An Alternative Axholme History: Part 10 - Don't Fence Me In
YOU would have to go a long way to have found a more chaotic and disorganised lot than the landowners around Belton and Epworth.
Even in Axholme they tended to be on their own in their approach to farming as most of the other villages had their agriculrural schemes pretty well sussed out.
But around the heart of the Isle things were very slow to change.
The farmers here had hung on to their bitty little strips of land all over the place. There were over 2000 of these narrow plots and many of them were no bigger than many a back garden.
The powers that be wanted to change all this and make land use more efficient.
Well you would have thought that the central Isleonians would have jumped at the chance to better their lot. Oh no, not a bit of it, they wanted to keep their chaotic motley of unprofitable bits and pieces.
It just seemed as if they were nuts on farming just like the Anglo Saxons had done.
King George's Enclosure Quango just could not persuade the obdurate Epworth 'NFU' that there was anything in the new scheme for them. Change of any kind was just not on their menu.
The Big Wigs of the town consulted on the Enclosure Scheme and so it was, for good or ill (but mostly ill) they gave the plan the boot and carried on in their own sweet way.
They reckoned land had been farmed alright for centuries and why alter things. When it came to the vote as to whether or not the local farmers wanted fencing in ,the anti-enclosure pressure group got their way and made sure that the Enclosure Award Commissioners were given a very firm 'No go' message.
As it turned out, the middle Isle men were on an easy ride bacause a majority of 75 per cent had to give the fencing in scheme the OK and the outcome of the vote at the Manor Court Polling Station came nowhere near the required number.
As ever Epworth's Independent Party ruled the day.
The triumphant farmers returned to their meagre plots ,and small time farming remained firm and fast in Central Axholme.
Mind you, at this time almost every other fellow living in Epworth was a farmer or had connections with the business.
They were a very close knit set and it was well nigh impossible for any outsider to obtain a plot or two in Their area.
The Epworth lads had never forgotten Mr Vermuyden's gang and did not want to see any repeat performance.
Small holdings mushroomed even more and the locals grew loads of radishes, shallots, onions and beans and literally tons of celery and beetroot.
In fact the celery crop went that well that Axholme became the celery capital of England, and their celebrated crop was sold fron Land's End to John-o-Groats!
Next week in Part 11 - Enter the Beefeaters
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Weather for Epworth
Wednesday 08 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -3 C to 1 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: -1 C to 1 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: South
