Photographic History of Eton Wick and Eton - Agriculture and Farm Houses - Farm Horses

Harry Cook ploughing with a team of horses c1920s.

Harry and brother Alf came to Eton Wick from Henley, where they had been farmers, in the early 1920s. Harry married villager Ethel Dace. They had one daughter Eileen. Ploughmen were very proud of the straight furrows they cut. Over the course of day, they walked many miles up and down the field, maintaining tight control of the plough handles and the horses. Harry worked for Saddocks Farm, among others. The picture below is of 'Porky' Banham tending his horses in front of the barns of Saddocks arm c1920s. 

Hay Making 

This photo is early 1930s, and is probably taken on South Field, with the trees and hedge of Eton Wick Road running from the left behind the horses. Cyril Tarrant is on the cart (arms folded); the others are believed to be, from the left: A Banham (Porky), Bert Baily and Arthur Tarrant on the rake. 

The horse gives way to the tractor

The horse gives way to the tractor. This picture was taken around 1930 on Manor Farm, and could well have been taken with the historic significance of the occasion in mind, as George Tarrant and his son Bob (in white shirt) stand by their new iron wheeled Fordson tractor, about to replace the horse in the background. 

The village blacksmith

The village blacksmith. This is believed to be blacksmith Arthur Gregory (left) with Charlie Benham, which would date the photo as early 1920s, as Jack Newell became the village blacksmith in the mid-1920s. The forge was located in Wheelwrights Piece, across the common brook opposite the Greyhound public house. It was a favourite place with the village children for spending a few hours watching the blacksmith at work. The lads helped with bellowing the fire and other odd jobs, while the girls could get steel hoops made for a penny. 

This article was first published in A Pictorial History of Eton Wick & Eton.

From the Parish Magazine - Eton Wick History Group Meeting - An Everyday Story of Farming Folk

On the 16th of September 1998, the Eton Wick History Group heard how, at one time, four of the farms in the village were farmed by Tarrants. Peter Tarrant, who works not on a farm but at the Airport, was the guest speaker. He had spent much time researching his family's history and was able to tell his audience that his family had been associated with farming since the late 18th Century. The origin of the name 'Tarrant' was De Trent' (c.1100); and early Christian names were often Reginald and Ralph. His family tree diagram clearly showed links between the various Tarrants. 

It was most interesting to see maps showing the original layout and names of fields in the area, and to see 'turn of the century' photographs of various farms and cottages and compare them and their surroundings (many Elm trees then) with the way they look today. There were photographs of haymaking in the 1920's; and how nice to see the beautifully thatched round ricks. To see the old threshing machine by the Dutch Barn (in 1948) when the threshers would move in at the appropriate time and sleep in barns wherever they happened to be working. 

To the non-farmers in the audience, it was perhaps a surprise to hear that, in the past, every tenant farmer had to scour his ditches by 30th November, hedges had to be trimmed or layered by let November, animals had to be branded (no substitutes allowed), and farmers were allowed to grow 5 acres of turnips in every 20 acres they farmed. 

We all know now about the Hayward - he was paid 6d. when the cattle were turned out (apparently not until after 6.00 p.m. on 1st May each year) and 4d. per week after that, and no-one was allowed to stop the cattle from grazing. There were about a dozen dairy farmers up until the 1930's and we heard tales of cattle eating wild garlic and subsequent complaints about garlic-flavoured milk! 

Mr. Tarrant was able to outline the history of many of the farms in the area; and not just the farms but also the tracks which run through them, for example the one from our Common Road through the fields to Common Lane at Eton is called 'The Meads'; and if you, follow the Meadow Lane track right through to Boveney where it reaches Boveney it is/was referred to as a turnpike.

During the War, prisoners of war used to work in farms in Eton Wick; and, as a reminder of those times, Mr. Tarrant had brought with him some memorabilia including the head of an anti-aircraft shell, part of an incendiary bomb and some brass cannon cases. He described the posts and trenches in the fields - constructed to prevent glider landings. 

We saw pictures of the 1947 floods and the severe snow of 1963; and heard about Bob Bond's haystack burning down; and the barn which was blown down in 1987, which was also when the roof was blown off Mr. Tarrant's father's cottages. Then there were the chickens; Mr. Tarrant senior had bred chickens for show as well as for egg production - specialising in Buff Orpingtons and Silver Lace Wine Dots. The final photograph was a beautiful sunset - seen beyond some Elm trees. 

Frank Bond thanked Mr. Tarrant for his fascinating talk and highlighted the 9th December meeting when each member is asked to bring one item of interest for a 'Members Exhibition'. 

During the 1990's the Parish Magazine of Eton, Eton Wick and Boveney reported on the meetings of the Eton Wick History Group. A member of the audience took shorthand notes in the darkened hall. This article was published in the October edition of 1996.

Photographic History of Eton Wick and Eton - Agriculture and Farm Houses - Steam Threshing

 

The top photograph on the opposite page shows a steam traction engine driving a threshing machine in front of Saddocks Farm Cottages in the 1930s. The main threshing contractors employed by Eton Wick farms were Wards of Egham and Poulters of Burnham. The contract staff often slept rough in the farm barns. Until the advent of combine harvesters, corn was cut and tied in sheaves by binders. 

