FARMINGTON
Farmington is a small rural parish situated
on the high Cotswolds close to Northleach and
20 km. ESE. of Cheltenham. Its medieval name
was Thormarton (or Thormerton); the form
Farmington, thought to be the same name modified by dialect changes, (fn. 1) was in use by the mid
16th century alongside the old form, (fn. 2) which it
gradually ousted in the course of the next 200
years. (fn. 3)
The parish, comprising 915 ha. (2,261 a.), (fn. 4) is
long and narrow, a shape governed partly by its
creation out of the large manor of Northleach, (fn. 5)
with which parish (called in 1999 Northleach
with Eastington) it shares a long boundary on the
west. The north-west boundary is on the Foss
way, the north boundary follows a stream flowing
in the valley called Broadwater bottom (fn. 6) (presumably from regular flooding of its level floor),
and the southern tip of Farmington touches the
river Leach. The high wolds at c. 170–90 m.
constitute much of the parish and are broken into
by the valleys of small streams, which combine
near the east boundary as the Sherborne brook.
The valley bottoms are formed of the Inferior
Oolite, the valley sides of the fuller's earth, and
the higher land of the Great Oolite. (fn. 7)
Until inclosure by Act of Parliament in 1714
Farmington parish comprised mainly two large
open fields, and in its north-east corner was a
tract of common downland (fn. 8) and a wood called
Farmington grove. The grove was apparently
held in severalty by the lord of the manor in
1629 when he leased it to the neighbouring landowner, John Dutton of Sherborne. (fn. 9) It covered
54 a. in 1707. (fn. 10) The rest of the parish was evidently sparsely timbered in the 17th century
when its lords almost invariably reserved to their
own use any trees growing on tenants' lands, (fn. 11)
and c. 1770 Farmington was described as almost
devoid of trees. (fn. 12) By 1825, however, a smaller
wood called Furzehill had been established
on part of the former downland north of
Farmington grove, (fn. 13) and small copses and plantations formed later in other parts of the parish
gave it a total of 120 a. of woodland in 1900. (fn. 14)
The south end of the parish, lying on the east
side of the valley of the river Leach, was
included, with land from three adjoining parishes, in New park (later Lodge park), a park
and deer-coursing paddock of the Duttons of
Sherborne. (fn. 15) In 1624 John Dutton bought 33 a.,
including some open-field land, from the lord of
Farmington (fn. 16) and inclosed it in the park with
the agreement of the freeholders and the rector.
He was said, however, to have taken more than
was conveyed to him (fn. 17) and the Farmington land
within the park was estimated to be c. 60 a. in
1662. (fn. 18) A further 121/2 a. was added by Sir John
Dutton in 1726, (fn. 19) and c. 1820 the part of Lodge
park in the parish was surveyed as 86 a. (fn. 20)
Part of the west boundary of the parish follows
the defences of a large rectangular fortification
called Norbury lying within Northleach with
Eastington parish. Another ancient fortification
is indicated by the name Berry hill used in 1714
for a field north-east of Farmington village (fn. 21) and
by the name Camp (or Undercamp) Farm
adopted later for a house near by. Part of the
high ground to the north of the later Lodge
park was known by 1600 as Stoneborrow (or
Stoneberry) hill, (fn. 22) perhaps from a long barrow
on the land taken into the park. At Clearcupboard, in the valley north of Norbury camp,
the remains of a Roman villa were discovered
and excavated in the 1960s. (fn. 23)
Thirty people were assessed for subsidy at
Farmington in 1327 (fn. 24) and 49 for the poll tax in
1381. (fn. 25) In 1551 c. 60 communicants were
recorded (fn. 26) and in 1563 13 households. (fn. 27) There
were said to be 27 families in 1650, (fn. 28) c. 100
inhabitants in 25 houses c. 1710, (fn. 29) and (apparently by careful enumeration) 195 people in 38
houses c. 1775. (fn. 30) In 1801 216 people in 39 houses
were enumerated. The population rose to 359
by 1841, before falling to 269 by 1881 and to
182 by 1901. The downward trend continued
during the 20th century, the population standing
at 155 in 1951 and 100 in 1991. (fn. 31)
The south part of the parish was traversed
from west to east by a route from Gloucester to
Burford and Oxford. It was recorded in 1600
and 1714 as the 'ridgeway', (fn. 32) though at the western edge of the parish that description evidently
referred not to what later became the main road,
climbing to the ridge from Northleach town, but
to a wide green lane which forms part of the
parish boundary before joining the road from
Northleach at a place called Short Cross in
1707. (fn. 33) That green lane was called later the old
London road and was apparently once used as
much or more as the road through Northleach;
both roads were turnpiked under an Act of 1751,
but the road through Northleach later developed
as the main coaching route from Gloucester and
Cheltenham to London. (fn. 34) In 1824 there was a
turnpike at the junction of the Northleach road
and the old London road. (fn. 35) Later in the 1820s
it was moved eastwards along the road to near
the New Barn inn, (fn. 36) a coaching inn established
in the mid 18th century, and it remained there
until the road was disturnpiked in 1870. (fn. 37) A new
Northleach bypass, opened in 1984, (fn. 38) re-joined
the road from the town near the west boundary
of Farmington. The Foss way, on the north-west
boundary, was a turnpike between 1755 and
1877. (fn. 39)
Farmington village occupies the eastern end
of a spur of land between the valleys of the
streams which flow into the Sherborne brook.
As depicted on a map of 1707, (fn. 40) a few years
before the inclosure of the parish, the village
comprised small tenant farmhouses and a few
cottages on no clear plan but with a focus provided by a triangular green, where lanes leading
from the Foss way, the Oxford road, and neighbouring villages met. There were then three
groups of buildings: the largest was based
around the green, another, including the church,
the manor house (later called Farmington
Lodge), and the rectory, was to the south-east
on the lane leading towards Sherborne and the
Oxford road, and a more distant group, called
Wales End, stood south of the road leading westwards to the Foss way. The pattern of closes
shown in 1707 and earthworks which survive (fn. 41)
indicate that the medieval village was larger, and
possibly had a more ordered plan, based on the
road leading from the green towards the Foss;
the green itself, on which an old boundary bank
is visible, may have been formed after the
shrinking of the village. (fn. 42)
The most coherent group of earthworks is to
the north of the road leading to the Foss in a
field that was called Lords Courthay in 1707. (fn. 43)
The foundations of at least seven buildings can
be seen ranged around a rectangular courtyard
with a circular foundation, almost certainly of a
dovecot, protruding at the south-west corner.
