The Farms of Whitchurch - 1

It’s thanks to Ernie Broad and Edgar Chappell that we know so much about the farms of the village. They have written so much and given us a glimpse of how things were not so long ago
Ernie Broad tells us about the farming characters of his childhood and Edgar Chappell has lots to say about the history. He tells that from 1295 Whitchurch was one large medieval manor, with farms and bound tenants, but for the last 2-300 years there were a handful of separate landowners. Does anyone know any more about this?

It’s amazing to think that (almost) within living memory there were at least 16 farms in Whitchurch and Llandaff North. There were even more if you include Tongwynlais, Birchgrove and Rhiwbina.

From the Tithe Map of 1841, it’s clear that nearly all of the farms were tenanted with absentee landowners. The old Welsh names signify that many of the farms were of considerable age, so in all probability the farms of the early 20th century were the same at least 200 years earlier. Many of the farm fields listed on the Tithe Map had names which reflected their size, shape and quality.

Attached is a map, based on the Tithe Map showing the village and the hundreds of fields surrounding it. There’s probably hours of fun with this looking at the names and working out where our modern village is None of the farms were huge, the biggest no more than 20-30 fields, with many of the others much smaller. To do justice to all of the farms needs either a very long blog, or two smaller ones. So, I’ve decided to write this first blog in general terms, and then follow up with a list of all of the farms I know about.

Our local farms were a mixture of both arable and pasture. Arable growing crops, mainly of wheat, barley and oats, whilst the pasture provided grazing for cattle, some sheep and plough oxen.

Whilst the farms varied in size, each had its own farmhouse (some really old ones might have housed animals as well as the family), a barn, cowshed, stabling, cart shed, piggery and hayrick, all within a walled or hedged farm yard. Adjacent to the farmhouse would be a vegetable garden (and probably a henhouse), the domain of the farmer’s wife, for family produce.

Many of the farms were located adjacent to a stream where there would be plentiful supply of water, but others like Ty’n-y-Pwll and Pentwyn had ponds. The pond at Pentwyn (now Whitchurch Golf Club) is now a water hazard on the course, and you can still see it through the trees on the A470!

Some of the farms specialising in dairy, such as Forest Farm, had milking parlours. And of course, dotted around each farm were the hayricks and occasional field barns.

The early census returns list the farming families and their live-in workers, but there were many others in the parish whose occupation was listed as ‘agricultural labourer’.

Clearly in those days, farming was very labour-intensive, and at different times of the year (such as seedtime, ploughing and harvest) required even more assistance. I’m sure you’ve all seen the terrific photograph of a farmer ploughing on the old Forlan Farm with a pair of horses drawing the plough (Old Whitchurch, by Edgar Chappell)

As mechanisation crept in, the need for large numbers of labourers diminished, and after WW1, the shortage of men only accelerated the decline. By the 1950s, the widespread introduction of tractors and mechanical ploughing meant far fewer farm workers were needed.

In the latter part of the 19th century, the area around Gwauntreoda and the Philog changed to market gardening with the whole family helping out. This meant even less agricultural employment on the farms, with the local families tending to their own plots.

Then after WW1, Whitchurch began to expand dramatically with more and more houses being built on the farm fields. Initially on the fields nearest to the centre, but over the years gobbling up more and more open space.

Now, only the street names reflect the farms and fields that once dominated the area, and with only the last few of the farmhouses surviving. In fact, Forest Farm is the only local example remaining with its barns and sheds, and tumble-down outbuildings.

Next time we’ll look at all of the local farms and some of the farming families. See how many of them you know about!

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