To protect them from the wet until they could be collected, the sheaves were stacked in 'stooks'. Stooks comprised of eight or so sheaves stood on their butts, the rounded side to the weather. 

Reg. H Tarrant

Reg. H Tarrant of Crown Farm is engaged on this activity in the above picture, taken probably in the 1950s. The sheaves were then collected and built into ricks, often on the actual corn field, sometimes back in the farm, until the corn could be threshed and the straw baled.

Skilfully built and thatched ricks were a common site in South Field along the Eton Wick Road and on the farms. The photograph below shows Reg. J A Tarrant of Saddocks Farm as a toddler c1930 in Saddocks rick yard; probably these ricks were thatched by Reg's elder brother Cyril. (The two Reg's were first cousins, sons of George and Arthur, respectively). 

Reg. J.A. Tarrant

This article was first published in A Pictorial History of Eton Wick & Eton.

Photographic History - Village Characters - The Tarrant Family

The Tarrant family 

A Robert Tarrant and family first appear on local Parish Records in the mid-1700s. The appears to have had their roots in the west Berkshire/Hampshire/Dorset areas. This photograph, taken between 1900/05 shows seated, left to right: Robert's descendant James Tarrant, his wife Julia (nee Hawkins of Pigeon House Farm, Dorney) and George Lowman (landlord of the Three Horseshoes); and standing, left to right: son Alf Tarrant and wife Charlotte (née Bunce) who took on Little Common Farm, Percy Holden (proprietor of a gun shop near Windsor Bridge), daughter Rosie Tarrant (a teacher at Silchester House School, Taplow), an unidentified young man, daughter Fanny (taught at Eton Wick School, married name Woolhouse) and son Arthur (then of Manor Farm). Besides acquiring four farms, James was a warden at St John Baptist church.

Missing - the photograph is his son George Tarrant (Crown Farm and father of Reg) and daughter Minnie (married French, grandmother of French Brothers, Windsor The photo was taken in the garden of Saddocks Farm and is embossed 'Photographers Spearman, Eton Wick'.

This article was first published in A Pictorial History of Eton Wick & Eton.

From the Parish Magazine - Eton Wick History Group Meeting - An Everyday Story of Farming Folk

On the 16th September 1998, the Eton Wick History Group heard how, at one time, four of the farms in the village were farmed by Tenants. Peter Tarrant, who worked not on a farm but at the Airport, was the guest speaker - he had spent much time researching his family's history and was able to tell his audience that his family had been associated with farming since the late 18th Century. The origin of the name 'Tarrant' was De Trent' (c.1100); and early Christian names were often Reginald and ralph. His family tree diagram clearly showed links between the various Tarrants.

It was most interesting to see maps showing the original layout and names of fields in the area, and to see 'turn of the century' photographs of various farms and cottages and compare them and their surroundings (many Elm trees then) with the way they look today. There were photographs of haymaking in the 1920's; and how nice to see the beautifully thatched round ricks; to see the old threshing machine by the Dutch Barn (in 1948) when the threshers would move in at the appropriate time and sleep in barns wherever they happened to be working. To the non-farmers in the audience, it was perhaps a surprise to hear that, in the past, every tenant farmer had to scour his ditches by 30th November, hedges had to be trimmed or layered by 1st November, animals had to be branded (no substitutes allowed), and farmers were allowed to grow 5 acres of turnips in every 20 acres they farmed.

Hammer Stannett - the last Hayward.

We all know now about the Hayward - he was paid 6d. when the cattle were turned out (apparently not until after 6.00 p.m. on 1st May each year) and 4d. per week after that, and no-one was allowed to stop the cattle from grazing. There were about a dozen dairy farmers up until the 1930's and we heard tales of cattle eating wild garlic and subsequent complaints about garlic-flavoured milk!

Mr. Tarrant was able to outline the history of many of the farms in the area; and not just the farms but also the tracks which run through them. For example, the one from our Common Road through the fields to Common Lane at Eton is called 'The Meads'. If you follow the Meadow Lane track right through to Boveney - where it reaches Boveney it is/was referred to as a turnpike.

During the War, prisoners of war used to work on farms in Eton Wick; and, as a reminder of those times, Mr. Tarrant had brought with him some memorabilia including the head of an anti-aircraft shell, part of an incendiary bomb and some brass cannon cases. He described the posts and trenches in the fields - constructed to prevent glider landings.

We saw pictures of the 1947 floods and the severe snow of1963; and heard about Bob Bond's haystack burning down; and the barn which was blown down in 1987, which was also when the roof was blown off Mr. Tarrant's father's cottages.

Then there were the chickens; Mr. Tarrant senior had bred chickens for show as well as for egg production - specialising in Buff Orpingtons and Silver Lace Wyandottes. The final photograph was a beautiful sunset - seen beyond some Elm trees.

Frank Bond thanked Mr. Tarrant for his fascinating talk and highlighted the 9th December meeting when each member is asked to bring one item of interest for a 'MEMBERS' EXHIBITION'. The Committee invited suggestions for the 1999 programme.

