Introduction
Charley Crabb was the tenant of Cowcroft Farm, Hardington, from 1934 to his death in 1941, after which he was succeeded by his son, Harold. This study examines Charley’s working-class origins in the Taunton area and explains how he came to move to South Somerset and take up farming.
Childhood
Charley was born on 21 February 1875, at Thornfalcon, the son of Samuel and Mary Crabb. His birth was registered under the name “Charley,” and his name was not a later contraction of “Charles.”
Charley’s family history over the eighty years before his birth was deeply rooted in the rural area east of Taunton. His paternal grandfather, James Crabb, was born at Beercrocombe, while his maternal grandfather, Abraham Wemridge, at Ashill. James worked as a labourer, whereas Abraham was a stone mason who left a will and personal effects valued at “under £20” upon his death in 1854.
Charley’s father, Samuel, was also a labourer. After losing his father at around the age of ten, Samuel later worked in Taunton, where he met Mary Wembridge, who lived in East Reach, a major road in the town. They initially settled at Kenny, Ashill, where Mary had grown up, and later moved to Thornfalcon and then to Staple Fitzpaine. They had seven children, with Charley being the youngest. The sixth child, Edwin, died at the age of two.
During the late 1860s, Samuel and Mary were chronically short of money and deep in debt. In July 1868, a Taunton draper sued Samuel to recover 3s 9d. and in October 1868, his landlord sued him to recover £1 11s in unpaid rent.[1] By July 1869, the amount owed to the draper had grown to 10s 9d and to the landlord £2 2s. The court ordered Samuel to pay 2s a month towards each debt.[2] The rent arrears may have led the family to move to Church Square, Thornfalcon, by April 1871.
By April 1881, the family lived at Ash Cottage, in the same parish. The three sons—Walter Samuel, Alfred, and Charley—still lived at home, while the three daughters—Ellen Jane, Louisa Ann and Bessie—were working away in domestic service. Ellen died in 1884, and Louisa in 1902. Bessie was the only one of the three to marry.
By April 1891, the family had moved to Staple Farm Cottage, Staple Fitzpaine, where Charley and his brother Alfred worked as farm labourers. Walter John, their other brother, was a bus driver in Berkeley, Gloucestershire. In 1894, Samuel Crabb died at the age of 66.
Early married life
In his early twenties, Charley worked as a carter at Stoke St Mary, a parish about three miles from Taunton. While living there, he met Sarah Jane Sutton, the daughter of a labourer, and they married at the parish church on 15 July 1897.
The couple settled in Taunton, where Charley worked as a builder’s carter. In November 1897, they lived at Cottage Row, and by March 1901, they had moved to 2 String Lane, near the Tramway Depot. Their first child, Percy Reginald, was born in 1897, followed by Beatrice Ellen in 1902 and Harold Alfred in 1904. Beatrice Ellen died in 1903 at the age of one.
Charley’s mother, Mary, remained part of his household until her death in 1924, suggesting strong family ties. Initially, Charley’s brother, Walter, also lived with him, but he died in 1902. Walter had his own market gardening business, which Charley may have briefly taken over since the Taunton St James baptism register described him as a market gardener in November 1904. However, by April 1911, Charley had returned to his work as a builder’s carter. At that time, he lived in a four-room house at 80 South Street.
First World War
During the First World War, Percy joined the 6th Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry, possibly as a result of the conscription introduced in January 1916. He was killed in France on 11 December 1917, at the age of twenty, and is commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial and the Taunton war memorial. Two years later, his family inserted an In Memoriam notice in a local newspaper expressing their undiminished love for him.[3]
Charley received Percy’s backpay of £10 3s 2d along with a war gratuity of £5.[4] Although tinged with sad associations, this was a useful sum for a working-class family, perhaps equivalent to two months’ wages.
Yeovil
The next phase of Charley’s life was probably influenced by his brother, Alfred, who lived in Yeovil. Alfred moved there in the 1890s and married Glenny Gambling at the Wesleyan Chapel on 19 December 1899.[5] They lived at 1 Crofton Road and later at 43 Goldcroft Road. After initially running a greengrocer’s business, Alfred changed to market gardening, possibly funded by an inheritance from Glenny’s mother, who died in 1911, leaving an estate valued at £97 13s 1d.[6]
Following Percy’s death, Charley may have decided to move nearer to Alfred. By June 1921, Charley, Sarah and their son, Harold, lived at Mudford, where Charley worked as a farm labourer for R B Taylor (probably Richard Bulpin Taylor, the auctioneer), while Harold assisted Alfred in his market gardening business at Mudford.
Alfred’s death on 14 March 1929 removed a significant figure from Charley’s network. Alfred had prospered in his business, leaving an estate valued at £653 9s 5d; however, none of his sons wanted to continue it.[7]
In the same year, Harold married Ida Kathleen Eason, the daughter of a farm labourer. They had three sons: Kenneth Charles in 1929, Reginald John in 1931 and Thomas Victor in 1945.
Hardington
On 30 October 1934, W. Palmer & Co. conducted a sale of live and dead farming stock at Cowcroft Farm, Hardington, for Mr A. H. Pitt, who had let the farm.[8] Charley probably moved to the farm at that time and ran it with Harold, who may in fact have been the main instigator. It was a significant venture for both men, which probably required pooled resources.
Knowledge of their time at the farm is limited. The Hardington school admissions register includes Harold’s older sons, Kenneth and Reginald. The 1939 Register recorded Charley as a dairy farmer, assisted by Harold. Also living there at that time was Arthur George Thomas Richards, a thirteen-year-old schoolboy who was probably an evacuee from London.
Charley died on 25 April 1941 at the age of 66, leaving an estate valued at £299 8s 11d.[9] Following Charley’s death, Harold continued at the farm for eight more years, finally quitting at the age of 44. His farm sale on 28 April 1949 included a herd of 23 dairy cows, store pigs and about 120 head of poultry.[10] Mr Goodland was living at the farm by June 1949.[11]
Ilfracombe
After leaving Hardington, Harold moved to North Devon. His mother died in 1967, his wife died in 1970, and he died intestate in 1980, leaving an estate valued at £876. His last address was 48 Chambercombe Road, Ilfracombe.
References
[1] Taunton Courier and Western Advertiser, 22 July 1868, p.5; Nowlen’s Weekly Chronicle, 25 July 1868, p.5; Western Gazette, 23 October 1868, p.5.
[2] Western Gazette, 23 July 1869, p.6.
[3] Devon and Somerset News, 18 December 1919, p.8.
[4] Army Registers of Soldiers’ Effects, 1901-1929
[5] Weymouth Telegram, 19 December 1899, p.1.
[6] National Probate Calendar.
[7] National Probate Calendar.
[8] Western Gazette 5 October 1934 p. 2.
[9] National Probate Calendar.
[10] Western Gazette 8 April 1949, p.1; 6 May 1949, p. 9.
[11] Western Gazette 17 June 1949 p. 7.
