Introduction
William Dawe Taylor rose from working as a butcher at East Chinnock to become the tenant of one of Hardington’s largest farms. Although he had no children with his first wife, Betsey, they brought up his nephew within their household. Following Betsey’s death, he remarried and had a family in his later years.
Early life and family background
William was born in 1845 at East Chinnock, the second of eleven children born to Walter Taylor and his wife, Isabella Priddle (née Dawe). His father was a substantial tenant farmer, occupying 100 acres in 1851 and 134 acres in 1861. He later moved to Broad Farm, a 150-acre holding, where he died in 1874 at the age of 52 from congestion of the lungs.[1] His estate was valued at under £800, and no will was proved.[2]
Under the intestacy rules, one-third of his estate would have passed to his widow, Isabella, and two-thirds to the ten surviving children upon reaching twenty-one. Isabella died in 1879 without leaving a will, so, assuming she did not spend or gift it, her share would have been divided among the surviving children. Walter took on the running of the farm, but the tenancy was put in the names of three other sons, including William.[3]
Most of the children remained in the parish or its immediate vicinity. Only Edwin, William, Charles and Julia married. Walter, Mary, Flora and Ellis lived together at Broad Farm until the 1920s, while George and Isabella lived together on another farm in the parish. The only one of the ten to move any distance was Edwin. After marrying at Portsmouth in 1868, he opened a grocery shop in Yeovil, but when that failed in 1872, he moved with his family to Derbyshire, where he worked as a colliery banksman.[4] Following his wife’s death in 1880, two of his children were raised at Broad Farm and one by William.
Butcher at East Chinnock
William had left home before his father died. By 1871, he was living in East Chinnock Street with his sister, Mary, who was his housekeeper. He worked as a butcher, an occupation he pursued for at least a decade. In October 1871, William married Betsy Taylor Leach at Hardington Mandeville parish church. She was the daughter of Robert and Ann Leach of North Lane, Hardington.
By 1881, the couple lived at 5 West Street. William’s aunt, Julia Poole, and Edwin’s son, Thomas Bodley Dawe Taylor, lived with them.
In 1884, Betsey’s father died, leaving an estate valued at £763 7s 2d, which he divided among his seven children. Betsey inherited around £70, and William acted as one of the executors.[5]
Move into farming
In the 1880s, William became the tenant of Dawe’s Farm, East Chinnock.[6] By 1891, his nephew still lived with him and his uncle, Ellis Dawe.
In October 1895, the Portman Estate advertised Marsh Farm as available to let from Christmas, describing it as “a useful dairy and young stock farm” of about 278 acres (50 arable) with a new house and four cottages.[7] William was familiar with the farm, as his uncle, Francis Dawe, had been the tenant from 1858 until his death in 1887, while Francis’s brother, Ellis, had been the farm’s bailiff for many years. William took on the tenancy, marking a significant step up in scale and status. His ability to secure such a holding may have depended on a combination of capital, experience, local knowledge, and his family background.
In March 1896, he was elected to Hardington’s parish council, further solidifying his standing within the community.[8]
William also supported the village chapel. In 1892, while still at Dawe’s Farm, he sang a solo at an Easter concert and in 1902 and 1908, he lent waggons to take the chapel Sunday School children to Ham Hill for their annual outing.[9]
Second marriage
In March 1901, William and his wife were staying temporarily at Twerton, Bath, leaving the farm in the care of his nephew, Thomas Bodley Dawe Taylor, and his wife’s niece, Gertrude Anna Partridge.[10]
Betsey died on 18 June 1905 at the age of sixty. On 23 February 1907, William married Gertrude, who was 22 and expecting their child. Their son, William Ellis Dawe, was born the following month, and two daughters followed: Florence Julia in 1910 and Bessie in 1916.
Retirement and death
William remained at Marsh Farm for over twenty years, retiring at the age 73. On 29 March 1918, he held a farm sale which included 38 Crossbred Hereford cows and heifers, 30 Down ewes, two horses named “Captain” and “London,” a pony named “Polly,” various items of equipment, and 20 hogsheads of new cider.[11]
He and his family then moved into Partway House, taking over the property from Ellis Dawe’s daughter-in-law, Eliza, who, in turn, moved in with William’s siblings, George and Isabella, at East Chinnock. The Hardington rate book for 31 March 1923 recorded William as the owner of the house and about 14 acres of land, where he continued to farm, albeit on a smaller scale.
William died on 30 June 1925 at the age of 79, leaving an estate valued at £3,131 9s 9d, which he bequeathed to his wife for life or until remarriage, and then equally to their three children.[12]
Conclusion
William’s life illustrates a gradual movement from trade into large-scale tenant farming. While it is not possible to identify all the factors involved, the division of his father’s estate suggests that character and family connections were more important than inherited capital.
References
[1] Death certificate of Walter Taylor; Western Gazette, 30 October 1874, p.5.
[2] National Probate Calendar.
[3] Western Gazette, 23 September 1881, p.6.
[4] Western Gazette, 8 November 1872, p.4.
[5] The will of Robert Leach, dated 22 May 1879, proved at Taunton on 27 May 1884.
[6] Kelly’s Directory of Somerset, 1889, p.170.
[7] Western Gazette 11 October 1895 p. 5.
[8] Western Chronicle, 3 April 1896, p.6.
[9] Western Chronicle 22 April 1892 p. 6; Western Chronicle 25 July 1902 p. 5; Western Chronicle 7 August 1908 p. 5.
[10] RG13, piece 2297, folio 42, page 3.
[11] Western Gazette 15 March 1918 p. 1.
[12] The will of William Dawe Taylor, dated 30 August 1923, proved in London on 7 September 1925..