During the 1990's the Parish Magazine of Eton, Eton Wick and Boveney reported on the meetings of the Eton Wick History Group. A member of the audience took shorthand notes in the darkened hall. This article was published in the November 1998 edition.

Crown Farm

Crown Farm is situated some 400 m east of St John the Baptist Church, and lies between the Eton Wick Road and the Great Common, with access to both. The house is believed to be early 17th century, with various alterations later in the same century. The west elevation is possibly timber framed and rough cast covered. The farm has been in the hands of several generations of the Tarrant family. It is still owned by Olive and Jamie (widow and son of Reginald H Tarrant). Surviving family members have seen Deeds for Crown Farm dated 1837 signed by a Robert Tarrant. A hand-written family record still exists in the hands of distant cousins in Utah, USA, referring to `grandfather Philip Tarrant', born on the farm on Eton Wick Common in 1805' (although not necessarily Crown Farm). The upper photograph of the Farm House, from the family collection was professionally taken. The three young girls may well be Charlotte, Minnie and Rosie, daughters of James and Julia (great grandparents of the current Jamie) which would date the photo to the late 19th century. The lower photograph, taken about the 1960s, shows cows exiting the farm to the common. 

To the east of Crown Farm there were originally other old farm dwellings. Among these were Common Farm House (the farm run by Mr Bunce) and Jersey Farm (run by Mr Bill Booty up to the 1950s). The modern residential estate of Bunces Close is situated in this area. 

This article was first published in A Pictorial History of Eton Wick & Eton.

Manor Farm

Manor Farm

The photograph shows the Farm House, the origins of which date to the 1700s. John Penn is on record as having bought the Manor in 1793. The photograph below shows the entrance to the farm yard from Common Road. Both were taken around the 1960s. The area of the pond in the photograph is on Saddocks Farm land; it extended under the fence to the Manor Farm side from where there was a shallow ditch running from Little Common Farm. The pond was a popular skating venue for villagers before it was infilled in the 1960s. In the 20th century, the farm has been occupied by Urquarts, Tarrants and Kinrosses.

The Inventory of Manor Farm on change of tenancy from
William Stuart (for the Crown) to James Tarrant,
dated 19th December 1905. 

Horse Sculpture 1997. 

This life size sculpture by Fidel Garcia, was made at Manor Farm and erected in South Field between the Eton Wick Road and the river (along the tree line), where it stood for some weeks before succumbing to the weather, etc. It made an interesting relief to the otherwise featureless area of South Field. 

This article was first published in A Pictorial History of Eton Wick & Eton.

Saddocks Farm House

Saddocks Farm House and Garden circa 1906

At this time, James and Julia Tarrant lived here, followed by one of their sons, Arthur, and his family. This photograph is of the south elevation of the house. Arthur's sons Cyril and Reg (J A) can still recall the rose covered trellis archway along the garden path and the immaculate flower beds on the lawn beyond the hedge. At the height of their farming days, James and his sons ran Saddocks, Manor, Crown and Little Common farms. At the end of the 20th century, Crown Farm is still in the hands of Jamie Tarrant, son of Reg (H). 

This article was first published in A Pictorial History of Eton Wick & Eton.

Little Common Farm

Little Common Farm

This old timber framed farm house dates back to the 17th century. It is situated across the end of Common Road overlooking Eton Wick Little Common (the large Common nearer the village is Great Common). Very little land went with the farm, and it depended very much in the early years on common and Lammas land grazing. Occupants during the 20th century include Alf Tarrant who bought it from his father James for £1000 in the 1930s. When Alf died, Bill Cooley (senior) took the farm on from Alf's widow Charlotte (née Bunce). It is still farmed by Bill's son. The photograph is believed to have been taken in the 1950s. 

The pond was later infilled to allow large modern farm machinery to turn into Manor Farm, which is just across the road to the right. The meadow to the left is part of Saddocks Farm. All three farm houses were built in close proximity and within view of each other. 

This article was first published in A Pictorial History of Eton Wick & Eton.

Saddocks Farm

This photograph dates to around the 1930s, when it was farmed by Arthur Tarrant and his family. Robert 'Sadocke' farmed here in the 1500s. The farm house and its extensive garden is on the left. The farm house is mainly 19th century, but closer inspection of the bricks and other features of the west (left-hand) side of the house show this part to be very much older. The farm buildings are, from the left, stables, the cow (milking) shed, and a dutch barn. The much older barn beyond that was constructed of reclaimed timbers, possibly ex-ships, pitched shiplap boards on a low brick wall, and clay roof tiles. Much of the barn, and the roof tiles of Saddocks Farm Cottages (opposite the barn beyond the photo) was lost in the great gale of 1987. Since Elizabethan times, ownership of the property has passed several times between the Crown and Eton College. When the farm cottages were built, the farm was Crown Estate as depicted on the date tablet on the west cottage — 1868 with `VR' and a Crown above. There are a number of architecturally similar cottages scattered around the farm estates in Windsor Great Park. A circular thatched corn rick can be seen in the rick yard on the right. Up to the 1960s, Eton Wick Cricket Club played on the meadow beyond the farm house. For many visiting sides it was a novel and popular venue, despite the long grass of the outfield, interspersed with cow pats and rabbit holes. The farm was re-acquired by Eton College around 1940. 

