Introduction
This is a short biography of Francis Wyatt, a tenant farmer. who occupied farms successively in Knowle St Giles, Hardington Mandeville, Montacute, Stoford, Mells, Frome and West Milton. It will focus on the size and nature of his farms, his financial position, his family relationships and his contribution to parish affairs and local government. A guiding theme is to explore what prompted him to move from one farm to another when he did, although the available evidence only permits limited and circumstantial answers.
1. YOUTH 1851-1876
Childhood
Francis was born at Purtington Farm, Winsham, on 10 April 1851, the ninth of fourteen children born to John and Caroline Wyatt.[1]
John Wyatt, Francis’s father, was the tenant of Purtington Farm from the early 1840s until his death on 17 November 1891. The farm was part of the Cricket St Thomas estate, which, during John’s tenancy, belonged to the 2nd Baron Bridport and his successor, the 1st Viscount Bridport.
The farm had an outstanding reputation for its sheep. John Wyatt began his flock of Dorset Horn sheep with carefully selected ewes and grew it to a size of a thousand.[2]
The farm expanded from 320 acres in 1851 to 486 in 1881. By 1876, it was the largest farm on Lord Bridport’s estate, and John enjoyed the distinction of serving as the vice-chair at the rent audit dinner presided over by Lord Bridport’s steward.[3]
Lord Bridport’s family treated the Wyatt family with respect. On 10 March 1882, Viscountess Bridport and Hon. Miss Hood presented Francis’s sister, Caroline, with a Georgian tea service as a gift for her upcoming marriage and in recognition of her services to the church in playing the harmonium. Caroline’s father, John, attended the presentation at Cricket St Thomas House and, in a short speech, referred to the many kindnesses he had received from the noble family during his long tenancy and called the gift to his daughter the greatest honour he had ever experienced.[4]
When Francis was six years old, the Wyatt family suffered a terrible misfortune. While his father was away at Chard Fair, his mother did some baking. The chimney caught fire and destroyed the farmhouse. Although the building and its contents were insured, the physical upheaval and psychological impact must have been considerable.[5]
John’s children inherited his love of farming. His seven sons became farmers, and his four daughters married farmers. One daughter, Julia, even farmed in her own right after her husband’s death.
Marriage
On 18 May 1876, Francis married his first cousin, Ann Hull, at Chillington parish church. At the time, Francis was 25 years old, and Ann was 27. Both signed the marriage register.[6]
Her father, Arthur Hull, farmed at Chillington until his death from heart disease on 27 October 1875.[7] He left an estate valued at “under £3,000,” which he bequeathed entirely to his wife.[8] When she died on 10 February 1880, she left a will dividing her estate between her nine children.[9] Ann may, therefore, have inherited about £330 from her mother.
2. MIDDLE YEARS 1877-1900
Knowle St Giles
From about 1877 to 1888, Francis occupied a farm at Knowle St Giles. The 1881 census recorded Francis as a farmer of 197 acres, employing five men and four boys.
Francis was elected as the parish poor law guardian every year from 1877 to 1885.[10]
On 9 June 1886, he participated in a clay pigeon shoot at an amateur sports event at Martock. He did not perform well, but his brother, Arthur, shared the top prize with another man.[11]
While at Knowle St Giles, Francis twice got into trouble with the law. On 10 January 1881, he was fined for shooting a hare and on 21 October 1887, he appeared in court at Chard for diverting a watercourse.[12]
In September 1886, Francis’s younger brother, Robert, died of heart disease at the age of 32. Francis and his brother, Richard, acted as executors of his estate.[13]
Around the time Francis moved to Knowle St Giles, his older brother, William, took on the tenancy of Netherton Farm, Closworth, succeeding George Squibb. George and his wife had briefly entertained police constables Nathaniel Cox and Henry Charles Stacey on the night Cox was killed by poachers in Netherton Lane. William remained at Netherton Farm until about 1904, and he may have told Francis about the opportunity to rent Marsh Farm, Hardington, following Francis Dawe’s death on 30 June 1887.[14]
Hardington
Francis, his wife and their five children moved to Marsh Farm, Hardington Marsh, early in 1888, probably on Lady Day.
