Wych Elm and Firs, from The Park and the Forest 1841

James Duffield Harding made this lithograph titled ‘Wych Elm and Firs’ in England in the mid-nineteenth century. It depicts cattle wading in a stream in a wooded landscape. At this time, the English landscape was a popular subject for artists, but it was also a contested space. The Industrial Revolution had brought rapid urbanization and the expansion of cities such as Manchester and Liverpool. At the same time, the enclosure movement privatized common land, restricting access to the countryside for many rural people. Harding’s image can be understood as a nostalgic vision of an idealised rural past. The cows are framed by the rocks and trees, but also seem to blend into the idyllic landscape. The ‘park and forest’ of the print’s title speak to the role of landowners who controlled access to this disappearing rural world. By researching the history of land use and ownership in 19th-century England, we can understand the social and political context in which this image was made.