Apparently a complex of manorial buildings, it
may represent the centre of a sub-manor called
Muttones Court which was absorbed by the
chief manor of Farmington in 1327. (fn. 44) Other
extensive earthworks, more difficult to interpret,
lie in closes further north, by a track leading
from the green to Clearcupboard farm, and the
boundaries of several small closes can be seen
east and south-east of Wales End.
The village has been again altered since the
inclosure of 1714, most of the houses existing
then being either removed or rebuilt. The few
buildings remaining near the green include
Manor Farm on the west side, which was rebuilt
in the mid 18th century, (fn. 45) and a former blacksmith's cottage and smithy at the north end
which dates partly from the mid 1740s. (fn. 46) In the
centre of the green stands a small open-sided
wooden structure built over the village pump as
a memorial to the lord of the manor Edmund
Waller (d. 1898); its thatched roof was replaced
with stone tiles in 1935 by the inhabitants of
Farmington, in Connecticut, to mark the tercentenary of the foundation of their state. (fn. 47) A large
sycamore tree was the most prominent feature
of the green in 1999. Of the group of buildings
further south-east, near the church and manor
house, the rectory was rebuilt on a different site
in the late 18th century (fn. 48) and two small farmhouses near by were removed, the site of one
being occupied by a more substantial dwelling
in the late 18th century and the early 19th and
by a modern house in the late 20th. (fn. 49)
The name Wales End, (fn. 50) applied to the group
of dwellings west of the main village on the road
to the Foss way, was possibly a corruption of
'Walls End', referring to the adjoining rampart
of Norbury camp. In 1707 there were three
tenant houses there on a short lane leading south
from the road. One, standing on the east side of
the lane, was then occupied by Thomas Bedwell
and became the farmhouse of a freehold farm that
he acquired at the inclosure in 1714. (fn. 51) Part of a
wall on the lane incorporates a 17th-century
window and may survive from his house, but the
farmhouse was rebuilt shortly before 1799 (fn. 52)
further back from the lane. It was still called
Bedwells in 1872 but by that time had been
replaced as the farmhouse by a new one built in
the fields south of the village. (fn. 53) During the 18th
and 19th centuries Wales End became the site of
most of the labourers' cottages of the Farmington
estate, including a row of four called Bunkershill
built on the valley side at its south end. (fn. 54) Others
added in the mid 19th century included estate
cottages in pairs; two pairs at the north end are
plain in style, and two pairs further south have
Tudor-style detail. The village school was built
at Wales End at the same period.
The outlying farmsteads of Farmington all
date from after the inclosure in 1714. (fn. 55) Camp
Farm, called Undercamp Farm in 1825, (fn. 56) in the
valley below Farmington grove, may have been
built soon after 1721 when a lease of former
downland in that part of the parish provided for
the building of a farmhouse. (fn. 57) In the mid 19th
century (fn. 58) a large new farmhouse in brick was
built some way to the north-west of the old
house and its buildings. Probably it was built
for Hugh Sydney Waller, a cousin of the lord of
the manor; (fn. 59) he was lessee of the farm from 1869 (fn. 60)
until his death in 1924. (fn. 61) The old farmhouse was
being used as labourers' cottages in 1900 (fn. 62) and
was demolished c. 1975. (fn. 63) Another farmhouse in
the same part of the parish was called by 1801
Starveall (or Starvehall) Farm, (fn. 64) a name which,
like those of two other houses in the parish,
Clearcupboard and Folly Farm, reflects a wry
humour on the part of the farmers cultivating the
stony, upland soil. In the late 19th and earlier
20th centuries it was called Grove Farm (fn. 65) but by
1999 it had reverted to its old name (then spelt
Starvall). It is a two-storeyed stone farmhouse
of the mid 18th century with late 20th-century
alterations and additions. At Clearcupboard, in
the valley to the north-west of the village, there
was a farmhouse and buildings by 1870. (fn. 66)
Empshill Farm, south-east of the village, is a
mid 18th-century farmhouse, established before
1777. (fn. 67) Folly Farm, south of the village, was
probably the new farmhouse that Charles
Miller, owner of that part of the parish, is
recorded as building shortly before 1765; (fn. 68) it is
a rubble-built house of two storeys and attics
and has plain mullioned windows. At the site of
Bedwell House, further west, an outlying barn
and yard (then called Hill barn) belonged to
Bedwell farm, based at Wales End, in 1825. (fn. 69)
About 1830, presumably at the cost of the landowner H. E. Waller, (fn. 70) a new farmhouse was built
beside the barn and replaced the house at Wales
End as the home of the farmer. The new house,
of three storeys with a hipped roof, is built of
rubble with ashlar dressings and has a symmetrical, sash-windowed front facing south-west to
the Cheltenham-London road. It was known as
New House (or New Farm) in the mid 19th
century and the early 20th, but the name
Bedwell Farm was used in the late 19th century
and again in the mid 20th (fn. 71) and it became
Bedwell House after 1971 when sold away from
its farmland. A range of barns adjoining the
house, the earliest part (at the west end) dating
from the mid 18th century, was converted to
form a separate dwelling in the early 1990s. (fn. 72)
New Barn Farm, on the main London road
near the east boundary of the parish, was presumably another site originally occupied by a
barn after 1714, though it was fairly soon followed by a dwelling. By 1777 the New Barn inn
had opened there (fn. 73) and possibly it was already
established in 1755 when an innkeeper was
recorded in the parish. (fn. 74) By 1799 the innkeeper
was also lessee of one of the main farms on the
manor estate, (fn. 75) and New Barn continued to be
both inn and farmhouse until 1897 when the inn
was leased to the Northleach brewery and the
farmland was leased separately. (fn. 76) The inn
remained open until the 1930s when it was called
the New Barn Road House. (fn. 77) The south-west
wing of New Barn Farm is the visible part of an
early 18th-century T-plan house, the north-east
part of which, together with part of a separate
structure, has been incorporated in a larger,
early 19th-century house. The 18th-century
house, from which some two-light mullioned
windows survive, was of two storeys with attics
and vaulted cellars and had three rooms on each
floor. Its south-western compartment, with
part of its wall pierced by pigeon holes, was presumably not used for domestic purposes. To the
north-east of the house, on the main road, stood
another building of similar construction. One of
those structures possibly represents the original
barn at the site. The north-east gable wall of the
original house and the south-west gable wall of
the building adjoining the road are visible in the
roof space of the larger early 19th-century
house. That house presents symmetrical, classical fronts to the road on the north-east and to
the stable yard on the north-west, the latter front
having two full-height canted bays, a familiar
feature of coaching inns of the period. The inn
and farm were provided with extensive outbuildings, which in 1825 included a smithy and
stabling for 60 horses. (fn. 78) Some of the buildings
were demolished during the 20th century, (fn. 79) and
the main surviving structure, a high and long
barn at the north-west of the site, housed the
stock of the owner's antiques business in 1999.
