR before its collapse 1991 learned Russian as part of the curriculum and as part of the Soviet cultural domination of its occupied territories. Although widely loathed and abandoned after the fall of communism, the practise of having a common language proved useful for migrants when those countries joined the EU under the A8 accession rules in 2004 when they were given the right to come to live and work in the UK. That meant Czechs, Latvians, Lithuanians, Slovakians, Slovenians, Poles, Hungarians and Estonians could communicate with each other. Useful if you’re trying to make yourself heard on a factory floor or field. Even today If you go into any of the East European shops in the Fens the transaction will often complete with the assistant exclaiming “spasiba”, the Russian word for thanks.
Mummers recreating the legend of St George & the Dragon on St George’s Day, Downham Market, Norfolk. The dragon is played by the town's mayor, Frank Daymond, and St George by Councillor David Sharman.