The farm had a dairy of between 20 and 35 cows, which he advertised as available to let from January 1889. He subsequently advertised it as available to let from February 1890 and from February 1891.[15] In December 1889, he advertised for a farm bailiff or cowman and, in April 1891, for dairy managers to look after about thirty cows.[16]
The family employed a governess and a female servant to assist Ann Wyatt in the farmhouse. The governess was expected to teach the children English and music and to be generally useful.[17] For a short time, their governess was Mabel Dauncey.
Francis was actively involved in parish affairs. He was elected the parish poor law guardian in March 1889, 1891 and 1892.[18] On 4 December 1894, he chaired a meeting to elect Hardington’s first parish council.[19]
Francis’s father died on 17 November 1891, at the age of 72, leaving an estate with a net value of £7,038 0s 11d. He appointed his sons, William, Benjamin, and Francis, as his trustees. He bequeathed Park Farm, Broadwindsor and all other lands (if any) at Broadwindsor and Axmouth to his sons, Benjamin, Francis, Arthur and Richard, in equal shares as tenants in common. He left the residue of his estate to all his children equally.[20] On 27 October 1892, Francis bought sixteen ewes and twenty-six lambs in the sale at Purtington Farm.[21]
In June 1894, the Portman Estate advertised Marsh Farm as available to let from Christmas. They described it as a farm of about 550 acres, of which 130 were arable, with suitable premises and five cottages.[22]
On 22 December 1894, near the end of Francis’s tenancy, a suspicious fire occurred at the farm. The fire broke out in a large thatched barn, destroying the barn itself, ten sacks of wheat, ten hogsheads of cider, and a large amount of reed and straw. Newspapers attributed the fire to an unknown incendiary, and one noted that the property was insured.[23]
Francis held a livestock sale at Palmer’s Court Ash sale yard, Yeovil, on 11 January 1895.[24]
Montacute
On 22 April 1888, Charles Harding of the Abbey Farm, Montacute, died. He had been at the farm for twenty-five years and enjoyed an admirable reputation as a breeder of Dorset horned sheep and a grower of roots. He was also one of the principal promoters of the Yeovil Agricultural Society.[25] His widow, Martha, and two of their sons continued at the farm for six years before deciding to sell it. Their farm sales, held on 1 November,15 November, and 12 December 1894, included 242 acres of grass for feeding until 25 March 1895.[26]
Francis took the tenancy of most of the farm on 25 March 1895. However, in December 1894, he advertised a dairy of forty cows on the Abbey Farm to let from 2 February.[27] In June 1895, Ann advertised for a general servant to help her in the house.[28] That same month, the village Friendly Society visited the farm during their perambulation of the parish. Francis attended their dinner in the schoolroom and proposed the toast to “The Bishop and Clergy.”[29]
In 1899, Francis decided to leave the farm. On 15 December 1899, he sent twenty cows and ten heifers for sale at Palmer’s repository in Yeovil because he was leaving Abbey Farm.[30] His main sale occurred at the farm on 7 March 1900.[31]
Stoford
When Francis made his will on 10 September 1900, he was living at Stoford. He was still farming, as his will states that his trustees can carry on his farming business as long as they deem it expedient.[32]
3. LATER YEARS 1901-1924
Mells
In 1900, Branch Farm, Mells, became available to let. It was a large farm capable of accommodating many livestock. When the previous tenant, Robert Swanson, held his farm sale on 27 October 1900, it included a flock of about 500 Hampshire Down sheep, 61 Shorthorn dairy cattle, and four horses.[33]
Francis became the next tenant, and on 1 February 1901, he advertised for a cowman.[34]
Francis kept pigs and chickens on the farm, which he exhibited at the Frome Agricultural Show.[35] He also kept cattle (nineteen heifers strayed onto the highway in October 1901) and employed a cowman on a wage of 14 shillings a week and a carter.[36]
In April 1902, Francis exhibited a defiant streak by being the only farmer in the Frome district to ignore a notice from the Rural District Council calling on them to trim their hedges.[37] However, he quickly complied when they threatened him with legal action.[38]
Francis only stayed at Branch Farm for about two years. On 25 September 1902, he sold his livestock and implements, and on 5 February 1903, he sold eleven hay ricks.[39]
While they lived at Mells, Francis’s eldest daughter, Lucy, married William John Norton, a farmer of Cricket Malherbie. William was the stepson of Francis’s sister, Eleanor.
