Introduction
Although his smallholding could not fully support him, motor transport enabled Stanley to remain at Hardington Moor while combining farming with haulage and later, local authority work.
Early years
Stanley was born on 21 October 1905 at Hardington Mandeville, the third of seven children born to Archibald Abraham Partridge and his wife, Ellen Jane (née Sansom).[1] The family initially lived in North Lane, but moved to the High Street in about 1909.[2] His father started as a baker before becoming a dealer. Financial difficulties led him to apply for an administration order in January 1908.[3] Despite this setback, he managed to rebuild his affairs and later rented a cottage and about seventeen acres of land at Hardington Moor from the Portman estate. He purchased this property as the sitting tenant in the estate sale of October 1920.[4] By 1921, Stanley was assisting his father on the smallholding.
Marriage and family life
In 1927, Stanley married Mona Cynthia Isabel Bessie Baker of West Coker. Her father, Albert Israel Baker, was born at West Coker but moved to Maiden Bradley in Wiltshire to work as a wheelwright. He married Elenette Lavinia Grey in 1906, and they had four children before relocating to West Coker between 1914 and 1921.
Stanley and Mona had three children: Cynthia Olive Iris Gwendoline, born in 1927; Phillip Bartrup Stanley, born in 1932; and Angela Phyllis, born in 1934.
Road incidents
In December 1934, Stanley hired Reg Smith of West Coker to drive him to Bristol. On the return journey, their car hit another car at a crossroads near Shepton Mallett. This accident led to a court case the following May, at which Stanley gave evidence. A local newspaper described him as a haulage contractor and reported that he began his testimony by saying he would try to speak clearly but he “had his teeth out.”[5]
Later that year, Mona’s mother suffered fatal injuries after falling while stepping down from a bus in West Coker Square as it was reversing.[6] Her father continued to live at West Coker, passing away in 1958 and leaving an estate valued at £1,572 5s 10d.
Later life
By 1939, Stanley was a council worker and land worker. By then, he and his family lived in a bungalow that he had built on his land. Mona’s younger brother, Israel Ernest Edwin Baker, lived with the family while working as a grocery delivery driver. He married Besse Taylor of Partway House, Hardington, the following year.
During the Second World War, Stanley constructed an underground air-raid shelter at the entrance to his bungalow, which remained in place in the 1970s.
After the war, he advertised several instruments for sale in the local newspaper: a harmonium in May 1946, an accordion and piano in August 1947, and an iron-framed piano by Luckmore in May 1950.[7]
Mona died in 1975 at the age of sixty-eight. Stanley survived her by ten years, passing away on 4 October 1985 at the age of eighty.
Conclusion
Stanley’s life illustrates how many smallholders adapted during the twentieth century by combining agriculture with other employment. Although the family holding alone could not provide a full livelihood, he remained at Hardington Moor throughout his life while adjusting to changing economic circumstances.
References
[1] Civil registration birth index; 1929 Register; family reconstitution.
[2] Hardington Mandeville voters’ lists.
[3] Western Chronicle, 10 January 1908, p.5.
[4] Eddy Colin Turner’s copy of the estate sale catalogue.
[5] Shepton Mallett Journal, 10 May 1935, p.8.
[6] Langport & Somerton Herald, 21 December 1935, p.6.
[7] Western Gazette, 3 May 1946, p.4; 1 August 1947, p.5; 10 February 1950, p.7.