This article was first published in A Pictorial History of Eton Wick & Eton.

Farmhouses and Cottages part 2

How much the village had grown has not been possible to find out, but probably, in spite of the rebuilding, not a great deal. As yet there was no real heart to the village. The ten houses and   cottages already described lay dispersed along the edges of the commons and not far way from the brook or one of its tributaries. In the eighteenth century this changed and the area now thought of as the old village became the centre of the community for the first time. A parish map of 1797 (itself a copy of an older one of 1742) shows about ten cottages in the short stretch of common from Wheatbutts to Sheepcote, while in the rest of Eton Wick, to the east, north and west there were only about another dozen, and most of these were the older timber-framed houses.

Two of these houses can be dated with reasonable certainty as having been built within the first quarter of the eighteenth century - Wheatbutts and Hope Cottage (now part of nos. 37 and 39 Common Road). Wheatbutts was built for William Lyford, a butcher from Eton, between 1704, when the land was described as 'all that close of arable land called Wheatbutts', and 1716; by which time the house had been built in the corner of the close and the rest converted into an orchard. Whether William Lyford ever lived there is not clear, but by 1716 he was living at Old Windsor and the property sold to the Eton Poor Estate. Hope Cottage was built a few years later in about 1725. At that date a small close of just over an acre was bought from William Lyford by Anthony Warwick, a yeoman of Eton. It seems unlikely that he ever lived there, for he owned several cottages including five in Dorney, and when he sold his cottage in Eton Wick in 1732 to Elizabeth Griffin, a widow, she was already living there. She and her married son, William, converted it to an alehouse known as the Bull's Head. Probably about this time the cottage was divided into two. William bought the property from his mother in 1745 and continued to be the victualler there for the next eleven years. It takes little imagination to conjure up the convivial and perhaps drunken scenes spreading out on to the common.   Three years, however, before the sign of the Bull's Head was finally removed for ever, William sold the property to a husbandman of the Wick, John Fennel.

John's widow, Elizabeth, continued to live there until her death in 1785, and from her will we learn a little more about the property.  She left one of the cottages to her niece, Anne Hope, from whom it seems the cottages  took  the  name  by  which they were known until recently. At the time of Elizabeth's death this cottage was the home of Robert Tarrant. The other cottage, in which Elizabeth herself had been living, she left to her kinsman, Robert Wilkins, and his wife and son, for their lives. To Anne Hope she also left a green iron bedstead and her furniture: to Anne Hope and Mary Wilkins together she left the rest of her goods and chattels.

Even before the Bull's Head had closed its doors another alehouse had opened in the village. This was the Three Horseshoes.  Exactly when it received its first licence is unknown but, like the Bull's Head, it is recorded in the Victuallers' Recognizances of 1753. The house itself was built sometime   before 1705 when it was purchased by Joseph Johnson, yeoman of Eton Wick, from John and Mary Bell. It is intriguing to speculate which of these two inns was the first in the village, though it is possible that neither was as is suggested by an isolated reference in the parish registers to 'The Small Fox' at Eton Wick. Perhaps the village simply could not support two inns.

Entries from the Vituallers’ Recognizances, 1753

In spite of being built within a short time of each other, these three houses were very different. The Three Horseshoes still retains its original L-shape though much alteration has taken place and only a very small area of the pleasant red and blue brickwork that was so popular in this part of the country can still be seen. Its first-floor windows are probably original. Wheatbutts was built as a substantial small cottage with two rooms on each floor and the dormer windows made it possible for the roof space to be used as an attic.  The front of the house is of brick with a symmetrical arrangement of door and windows which was then fashionable, but the back displayed a timber-frame. The closely spaced, vertical studs until recently could still be seen within the house though countless layers of whitewash and plaster had disguised their thickness. Hope Cottage was rather larger with four rooms on each floor but with no attic. It had a central chimney, and during alterations the huge beam above the fireplace in no. 37 and a bread oven to one side were revealed.  Originally there was also probably a symmetrical arrangement of door and windows and a centrally placed staircase, but when the cottage was divided the window which had lighted the stairs was blocked and new doorways must have been made. Sadly none of the eighteenth century brickwork can now be seen on the exterior of these cottages, for they and the adjoining nineteenth century ones have been encased in a twentieth century brick shell. Inside much of the original construction still remains   including a low doorway in one of the bedrooms of no. 37 which is thought to have once led from William Griffith's own cottage to the room above the alehouse.

