THE DIARIES OF A FOXEARTH FARMER, 1888 – 1898

THE DIARIES OF A FOXEARTH FARMER, 1888 – 1898

A talk by Ashley Cooper

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11th March 2025 was the 25th Anniversary of the commencement of the Society, the AGM

of the Society AND a talk by Society President, Ashley Cooper. To say that there was a

good turnout would be an understatement.

Ashley commenced by acknowledging the generous loan of the diaries of John Row from

David Jackson, many years ago. From them, this presentation and two chapters from his

book, ‘Our Mother Earth’ were derived.

John Row was born in Harwich in 1843. He arrived in Long Melford as the stationmaster -

with a sideline in the sale of selling accident insurance to passengers (who were foolish

enough to travel on those ‘dangerous contraptions’). Later he established insurance offices

in Hall Street, Long Melford, (now known as Robins Row), where the words ‘Railway

Passenger Assurance’ can still be seen over the door.

In his mid-40’s’s, John Row entered farming by leasing two farms - Kings Prentice and

Highlanders Farm, of about 40 and 57 acres respectively. The original rent at Kings

Prentice was £2 per acre, but by the time he acquired Highlanders, the rent had been

reduced. This was probably as a result of the terrible time that the farming industry was

then having.

The population of our local villages had declined dramatically because of low employment

prospects, inferior trade prices and the improved opportunities that could be found by

emigrating abroad, to London, or the industrial North. As examples of the decline in

population, Ashley pointed to the census records which showed a 25% decline in

Foxearth’s population between 1851 and 1901, with similar reductions in Pentlow and

Borley. Farming was still a manual job—requiring an enormous labour force. Ashley

estimated that Foxearth would have had about sixty farmworkers in 1891, with a similar

number of heavy horses on the village’s farms, to do the work.

By 1895, John Row had taken on Lower Hall farm at Foxearth. Ashley showed

photographs of where these farms were and also provided an aerial photograph of

Foxearth, which clearly showed Ward’s Brewery, as it was a few decades later. This led to

a side issue and a question about the old gatehouse entrance to the Brewery, which still

exists today. The question, which gained a prize - what is the date shown on the house? 

The answer, 1907!

Ashley highlighted several entries from John Row’s diaries, written week-by-week in black

ink--but occasionally in red ink--to draw attention to a significant event or occurrence.  In

October 1892, he sowed his winter beans, ‘in a miserable wet seedbed.’ But the following

March was correspondingly dry. On the 9th he writes that he has finished drilling ‘earlier

than in other years’.

On the 12th is another positive entry - the birth of a foal, ‘Prince Charlie.’ But in April, Row

records the death of another horse while it was ploughing. Also in April “very dry, nothing

growing’. He references ‘cuckoo barley’ - an expression of a late-emerging, poor crop.

This is later confirmed by his entry on August 25th - ‘poorest harvest on record’.

During the talk, Ashley made good use of paintings by Ben Perkins, depicting the events

taken from Row’s diaries. For the August 1893 entry, Perkins had depicted a large wagon

loaded with wheat sheaves, together with an oak tree branch on the top of the load. There

was much discussion of the significance of the oak branch which was a symbolic tradition

of the end of harvest.

Farming did not improve for John Row! In August 1894 he writes, ‘such a miserable wet

time and prospects so disastrous to the whole area, that gave up making memorandum’.

He was beset with problems. Wheat prices were lower that before before the Napoleonic

wars--as it flooded in from the American prairies--refrigerated meat could likewise come

from abroad and there a farm workers strike in Belchamp Walter. By 1895 Row had given

up Highlanders Farm for Lower Hall, Foxearth. The ‘miserable time’ continued, with the

death of a cow which he states had been ‘poisoned’!

By 1898, however, there was some brighter, more cheery entries, with Wheat prices giving

Row a profit for which he was ‘well pleased’ The later entries from 1898 could almost

have been written by farmers of today, faced with the same issues ‘5th August –

Harvesting’ but then rain halted work until the 12th.  His reaper broke down, so he

purchased a new binder. That also gave problems which required a journey to London to

get spare parts. Finally the weather improved. From August 26th , the weather was fine and

dry. Harvest finished on September 9th, But, the dry weather continued. By the 25th , it was

too hard to plough, and he had to cart water to the livestock. After 6 weeks drought; the

weather finally broke on 15th October.

‘A farmer’s life doesn’t change’, said Ashley, to close his fascinating, knowledgeable,

entertaining and thoroughly enjoyable talk.

Kelvin Hastings-Smith