ASHBROOK ALLOTMENT ASSN

Wendover Ashbrook Allotment Association is 100 Years Old

Records show that allotment gardening on the Ashbrook site started more than 100 years ago. The site, which at that time was owned by the Ro t h s c h i l d ’s Estate and used for market g a r d e n i n g , became available for purchase.

The first meeting of an organised group of potential future owners, possibly existing tenants of the Rothschilds, was held on 12 February 1920 at the King & Queen PH, involving 10 people. Probably this kind of venture was an effect of WW1.

A Secretary was already in post. The meeting named the Association, elected a Chairman, resolved to produce a list of investors and agreed to approach the landowner, the Hon. Charles Rothschild with the intention of buying the site.

By June 1920 the investors had raised £685 by purchase of shares in the Association. The sale was agreed with Charles Rothschild at £600, equivalent now to about £34,000. The sale was not completed until December 1922.

The Association was formally registered under the auspices of an ‘Agricultural Organisation’ under the ‘Industrial and Provident Societies Act of 1893’, on 3rd August 1920. The first rents were collected in March 2021. Tenants bemoaned initial rents of 8d (3.3p) per pole. The charge in 2020 is £2 – a 60x increase and in line with inflation over the period.

Initial plans lack detail, but show about 10 acres north of the old Halton railway line, with only two houses f r o n t i n g W e n d o v e r Road - these being the old ‘ Ro t h s c h i l d ’ c o t t a g e s , which had p r e s u m a b l y h o u s e d workers on the original market garden site.

Rent was received for 1667 poles in 1921. Money was in short supply and it was decided that the water supply to the site, which had reportedly been operational since at least 1877, should be disconnected, saving around £6 a year. (The water wasn’t reconnected until 1975!) Subsequently, from 1925 onwards, land fronting the Aylesbury Road was sold for building and the shareholders were able to have their investment returned. The Association now has about 750 poles. (160 poles make an acre; an acre is 0.4 hectares).

Over the years the site has had mixed fortunes with periods of underuse and neglected plots. Chickens were kept and a tenant was allowed to build a pigsty, but it was too big! US Red Cross donated seed during WW2. “Digging for Victory” filled the site. Then plots became neglected because men were away fighting. After the war the site thrived for a period, there were horticultural shows and prizes for best vegetables. These no longer exist, but for several years now the site has been fully occupied. Some experiment with more exotic vegetables, fruits and flowers and raised beds are in vogue.

There is a friendly family-orientated atmosphere and the tenants hope to celebrate the centenary with a Hog Roast Barbeque during this summer.