Page 61 - ALG Issue 4 2020

London
London
Welcome to our new members...
6 Individuals
King Bee Academy Horticultural 2020 Project
REPRESENTATIVE
Mr Jeff Barber
39 Seagry Road, London E11 2NH
020 8530 2842 jbarber.nas@gmail.com
MENTOR
Grant Smith
London
0845 478 6351 grantsmith.nas@gmail.com
MENTOR
Paula Owen
London
07838 344408 powen.nas@gmail.com
Calls to 0845 numbers cost 3p (ex VAT) per minute plus your telephone company’s access charge
Woodhouse Allotment Ancestors
Have you ever wondered who had your allotment back in the day? Well, do please read on as we have uncovered the Woodhouse Allotment membership records from 1928, which fascinatingly tell us not just the names and addresses but also the occupations of most plotholders. This provides us with a rich picture of Woodhouse Allotments and of the wider social makeup of North Finchley between the wars.
By 1928 the allotments had, to the
best of our knowledge, been up and running since about 1920; however, it was in 1928 that Woodhouse Allotments Limited was established. In essence this was the means by which our allotment ‘ancestors’ were able to exercise complete control of the allotments
– up until then Finchley Council was responsible for granting individual lettings. So, the creation of the Limited Liability Company was an early form of self-management. Hence the need for shares to be issued and comprehensive records of the shareholder names, addresses and occupations. The habit of recording occupations seems to have petered out by the early 1930s but what we do have here is a treasure trove of interesting insight. The records also provide some detail on when the shares were paid out i.e. when the plotholder gave up their tenancy. Many carried on in to the 1950s and one plot holder held their plot from 1930 to 1969 (see plot 38). It is notable that in 1928 there are no women plotholders, the first that
we can see in our records was Norah Ellen Stephens, the widow of Herbert Stephens (a nursery hand), who takes up the tenancy of her late husband’s plot (97) in December 1930.
We are working with Hugh Petrie, the London Borough of Barnet Archivist (and fellow allotment enthusiast), to see if digitised local newspaper and council records shed any more light on both the creation of the Allotments in the period following the end of the Great War
and the establishment of Woodhouse Allotments Limited in 1928 (the legal form which continues to this day). It
is possible that our then President, Councillor E S Bowen (of eponymous Bowen cup fame), was a key driving force in establishing what appears to have been a flourishing allotment site. For example, a 1923 talk on ‘How to grow potatoes’ made the local press and attracted sixty allotment members. Such meetings including AGMs were often held in the school on Stanhope Road.
OCCUPATIONS
Most of the occupations are what we would term today as semi-skilled
or unskilled manual workers with a smattering of professionals. The largest single group are tram drivers and workers who would have worked out
of The Metropolitan Electric Tramways’ Finchley tram depot situated at the corner of Woodberry Crescent and Rosemont Avenue (the site is today occupied by Homebase). There are a good number of gardeners and this might well relate to the market gardens then present in the area. Amongst
the more unusual occupations are brass finisher, street lighter, coach builder, and horse keeper. Notes on occupations: Carman and motorman are other terms for tram driver; traveller – this is another term for a commercial salesman; doorman is a security man; whilst collector is likely to relate to rent collection.
LOST & MISSING PLOTS
As you may know, we have no plots
82 to 98. However, these plots were definitely part of the site at its inception. We believe that at some stage between 1945 and the late 1960s (?) these
plots were lost when the predecessor school to The Wren was built (Christ Church?). Also, the records list a plot 134, but today we have no such plot.
A possibility is that 134 was lost when the car park area at the Warnham Road end was created. Plot numbers 138 to 143 do not appear in the original 1928-1930 records. However, we have the rent records for 1945 and plots 138 to 143 are included. This might suggest
...in 1926 the annual rent (for a ten-pole plot) was 1 shilling and two pence – so twelve pence in today’s money...
that these particular plots came
from a parcel of land acquired by the allotments at a later date between 1930 and 1945 – perhaps a ‘Dig for Victory’ inspired acquisition?
A TALE OF TWO BOROUGHS?
Until 1965 when the London Borough of Barnet was created, Woodhouse Allotments straddled the then separate Boroughs of Finchley, and Friern Barnet. The border ran as best as we can see (from pre 1965 maps) roughly alongside plots 38 to 80 – to the east lay Friern Barnet, to the west lay Finchley. That specific boundary appears to come after the creation of the site, as initially it seems Finchley Council was the key body. What this actually meant in practical terms for the running of the allotments is an interesting question.
HOW MUCH DID IT COST?
We know that in 1926 the annual rent (for a ten-pole plot) was 1 shilling and two pence – so twelve pence in today’s money (£7.38 adjusted for inflation).
By 1945 this had risen to five shillings and four pence – 29 pence. The 1928 documents record the original share costs of 10 shillings (50 pence) which updated for inflation would equate to £31.62. The average annual wage for a working man in 1928 was around £250.
I hope you find it of interest.
Howard Davies
(Plots 33 & 53 A), March 2020
The full list of plots with the occupation of the plotholder can be found on: www.nsalg.org.uk/about-us/national- allotment-society-london-branch/
Allotment and Leisure Gardener 61