Farming in Smalley

Throughout the fluctuating fortunes of the inhabitants of Smalley, agriculture has been a great stabilizing influence. In the days of early settlement, land cultivation was naturally, merely a means of subsistence. Later the 'strip' system evolved; each cultivated stretch of land (field) was partioned by ditches or mounds into long strips, which were divided by communal agreement among the villagers, the Lord of the Manor taking his strip, or 'furlong', among those of his tenants. Every year the ownership of the strips changed so that each person had a fair share of the most fertile land. Examples of the ridges and furrows created by this system can still be detected on some village fields, notably the school playing field. People still thought little further ahead than survival over the winter - peas and beans for drying, wheat or rye for making bread, barley for the beer. Hay was harvested from the meadows to feed the remaining cattle until spring; the bulk of the stock was slaughtered and salted each autumn. Odd scraps of scrub or grassland, the fallow fields, open or common land or cultivated fields after harvesting, were used as grazing land. The disadvantage of the system was that in a particular field every man had to grow the same crop as his neighbours and harvest it at the time stipulated by the fieldmaster, so that the stubble could be grazed. Experiment was impractical, progress impossible. After the Enclosure of arable land, probably about 1700, the tenant farmers with their newly fenced small fields or 'closes', were free to sow and harvest what and when they pleased. Root crops were introduced to be used as winter fodder, so reducing the need for autumn slaughtering. Farming became profitable; crops were grown, not only for subsistence but for market: more hands were needed and work was provided for Smalley's landless labourers. By the early 1800s there were over 20 sizable farms in the Smalley area. By experimenting with new crops and different breeds of cattle, and by taking advantage of more modern methods, the farmers of Smalley had prospered. In the village hierachy they rubbed shoulders with the vicar or curate, their children were educated, they were regarded by the humble vilage labourers as men of standing. Literate and of comfortable means, it was to these farmers, joined by the occasional publican, that the villagers looked for their officers of the Vestry. Until the middle of the 20th. century, most householders still practised some form of backyard husbandry to supplement the income from their main occupation. The former vicarage was well supplied with outhouses for pigs and poultry; it was expected that even the incumbent would eke out his meagre stipend by providing for his own table.

Farms and farmers Enclosure Award of 1786 Land Tax 1801 Smalley Village Smalley OPS Home

Sources: This account was written using material from the publication 'Footsteps through Smalley' (1994)