A piped water supply was laid from a spring
to houses in the village by W. N. Waller, lord
of the manor, in 1901. (fn. 80)
Manor and Other Estates.
In 1086
land which had formed part of the manor of
Northleach before the Conquest was held by
Walter son of Pons as a separate manor of
FARMINGTON ('Tormentone'), comprising
12 hides. (fn. 81) No rights as overlord exercised by
the lords of Northleach are recorded later, however, and in 1278 Farmington was held from the
king in chief by the service of 1 knight or two
esquires for 40 days in wartime. (fn. 82)
Farmington passed with the manor of Eaton
Hastings (Berks.) to a family whose members
were surnamed either 'of Eaton' or 'of
Hastings', (fn. 83) and it was presumably one of the 3
knights' fees that Ralph of Hastings held in
Gloucestershire in 1160. (fn. 84) Farmington belonged
in 1182 to William of Eaton, (fn. 85) who died before
1189, when his heir was his brother John of
Hastings. (fn. 86) John was lord of Farmington in
1209 (fn. 87) and his widow Muriel had the whole
or part of the manor in dower in 1221. (fn. 88)
Farmington apparently passed to William of
Hastings (d. c. 1224), custody of whose land and
heir was given to Osbert Giffard; (fn. 89) c. 1235
Osbert's wife was said to hold Farmington
manor under another William of Hastings. (fn. 90)
About 1271 William of Hastings gave
Farmington to his daughter Joan on her marriage to Benet of Blakenham; they later
regranted it to William for life and became
owners again on his death c. 1278. (fn. 91) Benet, son
of Benet of Blakenham, who was a minor in royal
wardship in 1285 and 1289, (fn. 92) granted the manor
in 1297 to his sister Alice and her husband Hugh
of St. Philibert. (fn. 93) Hugh died c. 1305 (fn. 94) and John
of Drokenesford, who presented to Farmington
church in 1306 and 1309, (fn. 95) was presumably a
trustee or the guardian of an heir. By 1317 the
manor had passed to John of St. Philibert, (fn. 96) who
in 1331 made an accommodation about dower
rights in Farmington with Gillian, wife of Roger
de Asperle, perhaps his mother. (fn. 97) John died c.
1333 (fn. 98) when his widow Ada was awarded land
in Farmington and the advowson of the church
as part of her dowry. (fn. 99) Another John of St.
Philibert sold the manor in 1351 to William of
Edington, bishop of Winchester, (fn. 100) who had a
quitclaim of rights from John's widow Margaret
in 1359. (fn. 101) The bishop gave Farmington in 1361
to his foundation, the monastery of the
Bonhommes at Edington (Wilts.). (fn. 102)
Edington monastery retained the manor until
its dissolution in 1539, and in 1540 the Crown
sold the manor to Michael Ashfield. (fn. 103) Michael
died later the same year, having settled the
manor on his wife Joan, (fn. 104) later the wife of
Thomas Parker (d. 1558). (fn. 105) Michael's son
Robert Ashfield, an infant at his father's death,
had succeeded to Farmington by 1571. (fn. 106) He died
in 1616, having settled the manor on his wife
Mary (fl. 1621), with reversion to his son John,
who held part of the estate from 1600. (fn. 107) John
Ashfield's failure to observe the procedure for
securing livery on his father's death led to the
Crown taking possession of the manor in 1631
and leasing it to Giles Cripps of Clapton and
Anthony Powell of Northleach, (fn. 108) but in 1632
Ashfield sold his right in the manor to Rice
Jones of Asthall (Oxon.), who bought out the
interest of Cripps and Powell the following
year. (fn. 109) Jones died before 1648, when his widow
Jane was in possession of Farmington, (fn. 110) and it
had passed by 1654 to his son Henry, who was
later knighted. (fn. 111) Sir Henry died in 1673, leaving
as his heir his daughter Frances; (fn. 112) she married
in 1685 Richard Lumley, Lord Lumley, who
was created earl of Scarbrough in 1690. The earl
conveyed the manor in 1717 to his second son
Thomas Lumley, who lived at Farmington for
the next few years. Following other dealings
between the earl (d. 1721), Thomas, and the
earl's eldest son, Richard, Lord Lumley, who
succeeded to the title, (fn. 113) the two brothers sold
Farmington in 1724 to Edmund Waller of
Beaconsfield (Bucks.). (fn. 114)
Edmund Waller died in 1771 (fn. 115) and
Farmington manor passed in turn to his son
Edmund (d. 1788) and his grandson Edmund (fn. 116)
(d. 1810). The last Edmund was succeeded by
his brother the Revd. Henry (Harry) Waller (d.
1824), rector of Farmington, and from the Revd.
Harry the manor passed in turn to his son Harry
Edmund Waller (fn. 117) (d. 1869) and grandson
Edmund Waller (fn. 118) (d. 1898). The last Edmund
was succeeded by his brother Maj.-Gen.
William Noel Waller (d. 1909). (fn. 119) From c. 1830 (fn. 120)
the Wallers, whose estate also included farms in
Turkdean, Hazleton, Bourton-on-the-Water,
and Clapton, owned the whole of Farmington
parish except for the land at its southern end in
Lord Sherborne's Lodge park. (fn. 121)
The Farmington land of the estate was bought
c. 1910 by C. D. Barrow, (fn. 122) who sold part of it,
New Barn farm with 400 a., before 1939. (fn. 123)
He died in 1944 (fn. 124) and was succeeded by his
son Lt.-Col. R. C. Barrow, who sold off other
parts, including Starveall farm c. 1947 and the
manor house, Farmington Lodge, and its
grounds in 1952. Lt.-Col. Barrow (d. 1968)
was succeeded by his son Capt. J. J. D. Barrow
who, following the sale of a further part,
Empshill farm, remained owner of c. 600 a.
in Farmington in 1999. The purchaser of
Farmington Lodge in 1952 was the Hon. E. R.
H. Wills, (fn. 125) who also bought the farmland in the
south of the parish. He retained the house and
land in 1999 as part of an estate which also
included much of Northleach with Eastington
parish. (fn. 126)
The manor house, on or close to the site of
Farmington Lodge at the east side of the village,
was recorded from the 1630s. (fn. 127) It was rebuilt by
Edmund Waller (d. 1771), (fn. 128) and remained the
Gloucestershire residence of the Wallers during
their ownership. In the 20th century it was the
home of the Barrows until c. 1947 when they
moved to Camp Farm, which they occupied
until 1991 when Capt. Barrow moved to
Clearcupboard Farm. Farmington Lodge
became the home of Mr. Wills in the early
1950s (fn. 129) and remained so in 1999.
