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THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 



get to court and fines were levied. In November 

 1918, for example, it was reported to the committee 

 that Mark Jeans had been convicted of failing to 

 plough up 27 acres of land on King Hall Farm, 

 Milton, Pewsey. He was fined £5 with 5 guineas 

 costs. 43 Perhaps the most notable case involved John 

 Ashby of Steeple Ashton who was not only a well- 

 known farmer but also a magistrate and chairman 

 of the Trowbridge branch of the N.F.U. The 

 Executive Committee had used a formula requiring 

 each farmer to put to the plough 40% of the land 

 put down to grass since 1872. Strictly this required 

 3IV2 acres from Ashby but the committee had 

 reduced this to 23. He agreed to plough 10 acres 

 and eventually did so but he resolutely refused to 

 plough the rest claiming it was too heavy soil. He 

 also refused to nominate a more suitable area of 

 his farm. In court it was said that he was stubborn 

 and obstinate and all the coaxing and consideration 

 would not change him. He was found guilty and 

 fined 10 guineas with £5 15s. 6d. costs. 44 



A more serious step was to take over a farm or 

 pieces of land if the committee thought it was not 

 being cultivated efficiently. The minutes of the 

 Executive Committee, for example, record the 

 decision in March 1918 to take possession of two 

 pieces of land belonging to Sir Frederick Banbury, 

 M.P of Warneford Place, Highworth. There was 

 also a threat to take over Horwood Farm, Ansty, 

 belonging to Lady Arundell as it was not being 

 cultivated to increase as far as practicable the food 

 supply of the country. This was later altered to an 

 order to plough a field of 40 acres on the farm. 4 ' 



The committee was more perplexed by 

 Malmesbury Common. By January 1918 the area 

 was still some 1,200 acres short of its target. A 

 meeting of farmers from the area was called and 

 various pledges were made but these amounted to 

 only 200 acres. It was then suggested that 

 Malmesbury Common should be taken over and 

 ploughed up. This consisted of about 200 acres in 

 150 allotments. Many of these had not been 

 cultivated and had 'tumbled down' in the last 40 

 years. Many were owned by old people and aged 

 widows who could not afford to have the land 

 ploughed. The committee was concerned that the 

 common might be protected by charter and therefore 

 could not be taken over. 46 



The largest farm taken over by the Executive 

 Committee was Foxley Farm in Malmesbury 

 Without consisting of 719 acres and belonging to 

 Colonel Wyatt William Turnor of Pinkney Park, 

 Malmesbury. Having taken possession of the farm, 



the committee then leased 650 acres to Mr. Sidney 

 Maundrell at a rental of £550 a year. He was to be 

 allowed £100 spread over the next four years to 

 meet the expense of repairing live fences, cleaning 

 water courses and erecting new post and wire fences. 

 An inspection a year later found the farm to be in 

 much better condition generally. 47 



Despite the gloomy predictions by farmers, the 

 yield of grain from the newly-ploughed land across 

 the country was not substantially inferior to that 

 on existing tillage except perhaps in barley. There 

 was, however, wide variation from farm to farm 

 depending largely on the different processes of 

 cultivation which had been used. In August- 

 September 1917, representatives of the Board of 

 Agriculture inspected 2,300 acres of newly 

 ploughed land in the eastern part of Wiltshire. 

 Their report covered 18 separate pieces of land. 

 Of these 12 were considered to have been 

 successful, 2 had been failures and the others 

 doubtful. The contrasts can be seen from the 

 following examples: 



1,000 acres oats, chiefly Black Tartarian sown from 

 February to May on medium loam overlying the 

 chalk at 300-400 feet above sea level. Broken up 

 from January to April by steam ploughs and tractors 

 to depth of about 4-5 inches and then pressed. Seed 

 broadcasted, harrowed in and rolled several times 

 with heavy rollers. Two rollers drawn by tractors 

 were started immediately after sowing and worked 

 continuously so long as it was possible to roll the 

 corn. On the whole, the crop was successful 

 especially in the case of oats sown in February and 

 March on a moist seed bed. Those on a dry seed 

 bed in April and May were attacked by wireworm. 

 Sulphate of ammonia was applied to parts of the 

 crop. 



Table 4 Areas under Crops and Grass ('000 acres) 



500 t 



191-5 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 



i Arable e£i Pasture 



