War against tithes
War against tithes
FARMERS are not usually known for uprisings and revolts although there have been some examples of this in the past year. However, farmers and landowners protests are not a new concept with almost 20 years of revolts over tithes taking place in the last century.
Author Carol Twinch tells the story* of the Tithe War which spanned 1918-1939. Almost 100,000 tithe paying farmers and landowners in England and Wales spent the inter-war years of the 20th century fighting for a just and equitable end to an archaic tax.
The tithe system ruined thousands of small farming families already deep in agricultural depression and created a bitter and lasting rift between rural parishes and their clergy.
Tithe War clearly explains an interesting and little-known subject and is illustrated by some quality photographs. Based upon the unpublished archive of AG Mobbs of Suffolk, one of the chief protagonists, it traces the final war in the 4000-year-old history of tithe.
The story is modernised with a contemporary challenge to the ancient laws relating to chancel repairs of parish churches and a final appeal under the Human Rights legislation.
*Tithe War – 1918-1939, The Countryside in Revolt, by Carol Twinch, published by Media Associates, £14.95.