Ridge and Furrow was created by our ancestors as long ago as prehistoric times although it is generally thought to be "medieval": strictly its age is dated from the time it was last ploughed. It is one of the most distinctive features of our ancient English landscape and is mostly found in the Midland counties of Buckinghamshire, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire and Warwickshire Ridge and furrow is not found in the South East as from the Seventeenth century reversible ploughs which could cast soil to left or right were used which did not create it. Ridge and furrow is made when the ploughman works from the middle of his plot and ploughs in a clockwise spiral casting the soil to the right and heaping it up. The heaping up of the soil in this way improves drainage and also marked the land for the farmers allotted it in the open fields of the time. The lines of earthworks are not totally parallel as the ploughman with his team of oxen and later horses anticipated changing direction and created a furrow with the shape of a stretched “s” or less frequently, but to be found around Yelvertoft, a reversed “s" The map at the beginning of this section of our web site shows the counties around Yelvertoft with the density of ridge and furrow. As can be seen Yelvertoft is in a particularly heavily shaded area. Today's farmers can not plough the land and retain ridge and furrow and when the soil is ploughed flat it often reverts back to the way it has lain for centuries. Subsidies are available for farming land in its ancient form where it is used for grazing or left fallow although artificial fertilisers can not be used and the land may not produce enough grass for intensive use.