| One of the documents in the Holt-Wilson
papers is a small shabby exercise book which looks as if
it has been chewed by a mouse in one corner but it
contains a wealth of information on the farms on the
Redgrave Hall Estate as it is a Survey and Report, dated
May 1849. The owner of Redgrave Hall at that time was
George St. Vincent Wilson and the property was situated
in the parishes of Redgrave, Botesdale, Hinderclay,
Rickinghall, Wortham, Burgate, Gislingham, Wangford,
Billingford and Thorpe. The major properties included are
Redgrave Hall Farm, New Waters, West Hall, Broom Hills,
Facon Hall, Slough Farm, Burgate Hall and the Wangford
Estate. There are other properties just described by the
name of the tenant which are unidentifiable although
there may have been a map to go with it originally. The
survey was drawn up by J. Oxley Parker of Woodham
Mortimer Place and was drawn up to review the rents of
the holdings. Each entry includes the acreage and the
condition of the main house and the outbuildings, and the
way in which the farmland is cultivated. The following is
the entry for Broom Hills:
T.C. Burroughes, Broom Hills, Rickinghall.
Quantity 164 acres, 23 perches. Rent £184.
The house is partly brick partly lath and
plaster and tiled. It has been lately repaired and
made suitable for a respectable tenant. The back
Kitchen, Dairy, Woodhouse etc. are lath and plaster
& tiled.
The buildings consist of
A Wheat Barn with plank floor, timber built and part
weatherboard part clay daubing and thatched. Oat Barn
of same materials adjoining with clay floor. Both
very old and much out of repair.
Nag stable and harness house - Cart Stable with
collar house and chaff bier - cowhouse with calf pens
- and Turnip House and Hospital adjoining and under
the same roof - part timber and part claywall - part
brick and pantiled - cattle shed on north side of
yard all in good order. Waggon Lodge with 2 story
Granary over timber and pantiled and chaise house -
Drill house etc. stone walls and pantiled requiring
slight repairs - Range of piggeries, timber and
pantiled requiring repair and new weatherboarding.
The upland fields are all on gravely subsoil, part of
fair depth - part on the Hills, thin, and subject to
burn in dry seasons. The Marshland is part ploughed -
part grazing land. It is a loose peaty soil and
difficult of drainage and would be better if all laid
down to grass - The upland pasture is good.
I do not see ground for lowering this rent
beyond the old amount.
The condition of the holdings vary considerably
depending partly on the tenant. Facon's Hall was let to a
tenant who obviously did not look after it.
The house is timber built lathe and plaster
and tiled and capable with some repairs of being made
a most commodious Residence but it is not kept in any
sort of order or ever furnished by the present tenant
who is of a lower grade than ought to be the occupier
of such a Farm. The buildings are scattered about
without any kind of management and are some of them
entirely worn out. As it becomes necessary to repair
them they should be removed so as to form more
convenient yards in connection with the Barn which
stands South East of the House and such abundance of
material will arise out of the old Buildings, that
the cost of the labor in reconstruction will be the
chief item of expence. It is hardly worth while to
incur any outlay during the occupation of the present
tenant, as [he] hardly makes use of the sheds which
he has now standing upon the Farm. The arable lands
are partly Clay bottom differing in value and partly
mixed soil of good quality and are fairly farmed but
the pastures are sadly neglected and might be greatly
improved by better management.
Considering the state of the premises - this rent is
as high as any on the estate.
It has been proposed to break up a portion of the
pasture land and improve the fields at the back of
the House by cutting new fences but it is not worth
while to carry out these improvements with the
present Tenant. They may be reserved as inducements
to a future occupier.
Some of the properties mention woods, tithes, business
other than farming and employees. The largest holding was
the Wangford Estate comprising 3255 acres, 3 rods and 35
perches, which was later sold to the Maharajah Duleep
Singh.
It is surprising that such a small insignificant book
holds so much information on properties in our our
villages over 150 years ago, and it would be interesting
to know how these descriptions compare with these
properties now.
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