Various deeds show clearly that both Wheatbutts and Hope Cottages were built on land that had once been part of Wick Farm. This farm can almost certainly be identified with Dairy Farm in Common Road. How old the present farmhouse is, or whether it is the first on this site, has not been established but since it is entirely brick-built it is likely to b6 after 1650. The oldest deed known is dated 1704, but refers back to previous owners so that the house is likely to be seventeenth century.   In 1704 the farm consisted of five closes of arable and pasture land and sixteen strips dispersed in North Field, the Hyde and Waterslades, making forty acres in all. Within a few decades, however, it had been reduced to a mere seventeen acres.  The greater part of the land had been lost to other farms. In 1776 the remaining acres were bought by Mary Woolhouse and added to Bell Farm.  The Woolhouse family in fact acquired several properties including Long Close house, other cottages by Little Common and the house built on part of Nut Close, now demolished, but replaced by Eton Cottage. 

Of the other houses shown on the 1797 map nothing is known at all about those that stood  between Harding's Cottage and Sheepcote.  On the other hand Ye Olde Cottage, which stood next to Hope Cottage, was not demolished until 1951 and the description and photograph of it suggest it was also built in the eighteenth century. Like Wheatbutts it had a large projecting chimney and stood with its back to the common. This is curious, for the gardens all stretched as far as the Eton Wick Road, though at this date it was still within the South Field and perhaps not yet the main road of the village.  The only other house built at this date was Manor Farmhouse.

This is an extract from The Story of a Village: Eton Wick 1217 to 1977 by Judith Hunter. 

A VIEW OF FRANK-PLEDGE WITH THE GENERAL COURT BARON 2nd June 1908

NAMES OF THE JURORS. 

Mr. EDWARD COMPTON AUSTEN LEIGH, Foreman. Mr. HENRY BUNCE, Mr. EDWARD LITTLETON VAUGHAN, Mr. ALEXANDER CHARLES TUTT, Mr. SIDNEY EVANS, Mr. FREDERICK JOHN LOVELL, Mr. GEORGE GOSLING, Mr. ROWLAND BOND, Mr. CECIL HOWLETT, Mr. WILLIAM ELKINS, Mr. HENRY CALTHROP HOLLWAY CALTHROP, Mr. HENRY POWELL. 

The PRESENTMENTS and ORDERS following were taken, confirmed, and established, as well by the said Lord, as also by the consent of the Freeholders and Tenants of the said Manor, with the advice of the said Steward as follows :— 

The Jurors present that Mr. JAMES TARRANT be continued Bailiff of the said Manor. 

They present that Mr. WILLIAM MIDDLETON be Hayward of this Manor. 

The Jurors present that the railings round the Cricket pitch on the Great Common be allowed to remain as well at the will of the Lord of the Manor as of the Freeholders and Tenants of the Common. 

The PRESENTMENTS and ORDERS for the GREAT and LITTLE COMMONS, for the stint and rate of Cattle to be kept and depastured there from the First day of May, until the First day of August, and for the rate and stint of Beasts and Sheep on the Lammas Grounds, Common Fields and Commons to be kept and depastured from the First day of August to the Thirty-first day of October, and for the regulation and good management of the Commons, Lammas Grounds and Common Fields of the said Manor throughout the year made at a view of Frank-pledge with the General Court Baron, held in and for the said Manor, on Monday the Sixth clay of March, 1871, then in force were confirmed. END OF COURT.  

Below will be found a copy of the Presentments and Orders made on the Sixth day of March, 1871:

PRESENTMENTS and ORDERS for the GREAT and LITTLE COMMONS, for the stint and rate of Cattle to be kept and depastured there, 5 from the First day of May, the. time of opening the Common, until the First day Of August, viz.:— 

I. The Jurors present and order—That no Cattle shall be turned upon the Great or Little Commons, until after Six o'clock in the Evening of the First day of May in every year.

II. They present and order—That no Freeholder, Farmer, or Tenant, hath or shall have a right to keep or feed on the said Common, but after the rate of one Beast for every five acres of land ; but if any Freeholder, Farmer, or Tenant, shall have three odd acres, then one Beast for the three odd acres which is to extend to a person having three acres only ; and likewise after the rate of one Sheep for every acre he holds : and that no Townsman, Cottager, or Resident Farmer, for or in respect of his house, hath or shall have faring or Common for more than one Beast, upon pain for every offence, after notice given of Ten Shillings to the Lord of this Manor ; and Sixpence per head to the Hayward for all above that number when Pounded : and that no person shall have a right to turn out on the said Commons any Cattle, unless such Cattle shall be his or her own property, and actually kept and used by him or her under the like penalties. 6 III. They present and order--That no Freeholder, Farmer, or Tenant, Townsman, or Cottager, bath or shall have a right to let any faring on the said Commons, from the opening of the Commons until the 1st of August, under the penalty, for every offence, of Ten Shillings to the Lord of this Manor, and One Shilling per head to the Hayward when Pounded. 

Ty. They present and order—That no Townsman, Cottager, or Resident Farmer paying rates for more than one house shall have a right to turn more than one head of Cattle on the said Commons, until after the First of August.

PRESENTMENTS and ORDERS for the rate and stint of Beasts and Sheep in the LAMMAS GROUNDS, COMMON FIELDS, and COMMONS, in the said Manor, to be kept and depastured from the First of August, to the Thirty-first of October, in manner and form, and under such penalties as hereinafter follow, viz.:—

I. The Jurors present and order—That every Freeholder and Tenant shall have a right, for every acre of his land, to keep one Sheep, and for every five acres, one Beast; and if any one of the said Freeholders or Tenants, shall have three odd acres, then one Beast for the said three odd acres; which is to extend to a person having three acres only.

