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This beautiful stone and brick built farm
house categorised as a listed building, is situated on the
West end of the village of Lyneham and the farm land lies
on both sides of the Hilmarton Road and of the Bradenstoke
and Dauntsey Roads respectively.
It comprises of a thatched and slated roof containing a sitting
room, parlour, back kitchen, front kitchen, pantry, two cellars
and a dairy. On the first floor five bedrooms and a box room.
The farms buildings were described in the 1905 Lyneham estate
sale inside a very useful agricultural holding of 96 acres
conveniently adjacent. The were principally stone and timber
built and roofed with stone, slate and thatch.
The buildings include: a Trap House with loft over, two-stalled
stables, two fold yards, each having open cattle sheds adjoining
a cow house for six with a bull house at the side. Another
yard, with tie-up cow shed for twelve, two loose cattle boxes,
a hay and straw barn, a wagon lodge with granary over, a cart
horse stable for five, and a brick and slated 4-bay cart shed.
Most farms in the parish had single piggeries, but Barrow
End Farm had three, with a meal house adjoining and at the
back of the buildings was a good garden. In 1905, the land
and property was let to Mr William Brind Miflin on a yearly
old Lady-Day Tenancy of a total annual rent of £110.
Note: Lady Day is the Feast of the Annunciation, which is
observed on 25th March. It is one of the four ‘Quarter
Days’ in England, on which some tenancies begin and
end and quarterly payments fall due. The other three are Midsummer
Day - 24th June, Michaelmas - 29th September and Christmas
- 25th December.
Previous teneants include: The 1861 Census shows Betty Pullen
aged 86 lived at the farm with her daughter Elizabeth Pullen,
aged 55, Francis Pullen, aged 50, and a servant Agness Norris
aged 19.
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Freegrove farm is located on the southern
part of the village halfway between Church End and Goatacre
on the eastern side of the A3102 Calne Road. Standing back
from the main road, it is surounded by established trees and
open dairy fields.
The farm was formerly known as Fresh Grove or Frithgrove
in earlier Tithe maps of 1821. At the time of the Walker
Heneage
Estate enumeration of 1821 the farmland was not documented
for taxation on the estate.
Earlier records indicate that
in 1629 Edmond Long (d 1664) settled
certain tithe issues from the rectorial estate known as
Lyneham Court on his son Richard. Edmond Long conveyed all
the tithes
of Freegrove to either Adam or Robert Tuck. Thereafter the remaining tithes both great or small from
the rectory estate continued to belong to the lay rectors
of Lyneham. The estate remained in the Tuck family and by
1719 Robert Tuck was seised of Freegrove Farm. In 1744 he
devised Freegrove to his son Adam.
Freegrove Farm was also
home to the Large family - John Large in 1783 and his grandson
Jacob Large from 1841 to his death in 1866. The 1871 census
reflects the farm was occupied by Issac Wright aged 51 from
Gloucester. By 1880 Freegrove,
at this date was leased
to Arthur Pocock,
had been aquired by William Henry Poynder (d.1880) and by
1885 had passed to William Dickson Poyner.
The Pocock family
Traditions of excellent herds of the farm
were recorded at the 1909 Royal Agricultural Show Gloucester
when Arthur Pocock achieved
a reputable First Prize for one of his Jersey Bull "Prime
Minister" the
prize cow was fed on Thorley's Cake and Thorley's Food. For
additional pedigree and family information facts including
a family lineage click
here
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