Farmington Lodge (fn. 130) is a classical house of two
storeys and attics in a hipped roof and has a
double-pile, 15-bayed plan, from which sections
of both long main fronts — five bays in the
centre of the north-east, garden front and three
bays at each end of the south-west, road front –
break forward slightly. The house is mainly of
dressed rubble, but parts of both main fronts
are ashlar-faced. The central nine bays were
built as part of Edmund Waller's house in the
mid 18th century and the south-west elevation
retains small sash windows of 18th-century
shape but in an irregular arrangement (fn. 131) that
reflects alterations to the rooms behind. The
three bays at each end of the south-west front
and the parapet on the central part were probably added before 1825 when the accommodation included an entrance hall, three reception
rooms, two staircases, and nine bedrooms on the
first floor. (fn. 132) The centre of the house was extensively reconstructed to the designs of David
Brandon in the mid 1850s. (fn. 133) The projecting section of the north-east front was added or rebuilt
in Italian baroque style and the 18th-century
staircase was moved (from a position immediately to the north-west) to a newly created staircase hall in the centre of the south-west front.
Apparently at the same time, a heavy Greek
Doric temple portico was attached to the five
central bays of the south-west front; it was
apparently modified from an earlier feature or
even imported from another building. (fn. 134) The services may then have been at the south-east end
of the house where in 1883 there were buildings
forming a narrow yard. (fn. 135) Alterations made by
Mr. Wills after 1952 included the insertion of
new windows into the blank bays at the centre
of the south-west front, the removal of the service buildings at the south-east (the other end
of the house becoming the service end), and the
partitioning of the entrance hall and other
rooms. (fn. 136) Other 20th-century changes included
the insertion of dormers in the south-east end
of the roof and, probably, the Adam-style decoration in the dining room.
On the other side of the road, north of the
parish church, a demesne close called Lord's
Dowses Hay contained a circular, ashlar-faced
dovecot by 1714, and to the south of it, opposite
the house, farm buildings. (fn. 137) By the mid 1820s a
large stable block, comprising three ranges
around a courtyard, had replaced the farm
buildings (fn. 138) and by 1883 the rest of the close was
occupied by a walled kitchen garden. (fn. 139)
One among a number of freehold estates at
Farmington in the Middle Ages was held c. 1180
by Nicholas of Mitton (Mutone). (fn. 140) In 1243
Christine of Mitton held ½ knight's fee from the
lord of the manor, William of Hastings, (fn. 141) and
c. 1255 the owner was evidently Philip of
Mitton. (fn. 142) In 1285 Peter of Staunton held the
½ fee from Nicholas of Mitton, who held from
the lord. (fn. 143) Peter, who was lord of Staunton
(Worcs., later Glos.), died c. 1288 when his son
and heir Robert of Staunton was a minor; (fn. 144)
Robert was the tenant-in-demesne of the estate
until 1311 or later. (fn. 145) In 1327 John Pachat of
Farmington, a cleric and perhaps acting as
trustee, granted the estate, comprising a house
called Muttones Court, 3¾ yardlands, and some
tenanted lands, to the lord of the manor John of
St. Philibert and his wife Ada; (fn. 146) she held it as
part of her dower in 1333. (fn. 147) Presumably it was
then absorbed in the manor estate, and the
house may have been at a site in a field in the
north-west part of the village, called Lord's
Courthay. (fn. 148)
Another estate of ½ fee at Farmington was
held by William of Ramsden from Benet of
Blakenham in 1285 and was retained by another
William in 1346. In 1303 and 1346 Henry of
Corse held another ½ fee at Farmington. (fn. 149) Also,
at some time before 1398, a house with ¾ yardland there was given to Polesworth abbey
(Warws.) by Joan de Salceta. (fn. 150) It was retained
by the abbey to the Dissolution, (fn. 151) and was
recorded again in 1636 when, described as a
messuage and 1 yardland, it formed part of
Thomas Fyfield's estate, mentioned below. (fn. 152)
About 1180 Godstow abbey (Oxon.) had a gift
of 2s. of rent in Farmington from Nicholas
of Mitton, whose descendant Philip of Mitton
confirmed it to the abbey c. 1255. (fn. 153) Godstow may
later have alienated the rent to Eynsham abbey
(Oxon.), to which 2s. annual rent was rendered
by Farmington manor (which had absorbed the
Mittons' estate) in 1506. (fn. 154)
In 1432, apart from the Polesworth estate, the
freeholds under the manor were two estates of
2 yardlands each, held by Thomas Lovering and
Richard Spencer, and, possibly representing the
Ramsden and Corse estates, ½ yardland held by
Richard Fifhyde, chaplain, and a large estate of
11¾ yardlands (664 a.) held by John Culmer.
Culmer was probably a relative of Thomas
Culmer, rector of Edington and lord of
Farmington manor c. 1406–31, (fn. 155) and his estate
appears to have been a fairly recent creation
including former customary land. (fn. 156)
John Culmer's estate of 1432 was probably
represented by the substantial estate owned by
Thomas Bush, a Northleach wool-merchant, at
his death in 1525. (fn. 157) In 1564 Thomas's son and
heir William was challenged for possession of an
estate at Farmington by Roger Fishpool of
Cirencester on the grounds that Thomas had
bought it from John Fyfield while Fyfield was a
minor and therefore not legally empowered. (fn. 158)
Whether Fishpool or another heir of the Fyfield
family recovered the estate is not known, but a
Thomas Fyfield owned a large estate, including
a house called Fyfield's Place and 7 yardlands,
at his death in 1636; he devised it to his grandson
Thomas Standard, (fn. 159) who remained owner in
1662. (fn. 160) Thomas Standard was succeeded by his
daughter Alice, who married Thomas Smith, (fn. 161)
son of the rector of Farmington, Humphrey
Smith. (fn. 162) Thomas and Alice, who both died in
1708, apparently left the estate to a younger son,
Thomas (d. by 1713); the younger Thomas
devised it to his infant nephew, also Thomas,
whose father, Humphrey Smith of Kidlington
(Oxon.), managed it for him. In 1714 under the
inclosure of Farmington 494 a., mostly in the
south-west part of the parish, was awarded
for the estate. (fn. 163) The Smiths sold part of that
land the same year to Thomas Bedwell, who
also received a smaller freehold under the
inclosure, and part to John Grayhurst of
Cirencester. (fn. 164)
Most of the Bedwell family's land at
Farmington, comprising Bedwell farm southwest of the village, was bought by Edmund
Waller in 1765 and descended with his manor
estate. (fn. 165) Other land, however, belonged to
Thomas Bedwell of Ampney St. Peter at his
death c. 1776 and was sold by his widow
Hannah (fn. 166) in 1792 to Edmund's grandson
Edmund Waller. (fn. 167) The other part of the Smiths'
former estate, bought at the inclosure by John
Grayhurst, was settled on the marriage of
William Grayhurst in 1723. (fn. 168) It later passed to
another John Grayhurst who sold it in 1762 to
Charles Miller. Miller died in 1778, leaving his
estate in trust for his wife Elizabeth Miller (fl.
