A
RUINED VILLAGE REVISITED
Extract
from Beds. Mercury- 1881.
Two years ago last
October there appeared in the local papers a paragraph setting forth in telling
language the lamentable condition of the village of Everton in the County of
Bedford. This paragraph found its way into the London dailies, and many
visitors journeyed to the place to test the accuracy of the report. Amongst
those visitors was one of the special Commissioners of Time, who published his
observations in the November issue of that journal under the heading of
"Where Once a Garden Smiled." This article made a great sensation at
the time, and doubtless
contributed much to
the alteration that has since taken place in the management of the
estate. At that time some 600 acres of land had been allowed to all out of
cultivation, the grass was growing green in
the farmyards, and thistles were so high in some of the fields that a man walking across them
would be as completely hidden as though he were in a thick wood. The labourers
of the place were compelled to seek employment in the neighbouring parishes,
and altogether the
village was in as unenviable a
plight as possible. One farmstead, that had been destroyed by fire, had not
been rebuilt. The cottages, farmhouses, and buildings were in a state of
dilapidation, and a general aspect of ruin and decay pervaded the whole place.
The estate, which
is vested in the hands of the
trustees of two minors, was managed, or rather is managed, by a land agent and
a bailiff. These trustees having awoke to the fact that a change o management
was the only remedy to prevent the
estate falling into
irretrievable ruin and
decay, appointed to the work of
regeneration one John Pallister, a clear-headed, keen North-countryman, hailing
from Hardwick, County Durham. To this gentleman
I am indebted for
permission to go over the place,
and for liberty to note my observations. There is probably nothing more
interesting in this estate than in hundreds of others. Only that it affords an
illustration of how quickly land that has degenerated can be renovated and
restored to a higher state of cultivation that it ever before attained.
The estate, or at
least that portion of it to which I am referring, consists of about 700 acres
of stiff clay land. Standing on the Everton
Hill and looking over this land, which stretches away in a westerly
direction towards the
valley of the Ouse, the prospect in August, 1879, was anything but a
pleasant one. Not a single field could be seen that was planted with corn with
corn and neither herds nor ploughmen broke the
monotony of the
landscape. Some fields had
been ploughed, but
beyond this there was an
impression of desolation and neglect, better seen than appreciated. Now as far
as the eye could reach the fields are waving with green corn, and seeming to
betoken the prospect of
an abundant harvest. Upon nearer inspection the distant
promise is more than realised. There is one thing that adds much to the general
appearance tidiness - that is the well-trimmed fences. I am
informed by Mr Walker,
the indefatigable and energetic Yorkshire bailiff, who acts as first
lieutenant on the estate, that during the period he has been there he has had
more than eight miles of the thick, overgrown hedges cut down, and upwards of
3 miles of
ditches cleaned out. The whole of the cottages and
farmhouses and buildings have been repaired, painted, and whitened. The
burnt-down farmyard has been re-built, and the general aspect of the village
renovated, and rescued from the ruin and decay of other days.
The barley, of which nearly 100 acres is planted, has
just come into ear, and, although somewhat unlevel, is long in the straw, and
looks exceedingly promising. Of wheat there is
more than 200
acres, in various
stages of excellence. Some pieces
are short in the ear, and seem
to want manure under them to push it along, but in every field there is a full
plant, and in some cases the plant is too thick. One field, a piece of white
wheat, is by far the best, and looks like producing 40 bushels per acre.
The effect of
the late wet season is plainly visible in the
furrows, and everywhere where the land was wet the crops are lighter. The oats
appear to promise a heavy crop. There is 600 acres of these, of which 30 acres
are the Swiss oat, respecting
which enquiries have been made in your columns. One piece
sown the last week in March is particularly fine and early, and is expected to
be ready for the scythe before the end of the month. This variety has never
before been grown in this district but, judging by its appearance, it is
fully a fortnight earlier than any other kind. The whole of the 30 acres is
upon, cold, backward, poor land, but it is believed by the grower that if sown
on early, good soil it would produce what it is reputed it will, - two crops in
one year. If it does not do this, it will, however, be a useful variety, as it
is but a short time on the ground, and gives, therefore a
longer time for cleaning the
land. The kernel is short and bold, somewhat resembling the Canadian in shape,
and the straw is long and the flag broad. As to the yield, no correct judgement
can yet be formed but should your correspondent desire more information I can
I shall be glad to furnish him with it in the autumn.
Most of
the estate has
been steam cultivated and
fallowed, yet in some cases the crops have been put in after turnips without
any cultivation beyond running a Benthall through it and harrowing. The turnip
crop has been almost destroyed by the fly, and mangels are very irregular, some
of the roots being an inch through
and others only just springing up. The grass and clover is light, and
the pastures afford but scanty picking
for the somewhat large number of cattle grazing. Very little farmyard
manure has been used, the
scanty supply of straw not enabling much stock to be kept in the yards;
a liberal dressing of bones and soot has, however, been given, and where it has
been dispensed with the crops are not so good.
Taking the whole of
the crops together for land of the same quantity, there is no better to be
found, and the agent of the estate
considers that he
has demonstrated beyond
doubt that with judicious
farming this land can be cultivated so as to pay. At any rate, whether the
farming of this estate is a paying game or not, it is patent that what was
two years ago
described as a desert, is now productive land, and it is a matter of
wonderment that so great a change could be wrought in so short a space of time.
There is now only about thirty acres of
bare fallow, and most
of the remainder of the land is
bearing crops the like of which have not been seen upon this land for years, if
at all. My curiosity led me to enquire at what cost the improvement had been
carried out, and from
the balance-sheet placed in my
hand it would appear that, taking the growing crops at a valuation of only £4
per acre, there was a considerable balance of profit. The rearing of stock is
made a speciality and appears to pay. The
cost of working the
land is less than it was during the period it was allowed to fall out of
cultivation. There is an abundance of winged game, partridges being
particularly plentiful and forward. It is also very evident that a less number
of rabbits might be kept with
advantage. Around one plantation the wheat gave ample proof that ground game
and good crops cannot exist contemporaneously. I learn that orders have been
given, for a general onslaught to be made upon the furry tribe after harvest.,
so that this is an evil that may soon be remedied. The labourers here are the
greatest drawback. They appear to have degenerated with the land, and take a
longer time to effect in them a corresponding improvement. - W. J. Arnold, Potton, in the Agricultural
Gazette."
(Beds.
Mercury, Saturday, July 30, 1881)