THE BCH ARCHIVE
LOCAL HISTORY FOR
BIRTSMORTON
CASTLEMORTON
HOLLYBUSH
And The Surrounding District
Eight Oaks
1947
2012
Other names Eight Oaken Hill Farm
Origin of name Eight Oaks grow on the ridge
This coin of 1696 was found at the farm.
2018
A plan of the Farm in 1760 is held in The Hive, Worcester.
(Ref 705:24/409, Accession 869, Parcel 15). It is orientated upside down.
“An exact plan of the Eight Oaken Farm in the Parish of Castlemorton in the county of Worcester, being part of the estate of Thomas Williams Esq, taken and delineated in the year of Our Lord 1760.
Signed, Meredith Jones.
NB The Terrier to this map being mislaid there was a new one made in the year 1795 by Thomas Buckle.”
(Land Terrier Areas - A land terrier dataset is a record system for an institution's land and property holdings. It differs from a land registry in that it is maintained for the organisation's own needs and may not be publicly accessible)
1. Un-named, east side of Gloucester Road
2. Row
3. Row Hill
4. Orchard
5. Ten Acre
6. Boyce Piece
7. Farm Meadow
8. Five Acres
9. Old Fields
10. Lower Old Field
11. Taylor’s Field
12. Ductills Field
13. Little Meadow
14. Five Acres
15. Cold Comfort
16. Hunters Hall Field
17. The Hill
“NB Meadows are expressed by the deepest green as No 7 with this characterised.
Pasture by the lightest green as No 15 &co.
And Arable land by the yellow or straw colour.
Also note the proper scale for this plan is the quarter scale or one quarter of an inch.”
Close up of the Farm House
Names in surrounding fields are Richard Parlour, Sam Clinton, Mr Rose, Richard Bullock, Mr Sherriff, James Taylor, Richard Hemings, Hunters Hall – Cox Esq, Wallredin.
1812 Ordnance Survey Map
In 1839, owned by William Berrington (Little Malvern Court Estate) and occupied by James Evans. It was owned by the Berrington family until 1948.
1839 Tithe Map
In 1841, occupied by James Evans, Farmer with his wife Mary and children John and Thomas; and servant Mary Beale.
In 1851, occupied by James Evans, Farmer of 75 acres employing two labourers, his wife Mary and children Thomas and Mary Ann.
A plan of the Farm in 1855 is held in The Hive, Worcester. (Ref 705:24/464, Accession 869, Parcel 15).
1855, part of the Eight Oaken Hill Estate belonging to Charles M Berrington
Close up of the Farm House
In 1861, occupied by George Jones, Farmer with his children George B, Emily, William H, Caroline M, John and Susan B; and a servant – Charles Wagstaff, Carters Boy.
In 1871, occupied by George Bullock, Farmer of 100 acres employing 3 Labourers and 1 Boy. There is a separate entry for Henry Bullock, Labourer with his wife Caroline and children Eliza, John, Jane and Clara. The property used to be two cottages.
In 1871, 23 August. Best brood mare for producing Hunters, G B Jones, Eight Oaks. £10 First prize.
In 1875, 14 August. Brood Mare for producing Hunters. G. B. Jones, Eight Oaks, Castlemorton. Highly commended.
In 1881, occupied by George Pantall, Farmer of 83 acres employing 2 men and 2 boys, living with his mother Ellen and two servants – Mary Bullock and Thomas Whittle.
In 1882, George Pantall left and there was a valuation of hay. (Held in The Hive, Ref 705:24:489 accession No 869. Pantall was giving up his tenancy and the document shows that his predecessor, Jones, had been not paid his rent to the Mr C M Berrington, so the machinery he owned was distrained. The valuation was to sell back to Berrington the value of the machinery and produce that Pantall was leaving behind - £162:4:1d.
Account of Husbandry:
In Folly Field, 13 acres 3 times ploughed, twice scuffled, one dragged, one harrowed.
In Fold Gavel, manure heap and ashes.
Hay and Straw
3 ricks of what straw off 20 acres
3 ricks of barley straw off 13 acres
1 rick of bean straw off 6 acres
1 rick of pea straw off 6 acres
Vetch off ½ acre
Old straw for mulching
Hay Rick 22’x18’x12’
Hay Rick 20’x13’10’
In Garden
Cauliflower, plants, carrots, parsnips
Implements & Fixtures
Tallet ladder (a ladder to reach fodder and timber cut and stored ready for use)
Iron bar and suten (or sutan, meaning not known) to cider mill
Two scum stones, 2 grind stones, rick stools, timbered horse power, turnip pulper, chaff engine, streh (not known what this is) and pulleys
Feeding Stuff (valued at £16:11:5s within the total)
1885 Ordnance Survey Map. ‘p’ marks the site of the pump for the old well.
In 1891, occupied by Benjamin Powell, Farmer, his wife Charlotte E and son George and his wife Ruth, and their children George, Charles, Sarah A, Jessie, Frederick H and Arthur J.
In 1901, occupied by George Blacker, Farmer and his wife Anne and their son Ernest; and a servant and Carter on the Farm, Albert Hartland.
In 1910, known as Eight Oaken Hill Farm, occupied by Charles Biddle.
In 1911, occupied by Charles Biddle, Farmer with his wife Ellen Maria and children Frederic Henry, Hubert George, Louis Edward, Florence Lucy, May Annie, Harold Philip and Reginald Horace. He was still there in 1921, as the postcard shows
In 1932, Walter Joseph Howells moved in.
In 1939, occupied by Walter J Howells, Mixed Farmer, and his wife Helen. He is the brother of William Francis Howells, father of Roger and Diana Howells of Roseville. There was a connecting gate to Sherwood Cottage where his brother Ernie Howells lived.
In 1947, Eight Oaks Farm (Lot 1) was sold by Little Malvern Court Estate for £4100 to Charles Drinkwater Bunn, with vacant possession from 25 March 1948. Lot 2 was sold to somebody else.