1784). (fn. 169) In 1796 it was sold to Edmund Waller
but in 1799, having incurred large debts, he conveyed it, together with the land bought from
Hannah Bedwell in 1792 (the whole comprising
Folly and Clearcupboard farms), to Thomas
Willan (fn. 170) of London. Willan, who also acquired
some of Waller's land in Turkdean at the
same time, died in 1828, (fn. 171) and Folly and
Clearcupboard farms returned to the manor
estate in 1830 when his trustees sold them to
Harry Waller. (fn. 172)
In 1707 the Smith family's estate was based
on a house standing at the west side of the village
green. At the inclosure in 1714 the house was
awarded to the manor estate (fn. 173) and it was rebuilt
later on a different alignment as the farmhouse
of the estate's Manor (or Green) farm. In 1777
Charles Miller owned, and apparently occupied,
a house standing south of the churchyard, (fn. 174) on
or near the site of a tenant farmhouse that had
been awarded to the Smiths at inclosure. (fn. 175) That
was presumably the seat of Thomas Willan at
Farmington, recorded in 1811, (fn. 176) and his 'mansion house', which in 1827 was occupied by the
widow and some of the children of the Revd.
Harry Waller. (fn. 177) The house south of the churchyard was demolished before 1883, leaving only
a stable block, (fn. 178) incorporating a cross-gabled
dovecot, to the west of the site. A modern dwelling house was built at the site c. 1970 and the
stable block was adapted to form a garage. (fn. 179)
Farmhouses connected with the former Bedwell
and Miller estates are mentioned above. (fn. 180)
Economic History.
In 1086 Farmington
manor had 2 ploughs in demesne and 4 servi. (fn. 181)
In 1432, when the owner of the manor, Edington
monastery, apparently still had the demesne in
hand, it included 708 a. of arable with pasture
rights for 29 horses, 14 oxen, 14 cows, and 696
sheep. (fn. 182) In 1534 Edington leased the demesne
to Richard Barton and members of his family,
delivering to them farm stock which included a
flock of 300 sheep; among the farm buildings
included in the lease was a long sheephouse of
13 bays (spatia). (fn. 183) The demesne estate of Robert
Ashfield in 1600 included an extensive holding
of open-field land with pasture rights for 500
sheep and 20 cattle. (fn. 184)
The tenants on the manor in 1086 were 25
villani, working a total of 12 ploughs. (fn. 185) In 1432
13½ yardlands were held by customary tenants
(a yardland comprising 48 a.). That was a relatively small area of the total arable on the manor,
which was then extended at 45¼ yardlands
(2,212 a.), and some former customary land had
presumably been absorbed in the large demesne
estate and the large freehold (11¾ yardlands)
then owned by John Culmer; in addition four
smaller freeholds comprised a total of 5¼ yardlands. The total acreage given shows the acre
being used was a good deal smaller than the statute acre, as the modern acreage of the parish is
only 2,261 and the extent of 1432 does not
include home closes, common downland, and
woodland. (fn. 186) The estate formerly of the Mitton
family had a few tenants in 1329, the year it was
absorbed by the manor: two, with 1½ yardland
and ½ yardland, were held for life and another,
with 2 yardlands, was held in villeinage. (fn. 187)
By the early 17th century most, possibly all,
of the customary tenancies on the manor were
held on leases for three lives or 99 years. (fn. 188) In
1673 there were 14 leaseholds. The three largest,
two of which still owed heriots, were that of the
Bedwell family, based on a farmhouse at Wales
End and comprising some land in closes and 4¾
yardlands in the open fields, that of the Barton
family with a farmhouse south of the church, 5
closes, a plot of meadow, and 4 yardlands, and
that of the Spencer family with a farmhouse in
the north-west part of the village, 2 closes, a plot
of meadow, and 3 yardlands. The other holdings
in 1673 ranged in size from 4 a. to 1 yardland. (fn. 189)
Most of the parish comprised two great open
fields, a north and a south field, divided by the
village and its home closes. They were managed
on a two-course rotation of a corn crop and a
fallow until inclosure in the early 18th century,
though by then it was the custom to reserve a
'hitching' from the fallow field and sow it with
a crop of peas. The two fields covered a total of
1,730 a. in 1707. The north field was bordered
on the east by a tract of common downland,
which covered 167 a. in 1707 when it was apparently used mainly for pasturing cows and
draught animals, and there were small parcels
of common and waste islanded within the open
fields, used mainly for horse pasture. The only
farmland in the parish held in severalty in 1707
was 118 a., comprising home closes in the village
and inclosed meadow land at Broadwater bottom
at the north boundary. (fn. 190) Farmington grove, the
54-acre wood between the downs and the east
boundary, was apparently several to the lord of
the manor, while c. 60 a. at the south end of the
parish was by then included in Lodge park. (fn. 191)
Pasture for sheep in the open fields was stinted
at 40 to the yardland in 1432, the lord, the freeholders, and the tenants having rights to a total
of 1,810; each yardland also had a right to pasture 2 horses, an ox, and a cow. (fn. 192) By the late
17th century the stint for sheep was 50 to the
yardland, that for horses and cattle remaining
unchanged. (fn. 193)
Inclosure of Farmington was contemplated as
early as the 1630s, (fn. 194) and when carried out under
an Act of parliament of 1713 it was the earliest
parliamentary inclosure in Gloucestershire to
cover more than a small area of a parish. (fn. 195) The
Act, which itself incorporated the award, was
put into effect in 1714. In preparation for the
inclosure the lord of the manor, the earl of
Scarbrough, secured in his hands all the leaseholds except for the 181-acre estate of Thomas
Bedwell. (fn. 196) He then, in 1711, re-granted several
of the houses and their home closes on new
leases for lives. (fn. 197) Some farmhouses and old
inclosures were, however, re-allotted by the Act.
