Taken in Norfolk, this bucolic genre scene showing the hay harvest is the frontispiece to Pictures of East Anglian Life. 

Using hand scythes, farmers cut grass and clover for animal feed and other uses to be used in the winter months. Historically, the haying season traditionally takes place in Norfolk beginning in mid June, extending to July. The dried hay was loaded onto horse-drawn carts seen here. Wet summers were common in 1880s England, with the harvest often delayed until weather conditions improved. The way of life depicted in this photograph taken in the mid 1880s was also being phased out, replaced by ensilage harvesting techniques then catching on, which precluded the grass from being dry when cut.

“June ushers in the “haysel,” or hay harvest, when our fenmen lay aside their nets and handle the scythe, cutting meadow grass for the winter food of cattle, and marsh grass, or fodder, for littering them down in the winter. For this service, they receive pay either by the day, acre, or load, according to pre-arranged agreement.”⎯Ernest Suffling, The Land of the Broads, 1892, p. 213

“In the Haysel” is, in our opinion, the best, and with two inches or a little more of its uninteresting foreground removed, would be a nearly perfect picture.” ⎯The Photo Beacon, January, 1892, p.32