This was in Cippenham Lane and "The Long Barn" restaurant was a farm building.
The Headingtons
Our accounbt of this farm owes much to the recollections of Maidenhead
resident Michael Bayley. His forebears farmed in Britwell and relatives
by marriage, the Headingtons, owned Cippenham Court Farm. So he visited
it and played often there as a boy in the 1920s and 1930s. The
Headingtons also owned other farms in East Berkshire and a corn and
seed merchants in Slough High Street. The patterned window display,
formed from various coloured seeds was a feature remembered by many
older Slough residents.
The Best Corn-Growing land
around
The farm was extensive, stretching far beyond Cippenham itself,
including land now occupied by Slough Trading Estate. This was reputed
to be the best corn-growing land in Berks, Bucks and Oxford. A variety
of barley introduced by the Romans was grown. Michael Bayley remembers
picnicking in 1925 in "the harvest field" – over Farnham Road
Bridge.
Use of Commons
However, farming operations in Slough and District were not confined to
their single location. Commons lived up to their name and were used by
many. For example, the Cippenham Court farmer had the right to take hay
from Dorney Common. In summer graze he could cattle there and on
Farnham Common and Littleworth Common. His milkmaids would have to walk
from the farm to the Common and back twice a day (with pails). There
was a Friesian herd of some 60 cows, 6 pigsties behind Great Barn and
bullocks for fattening.
Where did the water come
from?
The march of industry had other effects. In all farming, a good supply
of water is essential. Cippenham Court drew water from a deep well, but
it was highly polluted. Sometimes an eel would be drawn and eaten for
lunch. In the 1930s Horlicks dug an artesian well which dried up all
surface-water wells in the area, necessitating urgent provision of
"main line" water supplies. Wells from natural springs, however, such
as that at Cippenham Court survived.
Labour and equipment
Human labour and equipment are also necessary. There were tied cottages
for farm workers in Spring Lane. One survives with a plaque dated 1901.
Farm workers had only a few days holiday a year, but had free milk and
an allotment. The position of Head Carter was particularly important.
He was responsible for up to 40 men and 80 horses. The farm had 18 to
20 working horses, 2 or 3 stud stallions, 3 to 5 brood mares and riding
horses. Tractors were introduced around 1927/8. There was already a
stationary steam engine for threshing.
Grandmas and Grandpas to the
rescue
But there are times when the latest equipment and a youthful labour
force cannot cope. In or around 1932 a storm flattened the corn just
before harvesting, rendering the cutting and binding machine useless. A
call was sent around the village for men who had a scythe and knew how
to use it and ladies who knew how to tie corn. All the grandpas and
grandmas of Cippenham turned out. A line of men cut the corn, followed
by a line of ladies binding it.
Reference:
Michael Bayley Interview.
© STEAM
2005
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Cippenham Court Farm - Shepherd Shearing sheep. All photographs on this page are circa 1900 and are repoduced by kind permission of Michael Bayley |
