This mini feature showcases one of the eighteen open submission portfolios selected for inclusion in our printed journal based on the theme of the right to roam
The trifinium, ‘a meeting of three boundaries’ [Latin], represents one of humankind’s longest continually observed abstract interventions on the landscape, with some dating back to at least the 7th c. AD.
They provide evidence of the earliest forms of both exclusion from the land, and containment of the common people, as feudal kingdoms and land ownership were fought over, and boundaries were continually redrawn. In time, the areas within which commoners were excluded grew as royalty and aristocracy took forced ownership of land, for pleasurable pursuits, and importantly for the financial gain that came from taxation. Power was measured by the size of fighting force you could muster and bring to arms, which required land for their sustenance. This legacy of land ownership and ultimately wealth, still drives who holds the power and land access today, with the laws of the land against, rather than for, the excluded, us.
With just 1% of the elite owning as much as 50% of England and Wales, 30% still in the hand’s royalty and aristocracy, it still seems, without a fight, as though our rights to roam continue to be bounded within the network of 1-metre-wide strips of land that link the sparse islands of open access land often distanced far from the reach of most of the common people.
This series of images portrays one such trifinium point, not only the meeting of three parish boundaries, but also of Swindon Borough and North Wiltshire authority districts and sits on the former 13th c. boundary of the long since disafforested royal forest of Braydon. It acts as a gateway from which towns folk can roam out into the open countryside but will itself soon be absorbed by the urbanisation of our green spaces.
The full set of images from the open submission are shown below (click to view image larger in the original format).
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CREDITS
Unless otherwise stated, all words and images in this article are © Joseph Wright
THE JOURNAL
Our biggest, most content packed, and socially current publication to date, exploring the theme of the right to roam. Featuring an introduction by our very own co-founder Rob Hudson and a selection of work from 37 contributors, including the one featured above. Click on the image of the journal cover below to take you to the journal’s information and ordering page.
