June Spouncer – I am in touch with the Wainwright Children of Fred and Grace who lived there in the 50s and early 60s – Vera, David, Geoffrey. Noel, their youngest son, has sadly died.
Paul Parkin – My Grandparents moved from the North East approx 87 years ago to the Land Settlement, that I guess, probably fits?
Paul Parkin – the only thing I might possibly have,are photographs of building glasshouses, pig pens etc.
I know my Grandad was out of work in the North East and that would be why they moved here.
My Dad was 2 at the time and possibly grew up during the war on the land settlement.
Judy Chapman
When we are allowed to mix again can I come to see you to talk about my childhood on the Land Settlement.
During the first lockdown I published a book of my mother’s memories, including her 36 (unhappy) years as a tenant. I’d be happy to donate a copy of this book to you. Next time I am passing the Forge I’ll drop a copy through the letterbox.
On a different subject, I wrote a 919 word memory of the early days of the Flower Parade. I tried emailing it to you, but my server seems to be playing up and I’m not sure if you have received my copy. I will print it off and enclose it with my book.
Prisoner’s of the second world war worked there as well
My father worked there met my mother and got married.
A lot were Ukrainians.
Nick Borszczowskyj I can remember them . They were based at Chattertons farm at Fulney House. My Dad befriended some of them and I recall them visiting our house for a cup of tea and a chat.
Nick Borszczowskyj Could you name some of them as I am sure my parents were friendly with one of them who helped them out on their small holding?
Harry Johnson .
The spelling may not be right
These used to be my father’s friends.
Michael Federyzton.
Jim Tratch ?.
Jonny Osochuk.
I have a friend Vladimir Hudz I don’t know his father’s first name.
Another guy about my age is Paul kulchusky.
Some where there must be some sort of register of the prisoner’s.
I will ask around .
Mark Belding – My dad had a small holding there for about 25 years I grew up there it was a great place to live I loved it and still miss the place and the people who lived there it was a great community I have lots of lovely memories
Mark Belding – used to work on the Land Settlement grading tomatoes in the summer holidays when I was 14 or 15
Ali – I used to work on the Land Settlement grading tomatoes in the summer holidays when I was 14 or 15
Ian Lawerence – I lived there as an 8 yr old for about a year after my folks moved up from Bournemouth. Mark Belding was my first friend in the area. 81/82 i worked in the packing shed and drove tractors collecting the produce we had some good times in the LSA social club ( as Mark and others will agree)
David Crawford – Had a club house, went there to play darts
Linda Robert’s – I live there my dad and hubby were both tractor drivers and I worked for some of the people cutting lettuce etc
Audrey Holland – My parents came down from the north to the land settlement in the 40s
Sophie Hollinshead – If you are interested I’ve got quite a lot of photos of the greenhouses, and some of the small holdings from the 60s/70s. Message me is you want them. I also did some minimal research on the LSA when I was doing a PhD.
Hi Geoff, good to meet you. I’m very pleased to see someone is collecting memories of the LSA. Funnily enough I’m involved in an oral history project here in Notts about memories of rural life and nature, and have been using some of my photos of my grandparents small holding, so it’s all very much in my mind at the moment. Once it is possible it would be good to share memories with you. If I can’t persuade my mum to do it in person I’ll get her to talk about it to me for you.
Trevor Braybrook – I lived there from the early seventies and worked in the packing station and looked after the stores.
Spent some good nights in the social club.
Clive Flatters – iv just been reading some of the comments some people have put about the L.S.A it was not a great place to have happy memory people went on the holdings thinking it was going to be the firs step on the farming or nursery ladder. but for most it was not the rules to having a holding where tight which meant you did not make much of a living, many holdings had a big turnover of tennents. the only two who got of and went on to bigger things where chris eley and tom bowman. the manager at fulny was tom baker. he riterd in 1978. he was a big religious man, mike farmer tuck over from him, he was a young upstart, thought he was going to make fulny a model place but the govenment closed the L.S.A down in 1983.
the spalding to kings lyne railway line went through the fulny estate , it went under the beaching cuts, but i remember the last train going through, late 60s a steam train, and then going to school and seeing the line being removed by this specialist yellow train. the old building in the center was the estate office, its a listed building. somthing to do with the monks , but its heap of crap and a dangerous building.
their was not a holding No 16 or 18, they never existed. the numbering system was a bit all over the place. i dont no the full facts of whot happend when the government decided to close it down because we had already left. but their was a big brou-har-har over it all and a big court case, over how the government closed it down, the government lost and had to pay 11 half million in damages and costs. when you take on a holding you signed a contract to obey the rules and if you decided to leve then you had to give so many months notice, the government did not do this they just announced the closure and you had to buy your holding or get out, so the court deemed this to be a breach of contract. i dont think many of the tennents will still be about they will ether be dead or moved on, the few who are still about will be in their 80s, you will most likely be talking to their children. like me and im nearly 60. the last i heard mr mills [14] is still in his house and mr twelvtrees is still their. [but they my have moved on due to age ] the kids all went to the local schools . their was not any training facilities.
one of the more bizarre rules was you could have a tractor and trailor, but you could not have any implements . the estate had to do that for you at a cost to you. but you could have a small crawler tractor and implements , and do the work yourself. how ever mr ron herbert did have a tractor and implements , when mr backer went to church as he did every sunday, then that was the day ron would do his tractor work. in the 60s the estate tractor driver was an old man with a wooden leg , he had a massy 135 and 2 furrow turn over plough, but he did not no how to turn the plough over so he would just plough one way and the revers back down the field and plough again. the tractor rule was eased in the mid 70s when kubota started importing them small horticultural tractors, but the tennents had to have the help of the N,F.U to get that rule amended.
