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General
Allotment Centenaries
In 1913 there were about 600,000 allotments in the UK, and although the 1908 Smallholdings and Allotments Act had empowered local authorities to obtain land to provide allotments, there was still some resistance.
That resistance soon faded, as during the First World War, the severity of the impact that Germany’s blockades had on food supplies, came into realisation. There was then a serious move to increase the number of allotments, and local authorities were given
powers to turn any derelict land into allotments via the Defence of the Realm Act (DORA). By June 1917 the DORA had resulted in 1,000 councils creating 12,000 acres of new allotment plots and by 1918 there were 1.5 million plots. Many new Allotment Societies were formed during this time.
In this series, we will be celebrating the organisations that are still going, and growing strong after 100 years.
B&CA award presentation
Mayor, Keith & Midge Mason cutting the cake
Didcot Allotments’ Centenary Celebrations
In Didcot, Oxfordshire, there are ve allotment sites, owned
and managed by the Town Council. Late in 2015 allotment holders became aware of a plan, instigated by the then leader
of the Council, to sell off some or all of the in-town sites for development, and replace them with a new out-of-town site. An action group was set up by allotment holders to oppose this plan, and early in 2016, Didcot Allotment Society (DAS), af liated to NAS, was created to continue that ght.
In support of its campaign, DAS looked into the history of allotments and found out that one of the sites, Broadway in the centre of the town, had been used for allotments continuously since 1916. During that period there had been two earlier unsuccessful attempts by the Council to sell it off. Details of this turbulent history can be found on the DAS website at: https://www.didcotallotments. com/history-of-broadway
DAS, therefore, decided to hold an event in the summer of 2016 to celebrate its centenary, to remind the townspeople and their councillors of their continuing enjoyment of the green space amenity offered by this and the other allotment sites in town. The Broadway site had the added advantage that it was an open site alongside a main road between some major new housing developments and the town centre. It was, therefore, well suited to attract passers-by, who could be shown around the plots and be introduced to allotment life.
In the spring of 2016 the Council gave up their immediate plan to sell, stripped the plan’s main architect of his role of Council Leader, and stated that they had no immediate plans to sell off the sites, although they could not of course rule it out in the future. The lifting of this cloud allowed the centenary celebration to take place in a happy atmosphere of collaboration with the Town Council.
The event took place on a warm, sunny day in mid-July. It included kids’ activities, a stall of cake/drinks provided by allotment holders, hot food provided by the Scouts, a plant sale in aid of DAS funds and guided tours of the allotments.
Displays included a panel on the history of the allotment site, society stalls and a display of local artist Linda Benton’s paintings (originals and cards) featuring the allotments. Linda likes to visit the site to paint the allotment scene or make sketches for her trademark composite sense of the town. One of her paintings of the site was reproduced on the centenary birthday cake.
The Mayor, Councillor Steve Connel, cut the cake. He was given a helping hand by Keith and Midge Mason, who have had an allotment on the site continuously for well over half a century. It was a very happy occasion and many present expressed the view that we should do it more often – certainly not waiting for another 100 years to pass! We, therefore, held another open day in the summer of 2017 and plan to make it a regular annual event.
This has become part of DAS’s strategy for attracting newcomers to the allotments. Didcot is undergoing rapid expansion via its many new estates that have brought many young families into residences with little or no garden provision. A need for small starter plots
was identi ed in a comprehensive survey of allotment holders that DAS carried out as part of its campaign in the spring of 2016. The demographic and usage pattern data in this survey has informed our current strategy of working with the Council to improve the tness- for-purpose of allotments offered to newcomers – but that is another story.
The Society’s outreach efforts were recognised by the award of the Winner’s prize in the Raising Awareness category at the Didcot First Business & Community Awards ceremony in November 2017.
Centenary cake
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