13th November 2024.
By Ashley Cooper.
The Sudbury History Society were very pleased to welcome Ashley back and he began his talk by reminding us that Sudbury had once been a vibrant market town. The Corn Exchange which is now the library, the mills, forges and names of several streets, such as Bullocks Lane are all reminders of the towns agricultural past. Ernest Doe is a remaining firm linked to farming which still exists today.
Many artists have depicted our farming methods through the ages including a prayer book which shows men cutting the harvest with a scythe, Millais painted gleaners in the field, Van Gogh showed fields full of stacked sheaves and Ravilious painted men toiling to bring in the harvest.
At the end of the 19th century the reaping machine was invented that was initially pulled by horses, followed by a binder. Horses were an integral and vital help for farmers at this time and at harvest time. The landowner who paid the workers appointed “The Lord of the Harvest” and the labourers services were secured with a payment of a shilling and copious amounts of beer were provided.
The harvest wages were often the only time in the year when families could put decent food on the table and perhaps buy some shoes or clothes for themselves and their children. Gleaning was of crucial significance to poor families. To control the gleaning process, farmers left a single stook of sheaves, known as the gleaning policeman, in the harvest field. This signal was recognised by all in the village, and while it remained no one was to enter the field to glean.
Regulation of gleaning didn’t come just from the farmer however, as there were self imposed rules widely respected by gleaners, primarily the regulation of hours. In many parishes, the beginning and sometimes the end of the gleaner’s working day was governed by the ringing of a bell, usually the church bell, and known as the gleaning bell.
Around the area of Gestingthorpe there were a hundred horses used for farming and a quarter of the farm’s yield was needed to feed them. The horsemen who worked with these horses were a very secretive group of people who kept their remedies, and the secrets used to control these valuable animals, closely guarded amongst themselves. They had great pride in their horses and would work an extra hour of their own time to prepare their charges. The head horseman would be paid an extra shilling to acknowledge his skill.
A memorable and very informative talk.
Sally Card