II. They present and order—That if the Freeholders or Tenants aforesaid do keep any Cattle, Sheep, Horse, Oxen, or Kine, after notice thereof given by any Freeholder, Farmer, or Tenant of the Manor, or by the Bailiff or Hayward of the said Manor, contrary to the stint and rate herein expressed, then they and every of them shall forfeit every time they shall so offend, after warning given, Twenty Shillings to the Lord of this Manor, and One Shilling per head to the Hayward when Pounded.

III. It is presented and ordered by the same Court—That no Householder or Cottager within the said Town or Manor, hath a right to keep, or shall keep, above two Beasts, whereof one of them may be hired, upon the Commons, Lammas Ground, or Common Field, after the First day of August, upon pain for every Cow, or other Beast so to be kept contrary to the said order, of Ten Shillings to the Lord of this Manor, and One Shilling to the Hayward when Pounded, after warning once given.

IV. It is presented and ordered—That no Tenant or Inhabitant within the said Manor, that hath any ground, shall let his, her, or their Common Right in the Commons, Lammas Grounds, or Common Fields, unless it be to his neighbour dwelling in the said Parish, upon pain of Forty Shillings to the Lord of this Manor, for every time so offending.

V. It is presented and ordered—That no Farmer or other person shall let his or their Common for Sheep to any persons but those that have right of Common for Sheep by their land, upon pain of forfeiting to the Lord of this Manor, for every Sheep so taken, One Shilling, and to the Hayward for his pains, Fourpence for every such Sheep.

VI. It is presented and ordered—That no Householder or Cottager shall common in the said Fields until the First of August, but upon leave from the Owners thereof; under the penalty of Forty Shillings to the Lord of this Manor, and One Shilling per head for Cattle, and Twopence per head for Sheep, to the Hayward, when Pounded.

VII. It is presented and ordered—That no Inhabitant or Dweller within the said Manor, shall graze, feed, or keep their Cattle upon any of the lanes or paths, within any of the' Fields Within the Manor aforesaid, upon pain for every time they shall be so taken, after notice given, of Five Shillings to the Lord of this Manor, and One Shilling per head for Horses and Cows, or other Cattle, and Twopence per head for Sheep to the Hayward, when Pounded.

VIII. It is presented and ordered—That every Farmer and other person, shall take their Sheep out of the Common Fields on the First of November, under the penalty of One Shilling per head to the Lord of this Manor, and Fourpence per head to the Hayward, when Pounded.

IX. It is ordered—That no person do turn any Sheep (except 12 Cribbers for the Manor Farm) on the Great Common, till Twelfth of December St. Andrew's Tide, Old Style, under the penalty of One Shilling per head to the Lord of this Manor, and Fourpence to the Hayward, when Pounded.

X. It is ordered—That no Farmer or other keep any Sheep upon the Common Meads, except the Hide and Water Slade, from the First of August until Michaelmas Day, Twenty-ninth of September, upon forfeiture, for every Sheep kept to the contrary, of One Shilling to the Lord of this Manor, and Fourpence to the Hayward ; and also to take out their other Cattle from the said Fields by All Saints, First of November, upon pain of forfeiting, for every Beast, of One Shilling to the Lord of this Manor, and Fourpence to the Hayward ; and also to take out their other Cattle from the said Fields by All Saints, First of November, upon pain of forfeiting, for every Beast, One Shilling to the Lord of this Manor, and Fourpence to the Hayward, when Pounded.

XI It is presented and ordered—That no Owner, Townsman, or Cottager in this Manor, shall have a right to Hogs or Pigs into the Commons, Common Grounds, within this Manor (except he, she, or turn more than Two Fields, or Lammas they, shall not turn on a Beast, and then to be allowed to turn on Four Hogs or Pigs) ; and that every Owner or Renter of five acres of land shall not have a right to turn in more than One Hog or Pig, and so after that rate ; and that all such Hogs or Pigs shall be rung before they are turned out, on pain of forfeiting Two Shillings per head to the Lord of this Manor, and Sixpence per head to the Hayward, for every Hog or Pig so turned out, above the rate aforesaid ; and for every Hog or Pig so turned out without being rung, as often as they shall be Pounded.

XII. It is presented and ordered also—That no Hogs or Pigs be turned into the Corn Fields until all the Harvest shall be got in, under the penalty of Two Shillings per head to the Lord of this Manor; and that no person shall suffer their Hogs or Pigs to run in the streets or lanes of this Manor without a keeper, upon pain of forfeiting One Shilling to the Hayward, when every such Hog or Pig shall be Pounded by him.

XIII. It is presented and ordered—That every Tenant, for his part and proportion against his land, shall well and sufficiently make and scour the Ditches about the said Commons, in every place where need requires, within the said Manor or Lordship, before the feast of St. Andrew the Apostle, Thirtieth of November ; upon pain of forfeiting to the Lord of this said Manor, for every Pole not sufficiently done, Four Shillings ; and thenceforth to keep and maintain the said Commons with sufficient Hedges and Ditches from time to time, as often as shall be needful, upon the like pain for every time so offending as aforesaid ; and yearly after to be made sufficiently secure by All Saint's Day, First of November, upon the like pain of Four Shillings for every Pole so neglected.

