Introduction
Theophilus White was one of Hardington’s tenant farmers who secured the freehold of a substantial holding at the estate sale of 1920. In addition to farming, he played cricket for the village in his youth and later served as a manager of the village school.
Childhood
Theophilus, often known as Theo, was born at Hardington on 28 October 1868, the youngest of eight children of William and Emma White.[1] According to his son, Aubrey, Theo was born at Rose Cottage, Rectory Lane, while the family was in the process of moving from Romsey Farm to Vale Farm. He was privately baptised on 10 February 1870 and publicly baptised, along with three of his siblings, on 24 August 1874.[2]
After leaving school, Theo worked on his father’s farm.[3] From 1894 to 1900, he was actively involved in the Hardington Cricket Club, serving as captain in 1894 and again in 1895.[4] In his end-of-season report for 1894, he regretted that the team’s performance “had not been very brilliant.”[5]
Marriage and early farming
On 3 July 1900, he married Jane Partridge, the daughter of Joseph and Louisa Partridge, who farmed at Hardington Moor and kept the Royal Oak public house. Before her marriage, Jane had been a teacher at Hardington school.[6]
Theo and Jane established their home near Marsh Dairy House. In the 1901 census, he was described as a “Farmer, grazier.”[7] From Christmas 1901, he rented Marsh Dairy Farm from the Portman Estate, taking over from Samuel George Bartlett. The farm was predominantly pasture, comprising 187 acres, of which only 8.5 acres were arable land.[8] Theo appears to have financed the venture himself, as his father died intestate in 1904, leaving an estate of only £67 5s.[9]
Theo and Jane had four children: Winifred Dorothy in 1903, Gladys Olive in 1904, Aubrey Ernest in 1911 and Dulce Vera Theodora in 1912.[10] The birth of each child was announced in a local newspaper.[11] All the children later worked on the family farm, with only Dulcie marrying. This pattern suggests a family-labour economy in which the holding was primarily sustained by the household. Theo only occasionally advertised for a general farm worker: in June 1920, March 1932, and November 1943, the last notice probably due to wartime labour shortages.[12]
In 1907 and 1909, the farm was visited by members of the village club during their perambulation of the parish.[13] During the First World War, Theo donated ten guineas to the British Farmers’ Red Cross Fund, while Jane contributed apples to the V.A.D. Hospital.[14]
Purchase of Marsh Dairy Farm
The decisive moment in Theo’s career came with the estate sale of 1920. As a sitting tenant, he purchased Marsh Dairy Farm, comprising 185 acres, one rood and eight perches, together with one of a pair of cottages.[15] This acquisition converted him from tenant to owner and secured the farm for his family’s long-term occupation. At some point between 1927 and 1935, he renamed it Grove Farm.[16] Following the purchase, he probably installed the white field gates that became a distinctive feature of the farm.
During the 1920s, Theo served as a manager of Hardington School.[17] In the mid-1930s, Jane won prizes for her hen eggs at Yeovil Agricultural Show, indicating that they kept poultry.[18]
Later years
In 1938, Dulcie married Sidney Frank Patten of Pendomer.[19] That same year, Theo acted as executor for his brother, George.[20] Jane died on 14 February 1944 at the age of 69.[21]
On 25 February 1946, Theo made his will, appointing his son, Aubrey, and nephew, William Joseph Allan, as executors and trustees. He left £1,400 in pecuniary legacies and bequeathed the remainder of his estate, including Grove Farm, to Winifred, Gladys and Aubrey, directing that the farm be carried on “in like manner as the same now is.”[22] This phrase suggests his intention to preserve continuity in management and ownership.
Theo died on 7 October 1949, at the age of 80, leaving an estate valued at £17,201 1s 9d gross and £16,619 9s 6d net.[23] After his death, Winifred, Gladys and Aubrey ran the farm together. Gladys died in 1980, Winifred in 1985 and Aubrey in 2005.[24] The holding thus remained in the family’s hands for more than half a century after its purchase in 1920, fulfilling Theo’s wish for it to continue as before.
References
[1]Civil Registration Birth Index; 1939 Register.
[2] Hardington baptism register.
[3] RG12, Hardington, enumeration district 11, piece 1895, folio 114, p.1.
[4] Pulman’s Weekly News and Advertiser 20 March 1894 p.6; Pulman’s Weekly News and Advertiser 23 April 1895 p.6; Taunton Courier and Western Advertiser 16 May 1900 p. 7.
[5] Pulman’s Weekly News and Advertiser 20 March 1894 p.6; Western Gazette 26 October 1894 p 6.
[6] RG12, Hardington, enumeration district 10, piece 1895, folio 109, p.12.
[7] RG13, Hardington, enumeration district 4, piece 2297, folio 42, p.3.
[8] Western Gazette, 11 October 1901, p.5.
[9] National Probate Calendar.
[10] Civil Registration Birth Index.
[11] Western Chronicle, 8 May 1903, p.8; Western Chronicle,4 November 1904, p.8; Western Gazette, 10 February 1911, p.1; Western Gazette, 5 July 1912, p.12.
[12] Western Gazette, 11 June 1920; p. 6; 11 March 1932, p.8; 5 November 1943, p.4.
[13] Western Chronicle, 14 June 1907, p.6;18 June 1909, p. 6
[14] Western Gazette, 24 December 1915, p.1; Western Chronicle, 8 October 1915, p.4
[15] 1920 Estate sale catalogue.
[16] Kelly’s Directory of Somerset, 1927; Kelly’s Directory of Somerset, 1935.
[17] Western Chronicle 24 March 1922 p. 10; Western Chronicle 14 July 1922 p. 3; Western Chronicle 5 January 1923 p. 10; Taunton Courier and Western. Advertiser 7 November 1923 p. 7.
[18] Western Gazette, 13 September 1935, p.4; Western Gazette, 11 September 1936, p.7.
[19] Civil Registration Marriage Index.
[20] National Probate Calendar.
[21] Western Gazette, 25 February 1944, p.8; Western Gazette, 25 February 1944, p.8.
[22] The will of Theophilus White, dated 25 February 1946, proved in Bristol on 3 April 1950.
[23] The will of Theophilus White, dated 25 February 1946, proved in Bristol on 3 April 1950; Western Gazette, 14 October 1949, p.9.
[24] Civil Registration Death Index.
