Sunday 17 March 2013

A Farm Journal ~ from the 1st to 15th July 1868

My great great great uncle John Bayliff Bowman lived at Summer Hill, near Monyash in the County of Derby.
 
The Bowman family, who were Quakers, had three farms, One Ash Grange [which John Bayliff Bowman often referred to as O.A.], Cales and Summer Hill [which he usually referred to as S.Hill or S.H.]
 
JBB's Farm Journal

A Farm Journal continues :~
 
4 day 1st of 7 Mo[nth] Ditto weather lead most of Flat
 
5 - 2 very hot lead [sic] all but rakings
 
6 - 3 Ditto finish[e]d up at S.H. except Seed Piece & Front Croft - not ready to mow began at Cales mow[e]d Broad Meadow - very poor crop -
 
7 - 4 Dull cool weather
 
1 - 5 Ditto
 
2 - 6 to 7 - 11 got all hay at Cales rather dull & cloudy slow weather but no rain begin to want rain bad - got seed piece at S.H. also, only the croft not mown
 
1 - 12 Fine
 
2 - 13 Ditto hot Dipped the lambs 201 lambs SFA & boys & W[illia]m to Nott[ingha]m in even[in]g to [word could not be read] to lodge
 
3 - 14 SW & I to Leicester to see the trials of imp[lemen]ts* self to Beaumont Lodge** in aft[ernoo]n lodged & to Leicester market in morn[in]g then to Norm[anto]n to dine lodged & to Leicester in morn[in]g met W[illia]m at St[atio]n & on to the Royal Agri[cultura]l Show looked over the mach[iner]y till towards
 
4 - 15 4 o'clock then to St[atio]n & home Finish[e]d all hay on 3rd day 14  


* When I saw "trials of imp.ts" I thought it was a legal trial of some sort. On searching in the British Newspaper Arvhice though I found a reference to the trial of implements at the Agricultural Show which was a bit disappointing.
 
** Is this the Beaumont Lodge where John Bayliff Bowman stayed in 1868 ?

6 comments:

  1. I'm wondering about "very hot lead all but rakings" ?

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    1. If John Bayliff Bowman had used the comma a bit more it would be easier to work out what he wrote. I think he meant "the weather has been very hot ... and we led all but the rakings". By "the rakings" I think he meant the remants of the crop [hay or corn or whatever] that someone [a woman or a child ?] would rake up.

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  2. I think hot must be the weather,as hot dipped lambs sounds a bit extreme!!.I didn't know the Royal Ag show,was going then,pity we couldn't keep it going.Ann

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    1. Yes, John always seemed to kick off with the weather ... or where the wind was coming from. I didn't realise the Show started off as long ago as 1868. I never went limiting myself to Ashover or Bakewell Shows. Dad always preferred the Ashover Show.

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  3. A stupid question, Charlie. Was your brother Bow named for Bowman?

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  4. No, it's a good question. He was registered at birth as Henry Bowman Wildgoose but always preferred being called Bow.

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