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Life on the Norfolk Farm: an essay in photographs
The first harvest, summer 1938
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| Postcard sent to Loetitia by HW from Stiffkey in July 1936. It was raining . . . |
This sequence of photographs, provided through the generosity of the Henry Williamson Literary Estate (as with very nearly all the photographs on this website), includes many that have never been seen before. They form a unique record of the Williamson family's first few years at Old Hall Farm, Stiffkey, from early visits in 1936 through to 1939. They include photographs of working the land and of the first harvest in the summer of 1938, giving an evocative picture of a time and a way of farming long gone – ancient sunlight indeed.
A few of the photographs have captions written on the reverse; these are also shown, both for information and entertainment, although it is not absolutely clear who wrote them – whether HW or his son Richard in later years, aided by the memories of his eldest brother Bill (Windles). Their handwriting is remarkably similar!
HW became the owner of Old Hall Farm on 22 August 1936, although he did not actually take possession of the land until Old Michaelmas Day 1937 (10 October), as the existing tenant, P. F. Stratton, had to be given due notice. A few days after completion of the sale HW, Loetitia and Windles visited the farm, the latter two for the first time.
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| Windles and Loetitia sitting outside the Elizabethan corn barn, August 1936 |
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| Windles being shown the farm buildings |
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| The new owner of Old Hall Farm |
The dilapidation of the premises was only too apparent:
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| The pig yard |
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| HW captioned this: 'Eccles caravan in wood near Hangman's Copse' [at Hang High] |
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| Drilling an artesian well near the chalk quarry |
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| HW and Bin Hibbert. HW captioned this 'The ill-fated partnership' |
When HW took possession of the farm in October 1937 it was of the land only. It did not include farm animals, machinery or other implements. All these were owned by the outgoing tenant, and, as was customary, an auction was held of his live and dead stock, attended by local and not-so-local people. HW had to bid for whatever he wanted.
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| Implements and carts laid out for inspection at the farm auction |
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| 'Goitre' Gidney is on the far left, the scarf round his neck hiding the goitre |
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Rather confusingly the names are written behind the people in the photograph above. Thus 'Goitre' Gidney is actually on the left, while the diddicoy is on the right. |
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| The diddicoys 'from near Cromer', scrap metal dealers |
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| Parading the horses |
HW intended that Walnut Tree Cottage should be the farmhouse. However, it was occupied by sitting tenants who refused to move out. Anxious to find somewhere for the family to live when they moved from Devon to join him, he discovered three dilapidated and condemned cottages next to the chapel, which were not far from the farm. They were owned by Mathew Bugg, and the purchase and renovation by HW of these cottages became a saga all of its own. The three cottages formed an L-shape around a courtyard, which became, after ploughing and cultivating, a vegetable garden. It has since been gravelled over and later still put down to grass.
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| The entrance to the condemned Chapel Cottages, taken before renovation |
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| North Cottage before renovation, which HW renamed Fox Cottage |
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| Another view of North Cottage in its original state |
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Captioned: 'Jackdaw's nest spilling out of fireplace before the rebuilding of Farm House' [Thought to be North/Fox Cottage] |
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| Loetitia from one of the cottage windows. The chapel windows are in the background. |
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| Cultivating the courtyard garden, with Robbie inspecting the Ferguson |
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| HW cultivating |
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Loetitia and HW in the early months, in a field of weeds (photo © John Fursdon) |
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| Bob Sutton, the farm steward |
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| Jimmy Sutton, Bob's father, with the Ferguson |
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| The bullocks being fed by Jimmy Sutton |
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'Lying in the straw of the calf-house was the bullock, dead. I rang up the knackers at Great Wordingham, and they sent a lorry with hauling tackle and lugged the corpse on, and paid me a pound for it – my first sale off the farm.' (The Story of a Norfolk Farm) |
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| Bob Sutton and Loetitia drilling Twenty-one Acres |
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| Richard Williamson identifies the driver as Ann Thomas (not sure how he can tell!) |
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| Loetitia driving the Ferguson, with Ann Thomas behind on the drill |
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| HW walks behind the drill (and in the photograph below) |
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Blossom and Gilbert are ready to pull the worn second-hand seed harrows, following the rib roll hitched to the Ferguson |
