Arguably one of the best expressions of that exploration comes in the timeless Henry the Human Fly, the first Richard Thompson album (not available, I should add, on iTunes) with its Shaky Nancy, Poor Ditching Boy and invocations to leave the factory, leave the forge and dance to the new St George, but there were others. There were the electric instrumental explorations of the Morris dance tradition (Morris On) and the likes of Steeleye Span, the group formed by Fairport-defector Ashley Hutchings when he felt Thompson and Swarbrick were moving a bit too far from the tradition and any number of other examples that will doubtless come flooding back as I work my way through Rob Young's Electric Eden.
For anyone who's interested in sampling that side of things, I'd point straight towards that first Richard Thompson album, which might be a difficult listen in places but will repay repeated examination, the early Richard & Linda Thompson I Want To See the Bright Lights Tonight or, more particularly, The All New Electric Muse - The Story of Folk into Rock. At $31,99, it's an expensive item, but sixty songs drawn from all over the British folk rock movement provides a fair starting point for those who are looking to explore some of these themes.