FARMING

A FARMING VILLAGE

Memories of Villagers today

Listening to people who have lived in the village all their lives, it is clear that agriculture used to be at the heart of the village; and it was a heart that ticked. Incredibly, there were over ….farms within the village. Up to fifteen people would work on one farm!

People here lived the farm life, rising at five to “feed the tractor.” This delightful phrase can be explained if you know that a horse was in fact the tractor, although you maybe guessed.

In those days, the cows on the farm had full horns, so as you can imagine, working with animals was a dangerous pastime. Derek Walker was just nine when his dad sent him for a bag for a newly born calf. The cow acted in defence of her new-born, and Derek sustained such injuries that he never recovered. Sadly, he died a few days later in the kitchen of the farm house. His grave can be found in the cemetery.

Source: Jenny Walker talking to the Green Group in 2024, before moving from the farmhouse, but remaining in the village: ” I like being part of the community here!”

Growing up in a farming community

Life as a child in the village sounds exciting:

“ I can remember waiting for Mr Walker to come home for lunch with his huge Shire horse. He would lift me up onto the horse’s back, and I had a ride to his farm. This was before I started school- I’d be about four years old, and the horse’s back was so wide that my legs stuck out at each side. The horse wore a collar with two brass pieces protruding upwards each with a knob on the top, and these were what I held onto.

I remember that in the spring, a team of sheep shearers would arrive and Mr Walker would put up a little fence, and he allowed us to watch the shearing which I enjoyed, but I couldn’t get over how skinny the sheep were minus their fleece. When I was older, farmers let the children ride on the trailers and on the mudguards of the tractors up to the harvest fields to watch the harvesting (Health and Safety would be having fits)”.
Source: Pamela Linford, born 1946, talking in 2000 to Geoff Wisher, Middleton Messenger Issue No 57

The Landowners of Middleton (Pre-1087)

Before the Conquest, there were four landowners, and by 1087 this had been reduced to two. Over the years, landowners have included Archbishop Ealdaed, Robert de Mortain, the Earls of Burlington, and the Duke of Devonshire.

More recent landowners include George Hudson (briefly, before his public disgrace) and Lord Londesborough. Following the agricultural depression which began in the 1870s, farms started to be sold off.

George Hudson was known as “The Railway King“—a title given to him by Sydney Smith in 1844. His lasting legacy is to give his name to ‘The Hudson Way,’ a walk from Beverley to Market Weighton, which follows the old disused railway. Learn more about his reputation and his fall from grace by visiting The Moon Hare, up at the Old Railway Line.

Source: Geoff Wisher: Welcome Pack to the village 2015

Framers of 1823.

Atranscript of the entry of ‘professions and trades’ for Middleton on the Wolds in Baines’s Directory of 1823 shows the following farmers within our region:

John Anderson
Richard Bell
John Burnell
John Constable
Richard Edmund
Isaac Garnet
George Grubb
William Jackson
Matthew Knaggs
Edward Lofthouse
Henry Martin
John Moat
Thomas Piercy
John Railton
Robert Railton
William Railton
Samuel Robinson
William Tranmer
William Whitehead
John Wilson
Mary Witty

A Tough but Joyous Farming Life in Victorian Times (1920)

Life on a Wolds farm in Victorian Middleton on the Wolds was extremely tough. Here are some memories written in 1920 by the Reverend Morris:

“The hours were so long, especially in summer, that there was little or no time for relaxation, and when the day’s work was ended with the ‘suppering up’ of the horses at eight o’clock, the men felt that bedtime had come. There might be some improvised cricket in the long summer evenings, but football, one never heard of. Quoits might be played, and if those of the orthodox make could not be found, the lads would play the game with horseshoes. Games of cards were played frequently… A favourite game was one called ‘Luen-dale’; but its rules and history I have been unable to discover.
Reverend Morris

Our East Riding Farm lads were, generally speaking, fond of music, and they often delighted in exercising their voices while at work in the fields… Instrumental music among them was very rarely heard; occasionally a fiddle was played, but more frequently that very poor affair the accordion: and this, no doubt, because it took but little time to learn.

Very few of the men ever read; and at the time of which I am speaking a large proportion of them were unable to do so; and as for the rest, they rarely had the time, even if they had the inclination. Some, no doubt, who were unable to read had a great desire to do so, and would have been only too glad to learn if they had had the opportunity.”

