What Is Ridge And Furrow?

`Ridge and furrow' is one of the most recognisable features of the English historic landscape, particularly in the Midlands.
They give pasture fields an undulating, corrugated appearance. Sometimes they identify the remains of medieval strip fields that were once under the plough.
The ridges were made by ploughing in a clockwise spiral, starting in the middle of the strip and eventually ploughing around the outside edge, with the plough constantly throwing the soil to the right.
During the fallow season an anti-clockwise motion was adopted to cast some soil back towards the furrow and prevent cutting too deeply into the  infertile subsoils.
Ridge and furrow is associated with the Midlands, from Leicestershire to Buckinghamshire. It's in these areas where the largest areas are still to be found.
Ridge and furrow can be found in lesser proportions in Shropshire, Cheshire and Northumberland.