Frome
On 27 August 1902, the executors of Charles Harding sold Waterloo Farm, Frome, by auction. Harding had been the senior partner in the auctioneers Harding and Sons.[40] After buying the property eleven years earlier, he had spent a considerable sum adding a wing to the house, altering other buildings and landscaping the lawn, kitchen garden and orchard.[41]
The farm comprised an eight-roomed house, out offices, a garden, an orchard, and two fields of eight acres. Emanuel Panes of Down Farm, Mells, bought the farm for £1,300 and promptly advertised it to let.[42]
Although it was more a gentleman’s residence than a working farm, Francis decided to rent it. By November 1902, he and his family had moved into the farm.[43]
They only stayed there for two years. On 15 June 1904, Francis sold his growing grass of about twenty acres in five lots.[44]
Nothing is known of Francis’s whereabouts over the next three years,
Patent inventions
Francis’s son, Charles, was an inventor and businessman. In 1906, he applied for a patent related to “improvements in knife cleaners.” By January 1907, he had devised and was marketing a new trap designed to catch rats and sparrows alive.[45] He had a stand at the Frome Agricultural Show in September 1903 and September 1904, and he began a mail-order service in July 1904.[46] On 20 April 1908, he married Mabel Lucy Sticker, whose parents ran a grocery and corn merchant’s business in Whittox Lane, Frome. By the time he married, Charles had business premises at 86 Caerleon Road, Newport.[47] The 1911 census listed him as a “Picture Framer & Art Dealer & Animal Trap Manufacturer” living at 37 Cardiff Road, Newport. After the birth of his daughter, Lucy Hilda Stickler Wyatt, on 3 February 1912, he and his family moved to 18 Kingsley Road, Greenbank, Bristol.
On the first Christmas after their wedding, Charles and his wife visited his wife’s parents in Frome. While there, Charles wrote his will on Christmas Day, leaving everything to his wife, whose parents witnessed it.[48]
West Milton
In March 1907, Messrs Kitman & Trotman, solicitors of Beaminster, advertised Lynch Farm, West Milton, as available to let from 6 January 1908. The advertisement described the farm as a dairy and sheep farm of 214 acres, of which 145 were grassland and 68 were arable. It was located one and a half miles from Powerstock Station and three miles from Bridport Station. It had a “commodious Farm House and Buildings, new Dary-house and three cottages.”[49] Francis took the farm.
His stay there only lasted two years. On 21 October 1909, he held a sale of his live and dead farming stock, which included 300 sheep, 23 cattle, three young cart horses, and the grass keep of the farm until 6 January 1910.[50]
The 1911 census shows Francis living in a six-room house at West Milton with his wife and three children: Francis, May and Elsie. Francis was a farmer, and his children assisted him.
On 14 November 1907, Francis’s second son, Arthur Cuff, married Amy Clara Baber, a farmer’s daughter, at St Andrew’s Church, Mells.[51]
In 1913, his son, Francis, emigrated to Australia.[52]
By 1914, Francis’s son, Charles, was suffering from Bright’s disease. His death came suddenly and unexpectedly on 10 September while he was visiting his parents at West Milton. He died at the age of 30, leaving his wife and a two-year-old daughter.[53]
Charles’s death occurred at Court House, West Milton.[54] In October 1915, Francis advertised a five-or six-room house for rent.[55] At this point, Francis and his family may have moved to Prospect House.
By December 1915, Francis’s youngest daughter, Elsie, was working on her brother Arthur’s farm at East Harptree, five miles north of Wells. That month, the Somerset Cheese School awarded scholarships to six young women to attend the Midland Dairy College, Kingston, or the Lancashire County Council School, Preston. The scholarships were intended to train women to replace dairymen conscripted into military service. Elsie was one of the six and chose to attend the Lancashire School.[56]
On 1 November 1916, at St Mary Magdalene Church, West Milton, Francis’s daughter, Annie, married Richard Edward Mead of Knowle St Giles.[57] Richard had lived at Manor Farm, Knowle St Giles, since the 1880s, possibly taking on the farm that Francis had just vacated.
