The Legacy of Alice's Meadow

On the ground

The most obvious legacy of the Alice's Meadow campaign, is that you can today walk from Fencott to Murcott, without having to cross a bridge or negotiate several lanes of Motorway traffic. You can stand outside Moorlands Farm (which would have been demolished) and, although it is sometimes just perceptible, not be deafened by the roar of juggernauts. The preservation of a little parochial peace may be only a small thing - but it makes a real difference, day in, day out, to the lives of each of the 250 people that live there.

And that is not the only difference. Under a management covenant agreed with Wheatley Friends of the Earth, the Fencott and Murcott Parish Council has responsibility for the continuing care of the field, and under this derives a small income each year by letting out grazing rights.

Both the above are welcome, but secondary to the campaign's intent. The main achievement of the campaign was the diversion of the Motorway away from Otmoor, and because of this the characteristic field pattern's which inspired Lewis Carroll's giant chessboard in 'Alice through the Looking Glass' can still largely be traced. Perhaps even more importantly, a unique wetland landscape has been preserved. Better than that, the subsequent purchase of a large portion of Otmoor by the RSPB (a development that would probably never have happened without Alice's Meadow) has, through controlled flooding, greatly increased the biodiversity and ecological value of the area.

Further A Field

Perhaps the greatest legacy of Alice's Meadow may be seen further afield. The precise methodology of the Alice's Meadow campaign is no longer effective because of changes in the Land Registration regulations (themselves partly in response to the success of Alice's Meadow). But the successful outcome of the campaign, showed environmentalists how much can be achieved by land ownership, and how collective land ownership can magnify the influence of individuals, and help them feel actively involved in a campaign.

One organisation which drew inspiration from the example of Alice's Meadow is the World Land Trust which campaigns to preserve Rain Forest and Steppe through buying the land. 300,000 acres of which have already been preserved in this way.

The Amazon is a long way from Oxfordshire. But it is perhaps there that the greatest legacy of Alice's Meadow can be found.

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Published by J P Brettle
Last modified: 7 July 2007