The earl received 87 a. of old inclosures and
1,455 a. of the open fields and downs, 494 a. was
allotted for the large freehold belonging to the
Smith family, and Thomas Bedwell, who had
presumably made some separate arrangement
with the earl, was awarded a freehold estate of
65 a. in place of his leasehold. The rector of
Farmington surrendered his tithes and glebe in
return for rent charges payable from the three
estates. (fn. 198)
The inclosure effectively divided the parish
into two sections by creating a long diagonal
boundary, which the owners of the new estates
made an agreement to maintain in 1714; (fn. 199) it ran
from the Foss way near Foss quarry to the north
side of the village and continued south of the
village as far as the wall of Lodge park. The
greater part of the parish, lying north-east of
that boundary, formed the manor estate while
the bulk of the land south-west of it (later
included in the farms called Bedwell, Folly, and
Clearcupboard) was awarded for the other
estates. Later, by purchases in 1766 and 1830,
all the land south-west of the boundary was
added to the manor estate, which remained the
sole landowner (except for Lord Sherborne's
Lodge park) until the early 20th century. On the
manor estate the pattern of new fields was largely laid out in 1714, (fn. 200) though a lease of 1719
provided for at least one further hedge to be
planted by the landowner. That lease, granted
for 12 years, was for a farm of 194 a. based on
one of the old farmhouses in the village, but
another made in 1721, of the whole of the former
common downs for 11 years, provided for a new
farmhouse to be built by the landlord. (fn. 201)
Two parts of the former open fields on the
manor estate, 124 a. adjoining the Foss way and
140 a. south of the Gloucester-Oxford road,
were described as sheep walks following the
inclosure in 1714 (fn. 202) and were presumably then
being laid down as permanent grassland.
Another field, of 57 a. near the Foss quarry, was
planned to grow sainfoin under the terms of a
lease of 1719. Sainfoin had also been planted on
a part of the former downs by 1721, when the
lease of that area provided for the ploughing of
the whole of the remainder, half for corn and
half for grass seeds. (fn. 203) In the 1770s the land of
the parish was used mainly for corn and sheep,
with sheep of high quality being raised on it. (fn. 204)
Turnips had been introduced as a course in the
rotation on the farms by 1801. (fn. 205)
By 1804 the manor estate included five farms,
which were then held on leases for 12, 14, or 21
years. Manor (or Green) farm, based on a farmhouse in the village on the west side of the green,
comprised 299 a.; Bedwell farm (the land purchased in 1766), based on a farmhouse at Wales
End, had 209 a.; and three were based on outlying farmsteads established since the inclosure,
Starveall with 381 a., Empshill with c. 290 a.,
and New Barn with 260 a. A sixth farm, Camp
farm, was perhaps in hand in 1804, and in 1825,
when it comprised 167 a., was held with
Empshill. (fn. 206) By 1825 three of the six farms were
on annual tenancies. (fn. 207) Another farm, Folly farm,
was added to the estate in 1830, (fn. 208) but the estate
still comprised six farms in the later 19th century, for Manor farm was divided up before 1876
between Starveall farm and Camp farm; the
latter then also included land and buildings at
Clearcupboard. (fn. 209) In 1900 Starveall (then called
Grove farm) had 470 a. and Camp 451 a.; Folly
farm had 210 a. and the other three remained at
approximately their 1804 acreages. (fn. 210)
In 1827 leases of three farms of the Wallers'
estate in the south of the parish, New Barn,
Empshill, and Bedwell, all then predominantly
arable, provided that 1/7 of the land was to be
kept in sainfoin and the remainder cropped on
what was described as the usual six-field rotation
of the neighbourhood. It comprised new grass
seeds; grass seeds to be fed off; wheat; oats, peas,
vetches, or other pulses; turnips; and barley. (fn. 211)
On New Barn farm the stock of the previous
tenant had included 80 ewes and 80 two-year
old sheep (fn. 212) and all the farms presumably then
had flocks, raised on the fodder crops in the
rotation. Folly farm was tenanted at that period
by successive owners of the King's Head inn at
Northleach, James Heath (d. 1810) and Charles
Day (fn. 213) who in 1835 was using it partly to breed
horses. (fn. 214)
A similar regime to that laid down in the leases
of 1827 evidently continued on the farms of the
parish later in the century, as is indicated by the
acreages of the different crops returned in 1866
and 1896. In 1866 a total of 1,571 a. was
returned as under crops and 364 a. as permanent
grassland, (fn. 215) but by 1896, with the general
depression in corn prices, c. 300 a. had been
taken out of cultivation and most of it turned to
rough grazing. The sheep flocks, a total of 962
with 481 lambs in 1866, and the cattle, a total
of 156 in 1866, had also fallen by 1896. (fn. 216) The
depression reduced drastically the rents from the
farms on the manor estate: they totalled £1,386
in 1856 (fn. 217) but only £622 in 1900 when the owner
offered the estate for sale, stressing its potential
as a base for hunting and shooting. (fn. 218)
By 1926 there had been a further, though
smaller loss of arable land, then returned at
1,161 a. compared with 765 a. of permanent
grass, but livestock enterprises, both sheep and
beef cattle, had revived. (fn. 219) In 1956 (when the
total figures suggest that at least one farm
included a large acreage outside the parish) the
five farms based in the parish returned a total of
1,804 a. of arable; hardly any roots were then
grown and most was used for rotated grass and
cereals, particularly barley which had become
the dominant crop in the area by the late 1960s.
A large stock of cattle numbering 818 animals
and including one or more dairy herds was
returned in 1956, but the number of cattle had
fallen again by the late 1960s. (fn. 220) In the 1980s and
1990s the land was used mainly for growing
cereals and raising sheep, though crops of oilseed rape and linseed were also planted,
depending on the current subsidies from the
European Union. The Barrows farmed part of
their estate until 1991 but in 1999 it was all let.
Most of the rest of the parish, belonging to the
estate of E. R. H. Wills, was farmed for that
estate with land in Northleach with Eastington
parish. (fn. 221)
By an agreement in the late 12th century the
lord of the manor, William of Eaton, allowed
Winchcombe abbey, lord of Sherborne, to raise
the height of its millpond, evidently on the
Sherborne brook within Sherborne, and undertook that neither he nor his heirs would build a
mill on a pond further upstream, within
Farmington. (fn. 222) Some years later Winchcombe
granted a mill in Sherborne near Farmington,
probably the same one, to William's successor
John of Hastings in fee, and the lords of
Farmington still owned that mill, called Stagges
mill, in 1355. (fn. 223) That suggests that there was no
mill within Farmington itself in the Middle
Ages, and no record of one has been found later.