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| Hilly Piece |
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Looking the other way from Hilly Piece, with Windles sitting on the bank; stooks of barley stand in the field behind |
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| Jimmy Sutton feeds one of the 'Norfolk tarkies' |
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| St John's Pasture – the men break for lunch |
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One of HW's new tumbrils – 'They looked to be splendid vehicles, shining with varnish over their red and green paint, my name and village in white letters on the side.' (The Story of a Norfolk Farm) |
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| Bob Sutton, centre |
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| Bob and Jimmy Sutton assess a head of barley |
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'A neighbouring farmer's horse had fallen in the dyke . . . the horse lay in black mud, exhausted . . . a team of volunteers from the village, uncaring for their Sunday-best clothes, was about to lug the horse out with ropes. Otherwise it would have died . . .' (The Story of a Norfolk Farm) |
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| The Percheron stallion Bedlam Viking |
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| Bedlam Viking is introduced to HW's mare |
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| A cold-looking Windles harrowing Fox Covert |
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| Bill 'Windles' Williamson, tractor driver (and below) |
The four more domestic scenes that follow feature the two youngest children, Robbie and Rikky:
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| Young Richard tackles the washing up |
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| Rikky and Robbie with an unidentified friend, probably outside the Old Hall |
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| On the Old Hall driveway |
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In August 1939, shortly after war was declared, Loetitia took their three youngest children with her to stay with her brother Bin Hibbert, then living in Bedford. HW, his nerves frayed by tiredness and depression, had become too difficult to live with. They returned to the farm in April 1940. Left to right: Margaret, Robert, Loetitia, Richard and Bin |
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The Stiffkey branch of the Red Cross – on the extreme left is Mrs Sutton, with Loetitia next to her. Behind Loetitia is Mrs Cafferata, standing beside Billy Gidney, the village blacksmith. The tall woman sixth from left is Mrs Gladys Pearson (known locally as 'Long Polly'), wife of the village builder William Pearson. Others are unknown. |
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| A rare day out on the saltmarshes |
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'The studio' was River View Cottage, next to the family farm house Walnut Tree Cottage. River View Cottage was bought from Mr Cafferata for £82/10/-, 'a bargain!' |
The first harvest, summer 1938:
On the 10th August 1938 we started to cut our first corn, the seven acres of oats on the southern end of Twenty-one Acres. At 7.5 a.m. the tractor began to drive down the four sides of a pale golden, wind-rustling square. Behind the tractor was an old Albion reaper and binder, bought at the auction last Michaelmas for £8. Long since had the paint rusted from the iron of its frame. Its worn three-horse draw-pole was now a chicken-perch in the cart shed. The tractor on rubber wheels pulled the machine on a new oak-and-iron bar.
. . . Nursed along by the tractor, with throttle barely open, the old binder was not allowed to 'het-up', fumble its iron fingers tying the knot around each sheaf, or tangle and break the string. Its new red wooden sails turned gently, as though caressing the blonde corn-heads as they held the sappy stalks upright for the saw-toothed knife below. New canvas rollers hurried the cut corn up to a platform, where metal arms held the stalks until they were gathered sheaf-size; when, tied by those iron fingers, the sheaf was flung off in line with others dropped on the new stubble.
The Story of a Norfolk Farm
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Bob Sutton driving the tractor, while Windles sits on the Albion reaper and binder, watching in case the binding twine breaks or tangles and jams the machinery |
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Bob sits on the binder while Jimmy sharpens the cutting knives Left to right at the family picnic are: Margaret, Richard, Robert, Loetitia, John and Windles |
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HW captioned a very similar picture in The Story of a Norfolk Farm: 'Photograph taken from seat on 24-year-old binder, 9 August 1938' The men are setting up stooks from the sheafs of corn |
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| The threshing machine arrives, winched up the hill by the Burrell traction engine |
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| Threshing Hang High; once the corn was threshed stacks were built of the straw |
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| Billy Jarvis on a stack |
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| The belt on the traction engine flywheel is driving the threshing machine |
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| John, Windles and Bob Bambridge |
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| John and Windles help hold the sacks for the threshed barley |
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| Loading the cart with sacks of barley. Left to right: —, Bob Sutton, John Coast |
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The team and some of their 'helpers' line up against a giant straw stack Left to right: Richard, Windles, —, —, John, Margaret, Robert, Poppy, —, Ann Thomas |
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