Church Farm (Stanway Hill Farm)
At the time of the inclosures reaching Norton in 1807 there were no buildings on the site of Church Farm and the land formed part of the Duke of Norfolk’s Estate in the village.
The Poor Rate Book of 1838 gives a list of the farms in the village in that year amongst which is Stanway Hill Farm of 53 acres under Edwin Cook and later evidence suggests that this must have been what later became Church Farm or Benges Farm. The land was owned and farmed by Edwin Cook. Edwin was born at Norton in 1813, son of Thomas and Johanna Cook, farmers. In 1807 Thomas held Plot Nos 345, 346 and 347, what became known as The Orchards. Edwin married Ellen, of Taynton, and they had three children baptised at Norton between 1839-1844. By 1846 Edwin was farming at Taynton but also owned Benges Farm, Priors Norton. By 1871 Edwin was living at Aston Ingham, Hereford, but still owned land ‘near the church’ at Norton until his death. Edwin died at Newent in 1877 and was buried at Norton where he still has a memorial in the churchyard; “In affectionate remembrance of Edwin Cook who died March 12th 1877 aged 62 years”.
1861 sees Church Farm, or at least Church Farm House, appear by name for the first time. Mary Clift was head of the household with Nathaniel Ball, her son, employed as a wheelwright, James Clift, a 3 year old grandson, and Elizabeth Freeman, a servant, also in residence.
1871 sees the return of the name Stanway Hill Farm in the occupation of Robert and Elizabeth Creed, his 89 year old mother, also Elizabeth, and Ann Edwards, a domestic servant.
In 1879 and 1880 James Hobbs is in occupation of the house and land at Stanway Hill Farm.
By 1881 John and Frederica Duck were in residence and were to remain at Church Farm for 20+ years. By the time that the OS 1st Edition map for Norton was published in 1883 Church Farm is clearly identified.
John was born at Wroughton, Wilts, in 1852, son of John and Elizabeth Duck, farmers. John married Frederica Lees Clark at Malmesbury, Wilts, in 1877. Frederica was born at Malmesbury in 1855, daughter of Samuel, a solicitors managing clerk, and Mary Clark. John and Frederica were farming at Church Farm in 1881 so probably came straight after marriage. In February 1890 the Gloucester Citizen newspaper reported on an ‘action by a farmers wife’; “Frederica Duck v John Bead. – Mr A J Franklin appeared for the plaintiff, the wife of a farmer living at Norton, who claimed £1 13s for four turkeys, which she sold to defendant in December last. Judgement was given by the plaintiff for the amount claimed”. John Duck and he was also one of the original members of Norton Parish Council when it was formed in 1894 and in 1898, when he was being re-elected, it was stated that he was at Stanway Farm. In October 1894 John was advertising for “a strong lad to milk and do general farm work; good home”. In January 1895 John prosecuted two Norton labourers for trespassing on his land in search of ‘conies’”. In August 1897 John was taken to court himself on a charge of not paying wages to Thomas Ellis, described as an ‘infant’. Thomas had worked for him at Church Farm for 12 months from October 1895 for £4 and wanted to remain there at an extra £1 per year. Thomas gave his notice to leave but when the time came there was a dispute about wages owed, loss accrued by John Duck on the man leaving his employment and articles of clothing that John wouldn’t let him take. At a meeting of the Gloucester Highway Board in November 1897 a letter was read from Mr John Duck of Norton seeking permission to erect a fence alongside the lane leading to the church still leaving enough room for the road to be 15ft wide. It was agreed to contact the Norton Parish Council for their views prior to reaching a decision. John Duck farmed at Church Farm till at least 1901 but it is not clear when he left although by 1911 John and Frederica were at Abwell House, Berkeley, where John records his occupation as farmer and Frederica as ‘anything and everything’. Frederica and John both died towards the end of 1923.
In 1911 Church Farm was occupied by William George Perry, wife Elizabeth and young son Arthur George, who'd been born at the farm the previous year. Also in residence was Mary Drinkwater Lunn, Elizabeth's mother. Church Farm was described as having 7 rooms. The Perrys were still here in 1912 but had gone by the following year. William George was born in 1886 at Brockhampton, son of George, a farmer/gardener, and Jane Perry.
William George with his mother and sister Jane with their father.
William George married Elizabeth Arabella Drinkwater Lunn at St Nicholas, Ashchurch, in 1910. Elizabeth 'Bessie' was born in 1888 at Gloucester, daughter of David, a carriage builder, and Mary Lunn, and in 1901 had been living with her parents at North Street, Winchcomb. Elizabeth died in 1984.