i dont no if their was any interaction between the fulney estate , and the prisoner of war camp near by. a bit before my time, but i would not have thought their would have been any need for them all the holdings where small 1 1/2 acer 2 acer 2 1/2 acer at the most. just enough for a husband and wife. most of the prisoners went to work on large farms. in one of the old buildings at coudwell and hay farms down wrag marsh their is some grapfity in the concrete wall [ ERIC FLUGAL 1943] also the two wooden bridges over the river veinats where built buy prisoners of was , the pode hole one which was removed for safety reasons is now at the drainage museum because carved in the wood are some of the German prisoners names. i sometimes wounder when does graffiti become an historical artifact .?
another problem arose, when the closure of the fulney estate happend . the concrete road that went through the middle of the estate was a private road , and the responsibility of the L.S.A the tenants could not take on the up keep of the road, the council did not wont to no as it did not have a name . so i dont no exactly what happened but it was given a name [Mallard road] and come under council high ways control. no dowt lots of legal wranglings and red tape .
parkers of surfleet was the haulage company that had the contract with fulney L.S.A to take all the produce from the pack-house to the veriuos markets across the country, they had mat green lorrys the contract was never put out to tender . so they just charged a bit more because no other haulage firm would have a look in, when L.S.A closed down and people where free to choose which haulage company they liked parkers soon after went bust. the same with the boxes and trunks to put produce in Reed international supplied all that ,you could go to nursery supplies at bourne and get boxes cheaper but you could not has they did not have L.S.A logo on them.fulney
L.S.A did have a weekly news letter, which was basically i single A4 sheet , this was a news letter that was delivered to each holding.it gave news of any changes , any news of new tennents any up and coming events and report on the prices of produce sold at markets that week..this news letter was delivered every friday by one of the young girls on the estate. in the 60s it was by elisabeth fletcher the daughter of the pack house manager, when they left tina seabright delivered the letter the daughter of one of the tennents , when she went to collage , bernadet mudge tuck over , no dowt the L.SA. gave them a bite of pocket money for doing this job.
i my have been a bit hasty, saying fulney did did not have a propagation depo, all estates had a propagation department in the early days , i think the one at fulney was one on the main road to weston hills next to the accountant house and managers house. it had a big shed, where as all the holdings had small sheds which originally where piggeries, i think the fulney one shut down in the 50s or very early 60s and it became a hollding , i think Mr chapman had that unit . i dont remember the number as said the numbering was all over the place. i do rememmber dad saying there was a big steam sterilizing plant in that shed but i never saw it in the late 60s and onwards soil and green houses where sterilized by methyl bromide , which is now band. when i was there all propagation was done at the fendraton estate, but you could grow you own seedling if you wished as many growers did.mum and dad moved to the L.S.A in 1961 i was bourne in 1962, wee left in 1978, dad brought a nursery in west pinchbeck. i can remember quite a few names but some holdings had a quick tern around of tennents and did not get to no them. you could come to my house, i have drawn a map of the estate as it was when i was there, i live on my own so not to much contact with loads of people. you mite like to see my gates been as you are a director of chain bridge forge. i remember going their as a littel boy geoff dodds made my dad a small trailor to go behind his ransomes mg crawler . geoff did show me around the forge a few years ago.
Susan Wells
My dad use to drive a tractor for the company down there it was a fantastic place to grow up in
Linda Roberts
When we got married we used the social club for our wedding reception.
Nigel Battley
We (bats Publications Ltd) have just published a book for a local author about her mother who lived and worked on the LSA with information and pictures. It’s £5.99 if interested.
Mandy Web
My Mum’s family lived/worked on the Land Settlement late 50’s. Surname Ingham. I will try and find some photos
Christine Kettle
1930,s land settlement my dad on the back row Geordie Holland after moving from North Shields.
Jennifer Higham
Used to love the discos in the club
Gwyneth Willerton
my mum’s family moved down from Wheatley Hill in Co Durham in 1936 (approx) to live on the Land Settlement, when most of the collierys closed down. Many families did.
Sheena Ann
Any idea when the lsa was wound up? Early 1980s as a guess
Linda Roberts
Sheena Ann
yes was early 80’s. We moved out when I finished that was 84 so would be a bit before then
Sheena Ann
thought it was we had a chance to buy our house but decided to move into town.
Linda Roberts
my grandparents purchased the house and carried on the business. Explains why I can only find handwritten accounts from 1983 onwards
Sheena Ann
who was your grandparent?
Linda Roberts
dick & Kathleen chapman they grew tomatoes, beans, lettuce etc
I can vaguely remember them.
Sheena Ann
I used to like doing all that sort of work.
Andy Moss Photos
Had a ladies darts team my mum and auntie played in late 70’s early 80
Worked for bill lynch on settlement picking lettuce, rhubarb etc lovely family remember fiona flynn are your parents brendan and kay
Not many of the growers left there now from when it was …
2 Responses
My uncle Leo Humphrey’s dreams were never really fulfilled at Fulney. I much preferred working with him on his farm in Chelsfield, Kent. Sadly Leo and Elsie at history now.
Thanks for memories. Please tell us more. Regards Geoff