By June 1921, Frances and his wife were living alone at Prospect House, West Milton.
Death
Francis died at Prospect House on 28 November 1924, at the age of 73. His wife, Ann, died in the same house on 16 June 1928, at the age of 79.
4. Children
Francis and Ann had seven children:
Circa 1879-Francis (emigrated to Australia in 1913);
1880-Arthur Cuff (became a farmer at Proud Cross Farm, East Harptree, and Norwood Park, Glastonbury);
1882-Lucy (married William John Norton, a farmer of Cricket Malherbie);
1884-Charles (an inventor; died at the age of 30);
1886-May (became a Church Army Sister; never married);
1889-Annie (married Richard Edward Mead, a farmer of Knowle St Giles);
1892-Elsie (became a cheesemaker; never married).
References
[1] The first two children and the seventh died in infancy.
[2] Chard and Ilminster News, 22 October 1892, p.5.
[3] Chard and Ilminster News, 27 May 1876, p.2.
[4] Chard and Ilminster News, 18 March 1882, p.3.
[5] Dorset County Chronicle, 14 May 1857, p.9.
[6] The witnesses were Francis’s siblings Caroline and Benjamin, and Ann’s siblings, Henry Arthur and Lucy.
[7] Western Gazette, 5 November 1875, p.6.
[8] The will of Arthur Hull, dated 7 April 1854, proved at Taunton on 20 December 1875.
[9] The will of Elizabeth Rachel Cuff Hull, dated 5 November 1879, proved at Taunton on 1 June 1880.
[10] Chard and Ilminster News, 14 April 1877, p.2; Langport & Somerton Herald, 11 May 1878, p.5; Taunton Courier and Western Advertiser, 23 April 1879, p.7; Bristol Times and Mirror, 21 April 1880, p.3; Bridport News, 8 April 1881, p.4; Western Gazette, 7 April 1882, p.6; Bristol Times and Mirror, 3 April 1883, p.6; Western Gazette, 4 April 1884, p.6; Bristol Times and Mirror, 30 March 1885, p.6.
[11] Bridgwater Mercury, 16 June 1886, p.7.
[12] Chard and Ilminster News, 15 January 1881, p.2; 22 October 1887, p.5.
[13] Chard and Ilminster News, 11 September 1886, p.6; Probate calendar.
[14] Dorset County Chronicle, 28 June 1905, p.11.
[15] Western Gazette, 14 December 1888, p.4; 8 November 1889, p.4; 19 December 1890, p.4.
[16] Western Gazette, 6 December 1889, p.4; 17 April 1891, p.4.
[17] Western Gazette, 8 January 1892, p.4.
[18] Western Gazette, 29 March 1889, p.6; Western Chronicle, 3 April 1890, p.5; 1 April 1892, p.6.
[19] Western Gazette, 7 December 1894, p.7.
[20] The will of John Wyatt, dated 22 June 1891, proved at Taunton on 28 December 1891.
[21] Western Gazette, 28 October 1892, p.3.
[22] North Devon Journal, 28 June 1894, p.1
[23] Western Gazette, 28 December 1894, p.6; Exeter and Plymouth Gazette, 29 December 1894, p.3; Pulman’s Weekly News and Advertiser, 1 January 1895, p.5.
[24] Western Gazette, 11 January 1895, p.1.
[25] Salisbury and Winchester Journal, 5 May 1888, p.3
[26] Western Gazette, 26 October 1894, p.1; 30; Pulman’s Weekly News and Advertiser, 13 November 1894, p.1; Western Gazette, 30 November 1894, p.1.
[27] Pulman’s Weekly News and Advertiser, 11 December 1894, p.1.
[28] Western Gazette, 14 June 1895, p.4.
[29] Western Gazette, 21 June 1895, p.4; Pulman’s Weekly News and Advertiser, 25 June 1895, p.5.
[30] Western Gazette, 15 December 1899, p.1.
[31] Western Gazette, 2 March 1900, p.1.
[32] The will of Francis Wyatt, dated 10 September 1900, proved at Blandford on 6 August 1925.
[33] Somerset Standard, 26 October 1900, p.4.
[34] Western Gazette, 1 February 1901, p.4.