XIV. It is presented and ordered—That all out-fences of the parish be kept by those that are Occupiers of those Lands, as well after Lammas as before for the preservation of the Corn; upon pain of forfeiture for every time, after notice given, of Five Shillings to the Lord of the Manor.

XV. It is presented and ordered—That no Inhabitant within the said Parish take in any Beast of any Foreigner, on pretence of bringing them for his own, to defraud his neighbours ; upon pain of forfeiting for every Beast so taken, Forty Shillings to the Lord of this Manor: and also every Inhabitant to set the Initials of his own name on his Beasts, that the Hayward may take notice to whom the Beasts belong ; upon pain of forfeiting, for every time, after notice given, Five
Shillings to the Hayward when Pounded.

XVI. It is ordered—That the Farmers be allowed to sow Five acres of Turnips for every Twenty Acres they hold, they keeping sufficient Fence.

XVII. It is ordered—That all in-ground be excluded, in Lammas or Common Land, from a right of Common, and that no person holding them shall have right of Common or Lammas for the same.

PRESENTMENTS and ORDERS for the Regulation and good Management of the COMMONS, LAMMAS GROUNDS, and COMMON FIELDS of the said Manor, throughout the Year.

I. The Jurors present and order—That any person, who does not pay Parish Duties, in the Parish of ETON and Manor aforesaid, and who is not clear on the books, hath, or shall have any right to Common on the Commons, Lammas Grounds, or Common Fields, in the said Manor.

II. They present and order—That no person having right of Common on the said Common, Lammas Grounds, or Common Fields, of the said Manor, hath, or shall have a right to rent more than One head of Cattle or Faring from his neighbour (except Sheep), under the penalty for every time so offending of Twenty Shillings to the Lord of this Manor.

III. They present and order—That all Farmers as well as Inhabitants of the said Manor, shall make the Hayward the keeper of their Cattle, and shall pay Sixpence for every Beast at the time of putting such Beast into the Commons, Lammas Grounds, or Common Fields, and Fourpence per head per week afterwards, as long as they shall be kept in the Commons, Lammas Grounds, or Common Fields, of this Manor : and that the Cattle be marked with the initial of the Owner before put in.
ur The Hayward is desired not to remove the Cattle from the Lammas Grounds into the Commons, until the dusk of the Evening.

IV. It is ordered—That no Geese be kept at any time hereafter upon the Commons, Lammas Grounds, and Common Fields, aforesaid, upon pain for every Goose or Gander there kept to the contrary, after notice thereof once given, of Five Shillings to the Lord of this Manor, and Fourpence to the Hayward, when Pounded.

V. It is ordered—That no person be allowed to drive Sheep through the Commons, from the gate at the Lower end of the Common to the Upper end, and from the Upper end to the Lower end; and that they take no more time than necessary in driving them across at the Upper and Lower end of the Common, under the Penalty of Forty Shillings to the Lord of this Manor, and Five Shillings to the Hayward, for every offence.

VI. It is ordered—That no person shall drive his Waggon, Cart, or any other vehicle from the Upper end of the Common to the Lower end, nor from the Lower end of the Common to the Upper end, upon forfeiture, for every time so Offending of Ten Shillings to the Lord of this Manor, and One Shilling to the Hayward.

VII. That no person shall be at liberty .to change their Cattle turned into the Commons, Lammas Grounds, or Common Fields, of this Manor, above once in every 48 hours, under the penalty of Twenty Shillings per head to the Lord of this Manor, and One Shilling per head to the Hayward.

VIII. That no person shall be at liberty to turn into the Commons, Lammas Grounds, or Common Fields of this Manor, any Stone-Horse, Rigg, Bull, or Ox, under the penalty of Twenty Shillings per head to the Lord of this Manor, and One Shilling per head to the Hayward when Pounded; nor any Distempered Cattle, under the penalty of Five Pounds per head to the Lord of this Manor, and Five Shillings per head to the Hayward.

IX. That no person shall suffer their Sheep to feed on the young clover, under the penalty of Sixpence per head to the Lord of this Manor, and Twopence per head to the Hayward, when Pounded.

X. The Jurors present—That no person or persons shall build fence, ditch, or do any act whatsoever, which shall be obstructive to the Cattle grazing on the Common, Lammas Lands, or Common Fields in the said Manor, or be otherwise detrimental to the Commonable rights and privileges of the Lord and the Commoners of the said Manor under penalty of Forty Shillings to the Lord of the Manor for each offence,

XI. It is ordered—That the Bailiff shall have the power to suspend the Hayward in his office, for neglect of duty, or for any improper conduct connected therewith. But the Bailiff shall, within six days after the charge or charges are laid, convene the Jury, who shall be eligible to appoint a new Hayward, if they consider such course necessary.