The name Mill path, recorded in 1600 for the
lane leading south from the village toward
Eastington (fn. 224) suggests that the inhabitants once
carried their corn to a mill there.
A woolman John Taylor lived in Farmington
in 1505 when he was dealing at Gloucester; (fn. 225) he
died in 1509 and was buried in Northleach
church, commemorated by a brass with symbols
of his trade. (fn. 226) From the mid 17th century to the
end of the 19th the usual complement of tradesmen at Farmington was a blacksmith, a cordwainer, and a wheelwright or carpenter. In the
mid 19th century there were also several stonemasons. (fn. 227) A weaver was recorded in 1657, (fn. 228) and
there were maltsters in 1711 and 1726. (fn. 229) A newly
built cottage and smithy in Farmington was
mentioned in 1633, (fn. 230) and another was built on
a plot of land at the north end of the green (fn. 231) by
the smith Thomas Wheeler c. 1746 (fn. 232) and worked
by his family until c. 1906. (fn. 233) In 1851 among
heads of household in Farmington the nonagricultural tradesmen were 5 stonemasons, 2
smiths, a carpenter, a cordwainer, a tea dealer,
and a grocer; the others included 30 farm
labourers and various estate and domestic
workers employed by the resident owner. (fn. 234) A
carpenter, employed on the estate, worked in the
parish until the First World War, (fn. 235) and the village had a shop until 1939 or later. (fn. 236)
The lord of the manor leased a stone quarry
on the common downs at Farmington to two
Northleach masons in 1634, (fn. 237) and a quarry or
'mine' was recorded on the Fyfield family's
estate in 1639. (fn. 238) The principal quarry in the
parish was later the Foss quarry, which was
opened before 1707 beside the Foss way at the
north-west boundary. It was probably an area
where stone had long been dug in many small
pits, for the part of the open fields adjoining the
quarry on the south was known as the
Diggings. (fn. 239) The Foss quarry, where the old
extensive workings had been closed and replaced
by new ones to the south before 1882, (fn. 240) was
leased to a Farmington mason Caleb Joynes
from the mid 19th century. (fn. 241) He was succeeded
there before 1876 (fn. 242) by Stephen Joynes who
worked as a mason in Farmington until the early
1930s, (fn. 243) presumably still leasing the quarry. The
owners of the estate, the Barrow family, took
the quarry in hand before the Second World
War and worked it subsequently on its own
account. From 1991 Capt. J. J. D. Barrow made
it his principal enterprise, modernizing the
equipment and expanding the business. In 1999,
when 70 people were employed there, including
15 qualified stonemasons, the business had two
main branches, the supply of building stone,
including ashlar and rubble walling stone, flagstones, and architectural dressings, and the production of a range of fireplaces in traditional
styles. (fn. 244)
Local Government.
The Farmington
manor court was exercising leet jurisdiction by
the early 15th century. (fn. 245) It was evidently still
being held at the end of the 17th century, (fn. 246)
though the leet sessions at least had become
intermittent by 1674, when the county magistrates appointed a constable for Farmington to
hold office until another leet was held. (fn. 247) Court
rolls survive for the years 1438–40 (fn. 248) and a record
of a court of survey for 1673. (fn. 249)
Two churchwardens were being elected for
the parish by 1498 (fn. 250) but none of their records
or other parish records are known to survive.
Farmington suffered a particularly severe
burden of poor relief for a small rural parish
during part of the early 19th century. In 1803,
when 21 people received relief regularly and 14
occasionally, the annual cost, £287, was the
highest in the hundred after Northleach and
Withington, (fn. 251) and in 1815 the cost reached
£424, with 38 people on permanent relief. (fn. 252)
Farmington parish became part of the
Northleach poor-law union in 1836, (fn. 253) and was in
the Northleach rural district from 1895 (fn. 254) until
that was absorbed by the new Cotswold district
in 1974.
Church.
The church at Farmington had, on
architectural evidence, been built by the 12th
century. The living was a rectory in the 1280s
when the first presentations are found recorded, (fn. 255)
and it has remained one. In the late 14th century, however, burial rights over the parish
belonged to the church of Northleach, of which
manor Farmington had once been a part, and
mortuaries were paid to the vicar of Northleach; (fn. 256)
he was receiving a small annual cash payment
from the rector of Farmington in 1535. (fn. 257) The
right to bury at Farmington was possibly not
secured until after the mid 16th century. (fn. 258) In
1974 the living was united with Northleach and
Hampnett, (fn. 259) and in 1999 Farmington was one of
a group of parishes served by a priest-in-charge
based at Northleach.
The advowson of the church descended with
the manor (fn. 260) until c. 1950 when the Barrow
family transferred it to the bishop of
Gloucester. (fn. 261) Queen Eleanor presented in 1289
when the manor was in the Crown's hands
during a minority. (fn. 262) Richard Yate of Longworth
(Berks.) presented in 1569 under a grant for one
turn, (fn. 263) and the Crown presented in 1621 and
1636. (fn. 264)
The rectory was endowed with all the tithes
of the parish and with glebe, which was
described in 1535 as a close and 2 yardlands (fn. 265)
and in 1662 comprised c. 7½ a. in closes and
78 a. in the open fields. (fn. 266) At the inclosure in
1714 the rector surrendered his tithes and glebe
in return for rent charges totalling £120,
apportioned among the freehold estates awarded
to the lord of the manor, the Smith family, and
Thomas Bedwell. (fn. 267) The living was valued at £10
in 1291, (fn. 268) £17 2s. 4d. in 1535, (fn. 269) and £90 in
1650. (fn. 270) In 1856, no augmentation having been
made since the inclosure, the fixed value
remained at £120. (fn. 271) In 1918 the patron, C. D.
Barrow, gave £500 to augment the living, which
the Ecclesiastical Commissioners met with a like
sum; the annual income was as a result increased
by £40. (fn. 272)
In 1707 the rectory house stood just to the
west of the church. (fn. 273) It was rebuilt by the rector
Harry Waller c. 1788 (fn. 274) on a site further to the
north-west. The house, of ashlar, is of two storeys and attics with a hipped roof and has a symmetrical, sashed main front to the south. After
1974 the incumbent of the united benefice lived
at Northleach (fn. 275) and the rectory was sold.
