On This Day in Wembury – 22 February 1901
A notice appeared in the Western Times advertising the letting of Barton Farm and part of South Wembury, together with Knighton Farm. The combined holding lay within the parish of Wembury, around four miles from Plymouth, and totalled about two hundred and fifteen acres. Of this, thirty two acres were arable and ninety three acres pasture, with the remainder in other uses.
The farms came with good houses and homesteads, making them attractive tenancies for working families. Prospective tenants were invited to view the farms on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and tenders were to be submitted through Messrs S W Adams and Son of Boringdon Street, Plymouth. The notice added that the lowest or any tender would not necessarily be accepted, a reminder that landlords of the time were looking for reliability as well as rent.
Reflection
This entry shows how farm tenancy remained central to Wembury life at the turn of the twentieth century. The mixture of arable and pasture indicates a balanced approach to farming, suited to both crops and livestock. Notices like this also remind us that behind every tenancy lay a family hoping to secure land, livelihood and stability in an era when agriculture was undergoing rapid change.