In 1914 a Mrs Julia Price was at Church Farm and in 1916 James and Catherine Groves were there briefly before moving to Ivy House Farm.
Messrs Bruton, Knowles & Co were instructed by the executors of Mrs Lydia Hickling Roberts, deceased, to sell Church Farm by auction and produced details for a sale to be held at The Bell Hotel, Gloucester, on Saturday, June 21st, 1919. It was described as “an excellent freehold dairy farm on the main road from Gloucester to Tewkesbury comprising a farmhouse, farm buildings and about 54a 2r 12p nearly all pasture land. Well supplied with water and let at £100 a year on a tenancy expiring 29th September 1919.
The auction leaflet goes on to describe the farm in greater detail. “The Church Farm is an excellent compact dairy farm conveniently situate in the Parish of Norton, Gloucestershire, about 4½ miles from the City of Gloucester, with its important markets. It comprises a Farm-house occupying a good position on rising ground, Farm Buildings, and about 54a 2r 12p of well-watered Pasture Land and Arable Land …”. The leaflet then lists a schedule of the land by plot number from the Ordnance Survey. It then continues with the description. “The farmhouse is brick and stone built with slate roof and contains two sitting rooms, four bedrooms, two attics, kitchen, pantry, dairy, underground cellar, and lean-to with furnace. There is a good supply of water. The farm buildings comprise trap house, coal and wood house, two pigs-cots, implement shed with loft over, barn with stone driving way and cement floor to one bay, nag-stable, cart stable for five horses with loft over, range of open and enclosed cattle sheds for tying up 15 , and two poultry houses. The land lies well together and is well watered. The property has long frontages to the main road from Gloucester to Tewkesbury, and to the road leading to Norton Church; it offers several good building sites, in elevated positions, commanding fine views of the Malvern Hills and the Cotswolds. It is bounded by the roads referred to and land of Captain G N Walker, Mrs Preston, Mr James, and others”.
“The Church Farm is let to Mr W Taylor, on an annual Michaelmas tenancy, at £100 0s 0d a year, the tenancy terminating 29th September next, when vacant possession may be had. It is subject to the tithe rent charge amounting, according to the tithe apportionment, to £14 7s 10d a year, and to a land tax of £2 5s 0d. In addition to the purchase money, the purchaser shall pay £35 for the growing timber, being the amount of Messrs Bruton, Knowles and Cos valuation”.
It is not known if ‘Mr W Taylor’ bought the property at the auction or continued as tenant but William Henry and Julia Taylor were still here in 1921 when the property had eight rooms and Julia's mother, Elizabeth Robinson, was also in residence. The Taylors remained at Church Farm till at least December 1934 when William killed himself with a shotgun in a barn at the farm. In 1933 Doris Lander was here as well.
In December 1934 Claude Critchley of ‘Kingston’, Elmbridge Road, was discussing the possibility of him buying the farm or, more realistically, being able to become a tenant under someone else’s ownership. He was only 22 years old having been born at Gloucester in 1912, son of Joseph Critchley and Amy nee Ide. He had attended Sir Thomas Rich’s School before working for Mr Tincknell at Elmbridge Farm and Mr Long at Longford and was then wanting to go it alone. Nothing seems to have come of this.
Mr and Mrs Leslie Whittaker were then here briefly.
In 1936 the farm was occupied by Raymond Shapland and Rose Davis, in 1938 and 1939 by Howell and Beatrice Dorothy Davies; mixed farmers. In 1947 Sidney C and Josephine L Piff were in residence and later that year James Charles and Vera Dorothy Margery Cooke arrived. Between at least 1962-66 Frederick M and Gladys D Taylor were at Church Farm.
By 1985, and likely earlier, Adrian Wayne and Hilary Jane Smith were owners.
The house was marketed by Connell, Gloucester, in October 1994 at £95,000; "Family detached, 4 bedrooms, cloakroom, garage, adjacent to open fields".
Was marketed by Hamiltons Chartered Surveyors, Gloucester, in March 1998; "Residential farm and equestrian holding in a prominent rural location comprising 4 bedroom farmhouse, farm and equestrian buildings, all weather floodlit menage, well maintained pasture and arable land. 43.20 acres (17.48 hectares), for sale by private treaty (as a whole or in 2 Lots)".
In 2002 Adrian Wayne and Hilary Jane Smith were still at the farmhouse with Marcus W Smith and Rachel Hibbert in the new build adjacent.
[2002]
