Where Are the Fellows Who Cut the Hay?: How Traditions from the Past Can Shape Our Future

by Robert Ashton

"This is a book of life and why we should celebrate our roots before it is too late. Fascinating." — John Connell, bestselling author of The Cow Book

Where Are the Fellows Who Cut the Hay? is an ode to rural life, charting traditions of the past, how they were lost and why we need to reconnect.

Exploring the relationship between everyday items and the communities that make them, Robert Ashton provides a snapshot of twenty-first century England. Where are the people who grow barley, milk cows and produce wool? How have their farming methods become less ethical, sustainable and natural over time? And what are we doing today to reverse that change?

Inspired by George Ewart Evans’s Ask the Fellows Who Cut the Hay, Ashton gives voice to local people and travels rural Suffolk in search for innovation, interweaving his own personal connection to Evans and to the land. Part memoir, part social history, Ashton’s thought-provoking book is a manifesto for why, against all odds, we need to step back in order to progress.

"An earthy and immensely thoughtful book, full of experience and wisdom ...Essential reading for anybody who wants to understand rural life, how we got here, and what we’ve lost." — Patrick Galbraith, author of In Search of One Last Song

"We hear the authentic voices of local people, still in the middle of great forces of transformation. Now we hope these will create more sustainable and progressive futures." — Jules Pretty, author of The East Country

"Informed by a deep familiarity with the county, Ashton reveals how an intimate knowledge of the rural past and present can contribute to shaping a meaningful future." — Professor Gareth Williams, biographer of George Ewart Evans

Genres: Nonfiction, History

256 pages, Hardcover

Published November 5, 2024

Reviews

[Sherrie]

A little disjointed in places, I preferred the community tales, school, church, home to the trade stories but I especially liked the places familiar to me, Needham Market my home town and talk of the tannery in Combs

[Jane]

A disappointing read. I felt it needed a good editor to give the book shape from the muddle ideas.
It has a stop-start style and much repetition.
I fell out of patience with the author who had been a Freemason for many years and who states that women who aren’t in paid employment don’t ‘work’.
It seems that misogyny rules in Suffolk as in most places.

[Steven Ronald Kitchen]

Very good and an interesting read for those with an interest in this subject. It’s a fantastically done continuation of George Ewert Evens book and a great comparison of the different times. Recommend to read both George Ewart Evens book “ask the fellows who cut the hay” and “where are the fellows who cut the hay” to fully appreciate the concept of the book. The read and feel of the book is like having a conversation with the author about a mutual interest in the area and agriculture. Fully enjoyed this book!

[Bella Brodie]

As I expected, this book has a unique charm; it’s a book you'll keep long after you've read it as it's full of fascinating reflections on a bygone era. That's delivered in Robert's own inimitable style, which makes you feel like you are having coffee with a knowledgeable and giving friend, letting him chat away to deliver a few gems that will change the way you think about the world.

An amiable amble into the past, Where Are The Fellows Who Cut The Hay puts that perfectly in context with the present, making you feel like you have joined the author on his time travels and innermost thoughts. That ultimately makes it very readable. With every book I read I ask myself if I learned something, felt something? Has it inspired me or helped me to relax? Unusually this one ticked all those boxes.

Written by a curious and questioning mind from a place of authenticity, this book is definitely one I would recommend. I have known Robert for years, and believe him to be one of the foremost geniuses of our era - while you can expect the odd bit of controversial commentary from him now and again, that is all part of his appeal and makes his work edgy. Behind that is one of the kindest, most intelligent and inclusive leaders of our generation.

[Miles Harvey]

A Tour de Force in every possible sense of the phrase.

I first met Robert, not a decade ago, helping to establish yet another of the many social enterprises that bear the mark of his involvement. Social justice is at the core of all his work.

Yet in ‘Where are the Fellows who cut the Hay’ I starkly came face to face with the life events that formed the man. There is a vulnerability when such intimate knowledge is shared with the reader. This is a deeply personal conversation on the ever changing social landscape we are living through with a positive call to shape our future by understanding our roots.

I implore you to buy, beg, steal a copy of this ‘must-read’ celebration of East Anglian life that will enrich you in every page. Do it now.

[Neil Harrison]

To put this book into context I think it is important to be aware of the books by George Ewart Evans that inspired the author to write.
Clearly the author is very familiar with his topic and his connection with Evan’s made it all more interesting for me particularly as I am a country boy myself.
I enjoyed reading the book and found some of the conclusions about the potential direction of modern agriculture quite encouraging given the awful mass production techniques that the countryside has been subjected to in recent years.
I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to others with an interest in farming, the countryside and the people there but as other reviewers have pointed out I also felt that a stronger editor would have improved the overall read.

[Hannah Peck]

This isn’t the sort of book that I usually go for, but it was a really interesting read, selected after meeting the author.

[Rachael Fuller]

This needed a rather more competent editor.
There is a wealth of fascinating information hidden within its completely muddled chapters but very repetitive and sometimes unsure of its own purpose.

[N.R.]

An interesting book in need of a good editor.

[Jacob Page]

Lots of repetition in most chapters. Felt like the chapters were making similar points throughout.