John Lawrence, rector of Farmington from
1541 until his death in 1568, held the living with
Withington rectory; (fn. 276) his curate at Farmington
was found only moderately satisfactory in his
knowledge of doctrine in 1551. (fn. 277) Nicholas Jones,
rector 1571–9, (fn. 278) was accused of acquiring the
benefice by simony, and in 1576 his failings
included not preaching and not perambulating
the parish bounds. His wife was then described
as 'a breeder of discord between man and wife'. (fn. 279)
The lord of the manor Robert Ashfield presented a relation, William Ashfield, in 1607.
From 1642 the rector was Humphrey Smith, (fn. 280)
who was described as a preaching minister in
1650; (fn. 281) he subscribed at the Restoration and
served until his death in 1688. (fn. 282) Thomas
Beynon, rector 1773–86, (fn. 283) was residing at
Haverfordwest (Pemb.) in 1784, when
Farmington was served by a curate who lived at
Cold Aston. (fn. 284) Harry Waller was instituted in
1786 on the presentation of his father, the lord
of the manor. From 1789 he was also vicar of
Winslow (Bucks.) and from 1793 rector of
Hazleton, but he served Farmington in person
for most of his incumbency, during which in
1810 he became owner of the manor. (fn. 285) In his
last years, however, his debts forced him to live
abroad, at Boulogne. At his death his son, Harry
Edmund Waller, presented his own former
tutor, John Boudier. (fn. 286) Boudier was also vicar of
St. Mary's, Warwick, and from c. 1831 until his
resignation in 1858 the living was served by
curates. (fn. 287)
The church of ST. PETER (fn. 288) comprises chancel with north vestry, nave with north aisle and
south porch, and west tower. The nave was built
in the early or mid 12th century, probably with
only a small chancel attached and without a
tower. It has north and south corbel tables with
animal heads and pellet ornament and the south
doorway and the chancel arch have similar ornament. The chancel was rebuilt near the end of
the 12th century, when the north aisle, which
has an arcade of wide scalloped capitals on circular piers, was added. (fn. 289) There is a plain corbel
table with pellets along the chancel and the north
aisle, and both the aisle arcade and a blocked
chancel window have slightly pointed arches. In
the late 13th century two windows were inserted
in the chancel south wall. The south porch was
added in the late 14th century or the early 15th.
In the late 15th century or the early 16th a slight
and plain tower of three stages was built against
the west wall of the nave, which was pierced for
a tower arch but retains a blocked 12th-century
window above. Two windows were inserted in
the nave south wall at the same period. The
upper part of the east wall of the chancel was
rebuilt in the 16th or 17th century; its squareheaded window contains a late version of
Perpendicular tracery, its head incorporating
patterns which could be intended for the initials
'M Y' (though no connexion with any rector or
landowner has been discovered).
The interior was repaired c. 1850, (fn. 290) the work
perhaps including the heavy restoration visible
on two south windows of the nave. A thorough
restoration was carried out in 1890 and 1891 by
the firm of Waller & Son of Gloucester, which
rebuilt the aisle with a central bay of unusual
appearance, having a gable over a domesticlooking window. A north vestry was added then
and the church was reroofed and reseated. (fn. 291)
The roofs were retiled in Cotswold stone in
1998.
A piscina in the chancel bears the initials of
Thomas Jackson, rector in 1509 and until 1540
or later. (fn. 292) Jackson's name appears, together with
obscure symbolism including a boat's rudder,
on a carved fragment, presumably part of a
memorial monument, which was set above a
window in the 19th-century north aisle; the
boat's rudder is represented on another fragment set in a splay of a chancel window. The
fittings of the church include a 17th-century
communion rail, an early 18th-century pulpit, a
Gothick-style font installed in 1784, (fn. 293) and an Art
Nouveau brass lectern by Omar Ramsden and
Alwyn Carr, given in memory of W. N. Waller
(d. 1909). (fn. 294)
There are three bells, a treble of 1650, a
second cast by Henry Neale in 1637, and a 15thcentury tenor, thought to be by Robert Hendley.
The ring was restored in 1902 in memory of a
daughter and grandson of H. E. Waller. (fn. 295) A set
of plate, comprising a chalice and two patens,
was given to the church in 1718 by the lord of
the manor, the earl of Scarbrough, and a silver
almsdish of 1805 was given by the rector John
Boudier in 1850. (fn. 296) In the churchyard, raised on
a plinth against the west side of the tower, is a
large chest tomb for the Waller family, with
inscriptions for family members who died
between 1788 and 1944. There are several
ornately carved headstones of the mid and late
18th century. The parish registers survive from
1613. (fn. 297)
Nonconformity.
In 1836 Caleb Joynes,
a mason (fn. 298) of Farmington, registered his house
there for dissenting worship. (fn. 299) There was a village meeting in connexion with the Northleach
Congregational church in 1862; (fn. 300) it probably did
not long survive.
Education.
There was no school in
Farmington in 1818, (fn. 301) but by 1833 a Sunday
school and a day school had been established;
the day school taught 44 children and was supported partly by charitable contributions and
partly by weekly payments of ½d. for each
child. (fn. 302) By the mid 1840s the day school had
been replaced by two small parish schools, one
with 12 children attending and the other with
16; neither had a secured schoolroom and both
were apparently financed by payments from
the parents. The Sunday school, held in part
of the church, continued, supported by
subscriptions. (fn. 303)
By 1856 a National school had been opened (fn. 304)
in a building at Wales End provided by the
Waller family. Edmund Waller supported the
school in 1870 (fn. 305) and remained owner of the
building in 1875 when, to meet government
requirements, it was enlarged to provide accommodation for 60 children. In 1876, however, the
average attendance was c. 35 children in a single
class; it was then supported wholly by subscription, (fn. 306) presumably mainly from Waller and the
rector. In 1885 the average attendance was 44 (fn. 307)
but by 1904, when the school was called
Farmington C. of E. school, it was down to 25. (fn. 308)
There was some revival to an average attendance
of 34 by 1922, but by 1932 it had fallen to only
14. (fn. 309) The school was closed that year or soon
afterwards. (fn. 310)
Charity for the Poor.
Edmund Waller
(d. 1810), lord of the manor, left £5,000 stock
to provide an income for life for his housekeeper
Anna Joynes and then to benefit the poor of
Beaconsfield (Bucks.), Upper Turkdean, and
Farmington in bread, clothing, and blankets. (fn. 311)
The charity became active on Anna's death in
1835, by which time the costs of a suit brought
by her against Edmund's trustees had reduced
the principal to £3,692 stock. (fn. 312) In 1887 the principal was divided into three, with £1,231
assigned to each place, under separate trustees. (fn. 313)
Farmington was receiving £36 a year as its share
of the proceeds in 1889. (fn. 314) About 1970 the
income, £29 a year, was being distributed in
coal. (fn. 315)