Allotments

Thanks to the hard work of a few individuals we have allotments once more in Stoke, but how did they arise? They have provided space for people to grow their own fruit & veg since Mediaeval times. Allotments can vary in size but the most common is ten rods or poles, which is an old Anglo-Saxon measurement roughly equal to 250 square metres. They originated as part of the open field system, where large fields (Dunfield, Stoke Field and Sharpham field in Stoke, for example) were divided into strips and allocated to different villagers. As enclosure took place and more men were forced into the labour market, more enlightened landlords allotted small areas to their workers to grow their own food, even if it meant lower wages.

Allotments as we know them today arose from the General Enclosure Act of 1845 that made provision for ‘field gardens’ to be used by the landless poor—although very little enclosed land was actually set aside for this purpose. The later ‘Small Holdings and Allotments Act’ of 1907 and 1908 imposed responsibilities on councils to provide allotments if there was a demand for them.

The two world wars and the ‘Dig for Victory’ campaign were important factors in keeping the allotment movement going, but there was then a steady decline (despite ‘The Good Life’ series on TV!). However, since the 1990s there has been a growing interest in ‘grow your own’ and of course we now have allotments again in Stoke thanks to the hard work of a few individuals.

By the early 20th century there were allotments in Stathe, Stanmoor, Curload, as seen in the OS maps and the modern aerial views below:

Stathe Allotments

Stanmoor Allotments

Curload Allotments

There were also allotments at Woodhill, in the middle of the three fields if you walk from Pound Drove to Ivy Villa Farm. This was the subject of a heated debate carried out by Gilbert Musgrave and Edmund Boobyer in the columns of the Taunton Courier. It was about whether the poor crops being obtained by some allotment holders were the result of poor land or bad husbandry. Here is the final episode from Mr Boobyer in November 1908:

"To sum up Mr Musgrave’s letter:- Firstly he takes no notice of Mr Baker’s verbal report as official; he contradicts that by taking Mr Bobbett’s verbal answer as official for retaining the field for 14 years longer. Secondly, he is anxious to know who only produced two bags of potatoes; he says he saw them dying away in June himself. Thirdly he tells us to name those bad managers, so anxious is he to thrash it out. Fourthly, he tells us that it was the dry weather that caused the weeds to grow and the crops to die away, and some have to be ploughed out, while another man, only 25 yards apart in the same field has his plot clean and produced after the rate of 100 bags per acre. Fifthly, he tells us compensation is due to those good managers for carrying out what the Parish Council agreed to do in the lease. And all this from Mr Musgrave, who has never farmed an acre of land in his life. - Yours truly, EDMUND BOOBYER, Lees Farm, Stoke St Gregory, Nov 10th"

But Mr Musgrave had the last word:

"To the Editor

SIR -- Thank you for the courtesy extended to me. I will be brief in my reply, for your space and my time are too valuable to spend on such nonsense as that which has the name of Edmund Boobyer appended to it in your last issue. There is nothing in the whole harangue to call for a reply. But the public will make no mistake in their verdict upon an individual who makes glaring charges against others, and who cannot, or is too big a coward, or ashamed, to come forward and prove his statements and face the men he has insulted. Will Mr Boobyer do this or apologise, like an Englishman? I heartily congratulate you, Mr Editor, in closing the columns of your valuable paper to any more of this childish nonsense, -- I am, yours faithfully, G. MUSGRAVE Curland, Stoke St Gregory, Nov 18th 1908

[This correspondence is now closed -- Ed.]"

Woodhill Allotments