[35] Western Gazette, 27 September 1901, p.7
[36] Somerset Standard, 25 October 1901, p.6; 8 November 1901, p.6.
[37] Somerset Standard, 11 April 1902, p.6.
[38] Somerset Standard, 16 May 1902, p.7.
[39] Western Gazette, 12 September 1902, p.1; Somerset Standard, 30 January 1903, p.4; 6 February 1903, p.8.
[40] Somerset Standard, 13 June 1902, p.5.
[41] Somerset Standard, 22 August 1903, p.4.
[42] Somerset Standard, 29 August 1902, p.5; 29 August 1902, p.1.
[43] Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard, 29 November 1902, p.5.
[44] Somerset Standard, 10 June 1904, p.4.
[45] Western Gazette, 9 November 1906; 4 January 1907, p.9.
[46] Somerset Standard, 2 October 1903, p.6; 30 September 1904, p.6; 29 July 1904, p.1.
[47] Somerset Standard, 24 April 1908, p.8.
[48] The will of Charles Wyatt, dated 25 December 1908, proved at Bristol on 2 October 1914. The will describes him as a Picture Framer and Trap Maker of 16 River Side and 4 Corporation Road, Newport.
[49] Western Gazette, 22 February 1907, p.7.
[50] Western Gazette, 8 October 1909, p.1.
[51] Somerset Standard, 22 November 1907, p.8.
[52] Western Gazette, 11 May 1923, p.3.
[53] Death certificate of Charles Wyatt; Somerset Standard, 11 September 1914, p.8; 18 September 1914, p.5.
[54] Somerset Standard, 11 September 1914, p.8.
[55] Western Gazette, 15 October 1915, p.7.
[56] Shepton Mallet Journal, 31 December 1915, p.5; Wells Journal, 7 January 1916, p.5.
[57] Western Gazette, 10 November 1916, p.8.
[58] The will of Francis Wyatt, dated 10 September 1900, proved at Blandford on 6 August 1925.
[59] The will of Anne Hull, dated 18 May 1927, proved at Blandford on 16 November 1928. Her will and civil registration death index spells her name “Anne,” but earlier records omit the “e.”
5. APPENDICES
The will of Francis Wyatt
Executors: my brothers, William and Benjamin Wyatt.
To my dear wife: household goods and wearing apparel; £200.
To my brothers, William and Benjamin Wyatt: remainder upon trust to sell and to invest proceeds in securities, with income to my wife for life and then capital to my children equally.
My trustees can carry on my farming business as long as they deem it expedient to do so.
Up to half of the presumptive share of a child may be applied for their advancement in life.
Wit: R B Baker, solicitor, Ilminster.
G M Lawrence, his clerk.[i]
The will of Anne Wyatt
Executors: Edward Richard Mead of 39 Avenue Road, Weymouth, Dorset, and my two daughters, May Wyatt and Elsie Wyatt, both of Prospect House, West Milton,
I bequeath all my household furniture and all my other property to be divided equally between my two daughters, May Wyatt and Elsie Wyatt, both of Prospect House, West Milton, absolutely.
Wit: William J Hansford, Farmer, West Milton.
Minnie E Hansford, West Milton.[ii]
Francis and his siblings ranked in order of gross value of their estate at death.
The date is the date of death. The estate values exclude shillings and pence.
- Benjamin Wyatt, 1924, £8,502
- William Wyatt, 1906, £6,895
- Richard Wyatt, 1932, £5,571
- Arthur Wyatt, 1920, £5,361
- John Wyatt, 1919, £4,982
- Robert Wyatt, 1886, £1,853
- Sarah Fowler, 1941, £1,847
- Julia Snell, 1921, £1,233
- Eleanor Norton, 1919, £948
- Caroline Dommett, 1893, £403 (died intestate)
- Francis Wyatt, 1924, £311
If we exclude Robert Wyatt, who died young, Francis’s estate was only 5% of the average value of his other five brothers, which suggests serious misfortune, mismanagement, or substantial gifts during his lifetime.
[i] The will of Francis Wyatt, dated 10 September 1900, proved at Blandford on 6 August 1925.
[ii] The will of Anne Hull, dated 18 May 1927, proved at Blandford on 16 November 1928. Her will and civil registration death index spells her name “Anne,” but earlier records omit the “e.”