“And yet, there can be no manner of a doubt that there was more contentment, more happiness, joyousness, cheerfulness, friendliness, more consideration of others in the olden days than there is now. This I know by my own observations, and I have been assured of it again and again!”

Source: Geoff Wisher, Middleton Messenger Issue Number 48

On the Farms (1920s)

As a rule, the Wold farmsteads vary but little in the range of their buildings. These are placed in juxtaposition to the dwelling house in a sort of quadrangle, with the foldyard in the centre and a spacious stackyard or “staygarth” as we call it, with the cart, wagons and implement sheds conveniently situated on one side of it. There is generally a small lawn or grass plot in front of the house, with a few flower beds and shrubs, to which as a rule, scant attention is paid.

Along the north and east boundaries of the farmstead, we commonly find a narrow plantation of larch, spruce, and other kinds of trees, which are intended not so much for ornament as for affording some protection from the biting northern and eastern blast of winter and early spring.

Source Book A TIME TO REAP: A Celebration of East Yorkshire’s Agricultural History, 2000

Recalling 1920s Village Farming (1920s)

Mr. Percy Linford, a bricklayer and site foreman, gave a taped interview in 1993. We haven’t traced the actual recording yet, but these are some of the highlights!

Source: Geoff Wisher, Heritage Sheet 30

The acreage of the farms might be large with field sizes varying from 8 – 40 acres.

All this farming activity involved large numbers of men, animals, and machinery, and so the village was well served by support crafts. The blacksmith repaired machinery and shoed horses using shoes made on the premises. There was also a joiner and a wheelwright. Two tailors provided clothes including suits. At a time when good footwear was essential, the shoemaker was important, and Mr. Linford recalls that the farm workers wore very heavy boots liberally supplied with large nails and plated at toe and heel, making each one weigh about 3 lbs.

Other trades included builder, painter, ropemaker. In addition, there were gamekeepers and women laundry workers. The whiting mill was situated

Source unknown, dates unknown

Agricultural history

Ayrshires at Towthorpe Dairies, Red House Farm, Middleton-on-the-Wolds, late 1940s. The dairy had a milk round at RAF Driffield, as well as in Driffield itself, and advertised on film at the Victoria cinema in the town. Following trouble with brucellosis, the farm went over to pig production.

A Farming Village 1950

There were many other working farms within the village. Middleton farms had a mix of animals including cows, sheep, pigs and poultry. It must have been quite a sight, to see farmers leading their animals from the farms to the fields through the streets! Back Street had two farms, both now gone: this meant it had a reputation for being the worst farm in the village for cow dirt! Villagers were also used to the sight of Shire Horses, which were used until……

The farms grew both summer and winter crops. There were no combine harvesters so the farmers used a machine with a low board and an attached cutting wheel. The process was that when the corn was cut, it fell onto the board from where it was gathered by hand and formed into a sheave. Sheaves were propped up together to form a stook. The stooks were left in the fields to dry before being taken back to the farm. They were then put into a threshing machine. This must have also been some sight as it was described as being “like a fairground caravan!” The grain was then bagged, a messy dusty job. Stalks were also produced which were tied by hand into bundles and then made into stacks. Bunches were tossed by pitchfork onto an escalator type machine to make bigger stacks!

Sounds like a lot of hard work.

The farming that had most impact on the village was silage making, as all the farms took part at the same time, the stench was over-powering!

Source: Pamela Linford’s recollections, by Geoff Wisher, Middleton Messenger Issue No 57.

Kathleen Roe was kind enough to sketch the team a map of the village farm land from the 1950s:

The diversity in farming types helps sustain the local economy and supports a range of agricultural activities. In 2014 Farm of the Week: Rise of the Wolds potato growers reported that Middleton on the Wolds hosts a variety of farms, reflecting its rich agricultural heritage. Here are some of the main types:

Arable Farms: These farms primarily grow crops such as potatoes, wheat, barley, and oilseed rape. For example, Andrew Soanes’ farming operation includes around 1,100 acres of potatoes
Livestock Farms: There are several poultry farms in the area, with operations that include rearing broilers. Some farms also raise other livestock
Mixed Farms: These farms combine both arable and livestock farming, optimizing the use of land and resources
Specialty Farms: Some farms focus on niche markets, such as organic produce or specific types of livestock

If you have any memories of these farms or farmers, please get in touch.