86 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 



Table 11 Agricultural holdings in Wiltshire 1914 and 1919 

 Number of Agricultural Holdings (acres) 



1-5 



5-20 



20-50 50-100 100-150 150-300 over 300 



1914 



1483 



1649 



1021 



770 



475 



714 



652 



1919 



1271 



1513 



1029 



807 



499 



745 



568 



Source: Agricultural Statistics 1914 and 1919 (Parliamentary Papers Vols. XLIX and LTV) 



or tenants who have been in occupation." 74 Other 

 land being sold at this time included the Meux 

 estate in north Wiltshire, Walter Long's Rood 

 Ashton property, outlying tracts belonging to the 

 Earl of Radnor and parts of the estate of the Earl of 

 Pembroke. Rider Haggard, writing in 1918, 

 commented that "now-a-days the ownership of land 

 is nothing but one constant worry and expense, 

 especially if it be burdened and repairs are needed 

 while (the landlord) is loaded with abuse, pelted 

 with 'orders' and hunted by perpetual demands for 

 money." 75 Yet, despite this, land did sell very well 

 when it was put on the market and, in 1917, some 

 auctioneers said they had never been so busy. 



The sale of the Rushall estate is a good example 

 of the break-up of a large tract of land stretching to 

 4,600 acres. At auction, the estate was offered as a 

 whole and bidding reached £69,750 when it was 

 withdrawn. The estate was then offered as 78 

 separate lots; 70 of which were then sold at the 

 auction and the remainder privately. Some of the 

 farms were bought by the sitting tenant but others 

 were clearly bought as an investment rather than as 

 owner-occupied. One lot, for example consisted of 

 Manor Farm and the Dairy Farm at Manningford 

 Bohune. Together they comprised 1,133 acres with 

 a farmhouse, 14 cottages and spacious farm 

 buildings. There was spirited bidding between the 

 tenant, Frank Stratton, and William Rawlings of 

 Appleshaw who eventually won with a bid of 

 £19,200. By 1920 the occupier of these farms was 

 Charles Wookey and it seems most likely that he 

 was there as the tenant. On the other hand, 



Beechingstoke Farm and Bottle Farm with five 

 cottages and 305 acres was bought by the tenant, 

 Mr. R. Eavis for £6,650. The largest buyers were 

 Mr. A. Haynes of Burley, Ringwood, Mr. E. H. 

 Jellett of London and Mr. W. Rawlings of 

 Appleshaw, Andover. Many of the farms made over 

 50 years purchase which was considerably higher 

 than would have been expected before the war. 7 " 



A rather similar pattern can be seen in the sale 

 of the Monkton Estate at Winterbourne Monkton, 

 the property of Nathaniel Young, and comprising 

 2,040 acres. Again the estate as a whole failed to 

 find a successful bidder (it was withdrawn at 

 £30,000) and it was then sold in individual lots. 

 West Farm, Winterbourne Monkton, consisting of 

 794 acres with a farm house, farm buildings and 

 1 5 cottages was bought by Henry Horton of Eysey, 

 near Cricklade for £11,750. The occupier in 1915 

 was James Peak-Garland and, in 1920, it was 

 William Tucker. It would seem therefore that this 

 was and continued to be a tenanted farm. However, 

 Middle Farm, Winterbourne Monkton, of 565 acres 

 with eight cottages went to Mr. F. Greader, farmer, 

 of Horton for £7,000. In 1915 the occupier was 

 Harry Greader and he was still there in 1920. It is 

 probably safe to assume that the ownership of this 

 farm had at least passed to the family of the tenant. 77 



The main impact of this change in land 

 ownership would not be felt until some years after 

 the end of the war as estates continued to be sold. 

 But some significant changes had taken place by 

 1919. Compared with 1914, the total number of 

 holdings had fallen from 6,764 to 6,432. As might 



Table 12 Owner-occupied holdings in Wiltshire 1914 and 1919 



Number of Owner-Occupied Holdings (acres) 



1-5 5-20 20-50 50-100 100-150 150-300 over 300 



1914 

 1919 



241 



205 



86 



66 



55 



81 



82 



187 



197 



111 



105 



90 



119 



102 



Source: Agricultural Statistics 1914 and 1919 (Parliamentary Papers Vols. XLLX and LIV) 