XII. It is further agreed and ordered—That the Steward of this Court may alter matters of form in these Presentments and Orders, not altering matters of substance.

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The Frank-Pledge has a history dating back to King Canute in the 11th century. Read more about its history here.

General Court Baron has a history going back to feudal times. Read more about its history here.

Trades men and women of Eton Wick in 1887 & 1897

Businesses operating in Eton Wick in 1887
Arthur Bennett		Shop keeper
Henry Elkins		Carpenter
John Langridge		Farmer
Thomas Lovell		Baker and Post Office
Charles Nottage		Dairyman
Henry Powell		Dairyman
Frederick Smith		Farmer
William Stacey		Beer Retailer
James Tarrant		Farmer
Mrs Trotman		Laundress
William Underwood		Publican Three Horseshoes
Businesses operating in Eton Wick in 1897
Charles Ayres		Shopkeeper
James Ayres		Market Gardener
William Cartwright		Builder
Edward Collins		Dairyman
John Cottrell		Florist
Mrs Isacc Crabb		Shopkeeper
Henry Elkins		Carpenter & Smith
Edward Ellwood		Plumber & Beer Retailer
William Hanns		Builder
Mrs Georgina Haverly		Laundress
Thomas Henry		Boot & Shoe Maker
George Howell		Cabinet Maker
Mrs Teresa Lanfier		Laundress
John Langridge		Farmer
William Langridge		Carman
Frederick Lovell		Draper & Boot Dealer
Thomas Lovell		Baker & Grocer, Post Office
William Middleton		Shopkeeper
Sarah Ann Miles		Laundress

Haymaking at Eton Wick

'Haymakers at tea Eton Wick' 1894 

This photograph is used by kind permission of the Leicestershire Records Office and is precisely entitled and dated by the photographer, artist George Henton. It is almost certainly taken in South Field, north of Chinese Bridge. Note the heavy boots and variety of caps and felt hats.

The photographs below show the changes to farm technology when horses gave way to tractors.

MR CYRIL TARRANT - Farming and other memories

James Tarrant became the tenant of Saddocks Farm in 1894, the year of the big flood, and Manor Farm in 1906. In those days Manor Farm was owned by William Dugdale Stuart, the Lord of the Manor. His affairs were managed by his agents, Watney & Sons, a London firm and Saddocks was owned by the Crown.

A flock of sheep were kept up to about the early 1920's - hurdle sheep, that are kept in pens by wooden hurdles and given a fresh pen every day over roots grown especially for them. The ground would be ploughed up as soon as one strip had been fed off by the sheep and pressed by a three-wheeled press, then sown by hand.

During the First War the Army would purchase hayricks compulsorily. They appeared to have some sort of a baler as they had a rick at Manor Farm which they baled or pressed into trusses. Bob Blake, whose parents lived in Hope Cottage, lived in a caravan at Manor Farm later on in the War and for a while afterwards. George Prior, known as 'Tichy', lived in the cottage with his family up to the time when the South View houses were built, he was the first tenant in one of those.

In those days the Common was not fenced, the roads leading off the Common had to be gated and there was a large number of horses besides cattle on it then, and often the horses decided to change from one Common to the other. When they came along the road and into the lane to the Little Common at the gallop on a dark evening, one had to get out of the way a bit sharp. It was dark as there was no street lighting anywhere around then.

Long Close, where the Motor Museum is now at the bottom of Little Common, was occupied by Edward Quarterman and his wife as a pig farm, up to sometime before the Second World War They were quite old, and it was very isolated, no road, no 'phone, no electricity or gas, in fact there is no gas even now.

Also on Little Common in the old days, there were three cottages; the tenants were the Hester's, Pither's and Wilcox families. They must have been very old cottages when they were pulled down and the tiles removed, they had been thatched previously.

All the ponds have been filled in now; they provided excellent Winter sport in the old days. There was also a large one outside Manor Farm which spread into Saddocks Meadow, and one in Saddocks Yard.

These ponds attracted quite a few youngsters, and older ones from the village, when frozen over and a lot of fun was enjoyed in the way of slides, skating and ice hockey with a tin can for a ball, which was not very pleasant when someone got hit on the side of the ear with a can.

There was the game of 'dicky-night - show your light' in one of the meadows on dark evenings.

On the Common there was usually football going on, with coats for goal posts; lots of players had hobnail boots which were very harsh on the shins. No vandalism in those days to speak of - a bit of mischief "yes". Then there was Major Morrel and his team who spent their Sunday mornings ratting with their ferrets which went a long way to keeping the rat population down. Pigeon shoots on Boxing Day were held for some time after the First War (with live birds not clay) but died out, rabbiting taking its place for a while.

Eton Wick Cricket Club started up again just after the First War, having been played on the Common before the War. This time they played in Saddocks meadow, their secretary being Mr Percy, senior.

A familiar sight between the Wars on the Slough & Windsor Railway was the Chalvey Matchbox driven by Bill Percy for quite a time until he was driving in and out of Paddington. The line was quite busy in those days, having through trains from Paddington to Windsor and Special Day trips from further afield; the line runs through North Field on its eastern side.

Another article  about Cyril Tarrant can be see here....