'A formidable, brave and important book' Robert Macfarlane
Who owns England?
Behind this simple question lies this country's oldest and best-kept
secret. This is the history of how England's elite came to own our land,
and an inspiring manifesto for how to open up our countryside once
more.
This book has been a long time coming. Since 1086, in fact. For
centuries, England's elite have covered up how they got their hands on
millions of acres of our land, by constructing walls, burying surveys
and more recently, sheltering behind offshore shell companies. But with
the dawn of digital mapping and the Freedom of Information Act, it's
becoming increasingly difficult for them to hide.
Trespassing through tightly-guarded country estates, ecologically
ravaged grouse moors and empty Mayfair mansions, writer and activist Guy
Shrubsole has used these 21st century tools to uncover a wealth of
never-before-seen information about the people who own our land, to
create the most comprehensive map of land ownership in England that has
ever been made public.
From secret military islands to tunnels deep beneath London, Shrubsole
unearths truths concealed since the Domesday Book about who is really in
charge of this country - at a time when Brexit is meant to be returning
sovereignty to the people. Melding history, politics and polemic, he
vividly demonstrates how taking control of land ownership is key to
tackling everything from the housing crisis to climate change - and even
halting the erosion of our very democracy.
It's time to expose the truth about who owns England - and finally take
back our green and pleasant land.
