William Marshall (agricultural writer)
| William Marshall | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1745 Sinnington |
| Died | 1818 Pickering, North Yorkshire |
| Resting place | Middleton, Ryedale |
| Nationality | British |
| Known for | Agricultural writing |
| Spouse(s) | Elizabeth Hodgeson |
| Parent(s) | William and Alice Marshall |
William Humphrey Marshall (1745–1818) was an 18th-century English writer on contemporary agriculture. He was an early proponent of the establishment of a state-sponsored body to promote improved farming standards and agricultural colleges.
William Humphrey Marshall was born in 1745 in Sinnington, in North Yorkshire, England. He was the younger son of William and Alice, yeoman farmers. Marshall left home at the age of 14 and worked in commerce in London and the West Indies for fourteen years.
At the age of 28 he had what he thought was a miraculous recovery from illness, and determined to devote himself in future to the study of agriculture. He had already been pursuing the study in his spare time and he thought that the proper area for analysis should be the natural agricultural district rather than the regions demarcated by county boundaries. He also thought that no less than twelve months' personal observation and practical experience of farming in an area was needed before a realistic assessment could be made. This method of research differed from his contemporaries in that others, notably Arthur Young, his great rival, investigated farming practices by cursorily touring a county and interviewing the inhabitants. In pursuit of this belief, in 1774 Marshall rented a farm near Croydon, Surrey, and four years later he published an account of his experiences. Marshall did not, however, have Young's lively writing style and his status as an internationally renowned agricultural expert.
In 1780, Marshall applied for a grant from the Society of Arts to conduct his research in another area of England, but the committee, which included Arthur Young, turned down his request. Instead Marshall found employment as an estate manager first in Norfolk and then Staffordshire to fund his research and writing. Subsequently, he lived and worked in a number of places throughout England. In 1798 he finally completed an ambitious twelve-volume study of England's Rural Economy. He was also employed as a landscape gardener, writing three books on the subject.
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