Earth, sweet Earth, sweet Earth of Ilton, sweet landscape-
Low grass, purple heather, moors that meet with heaven.
Curlews call, sheep graze and horses feed in fields
That nourished those who left lives for us to find.
Few houses now, but we, who came after, seek you still.

Sweet Earth of Ilton- you have no tongue to speak,
No heart to feel, no eyes to see ; you can only be.
But through the wind on the hills you call to us today,
So we walk the moors, find traces of you and rejoice.
We who can, will serve you well- Sweet Earth of Ilton.

Plans for the enclosures of Ilton drawn in 1797, include names of local roads and indicate which 'townships' were responsible for their repair. Maps and documents showing the enclosed land and the roads, contain references to certain fields in Ilton called Sweet Earth. Further research revealed the fact that 'sweet earth' was a term often used in the 18th century to indicate fertile soil, or soil which had been artificially 'sweetened' by the addition of lime.

For the members of the Ilton Heritage Group,all of whom have grown to love the landscape , whether they live there or not, Sweet Earth of Ilton has become the natural title for our website.

This aerial photograph shows much of the area known as Sweet Earth encircled by a road with a few scattered dwellings . The landmark phonebox is seen as a red spot to the left of the picture