Introduction
All farmers were required to complete questionnaires and return these to the government’s Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries recording the situation at June 4th 1941. Despite this being the official date, the farm surveys were not carried out until December 1941. The objective of this survey was to provide data that could form the basis of post-war planning. At the time it was seen as a ‘Second Domesday Book’.
There were four forms:-
- A Farm Survey which gave an overall assessment of the condition of the farms;
- Agricultural land usage (including livestock)
- A return of small fruit and other crops grown for human consumption
- A return of Labour, Motive Power (including tractors), Rents (or equivalent where the farm was owned) and the length of occupation of the holding.
There is a sample of each of these forms here.
Details of each farm
Summary Totals
The survey included Deopham, Hackford and Hardingham as one entity; the summary totals below include only the farms and smallholdings in the Deopham parish.
It should also be noted that whilst the Phoenix farm at The Stalland was included, the Jeffery farm on the other side of the road was still considered to be in Hingham according to the parish boundary.
Crops and Grass
| %age | Acres | |
|---|---|---|
| Wheat | 10 | 164.75 |
| Barley | 21 | 341.00 |
| Oats | 3 | 52.00 |
| Mixed Corn with Wheat in mixture | 1 | 14.25 |
| Mixed Corn without Wheat in mixture | 2 | 38.50 |
| Beans, winter or spring, for stock feeding | 5.00 | |
| Peas, for stock feeding, not for human consumption | 2.00 | |
| Potatoes, main crop and second earlies | 4.75 | |
| Turnips and Swedes, for fodder | 2 | 25.75 |
| Mangolds | 6 | 94.25 |
| Sugar Beet | 10 | 168.50 |
| Kale, for fodder | 1 | 15.50 |
| Rape (or Cole) | 1.00 | |
| Cabbage, Savoys and Kohl Rabi for fodder | 0.25 | |
| Vetches of Tares | 7.75 | |
| Flax, for fibre or linseed | 2 | 38.50 |
| Orchards, with crops, fallow, or grass below the trees | 1 | 10.75 |
| Small Fruit, not under orchard trees | 6.00 | |
| Vegetables for human consumption (excluding Potatoes), Flowers & Crops under Glass See breakdown of this figure in the table below | 2 | 24.75 |
| All other Crops | 1 | 12.50 |
| Bare Fallow | 1.75 | |
| Clover, Sainfoin and Temporary Grasses for Mowing this season | 15 | 242.00 |
| Clover, Sainfoin and Temporary Grasses (not for Mowing this season) | 1.50 | |
| Permanent Grass for Mowing this season | 2 | 32.00 |
| Permanent Grass for Grazing, but excluding rough grazings | 19 | 312.25 |
| TOTAL OF ABOVE ITEMS | 99 | 1617.25 |
| Rough Grazings | 1 | 19.50 |
| TOTAL INCLUDING ROUGH GRAZING | 100 | 1636.75 |
Fruit & Vegetables
| Acres | |
|---|---|
| SMALL FRUIT | |
| Strawberries | 2 |
| Currants, black | 4 |
| Total acreage of small fruit | 6 |
| VEGETABLES FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION, FLOWERS, CROPS UNDER GLASS | |
| Cabbage, Savoys, Kale & Sprouting Broccoli | 2 |
| Onions | 0.75 |
| Asparagus | 0.25 |
| Rhubarb | 0.50 |
| Tomatoes, growing in Glasshouses | 0.25 |
| Daffodils & Narcissi, not under glass | 3 |
| Tulips, not under glass | 4 |
| Other bulb flowers, not under glass | 2 |
| Other flowers, not under glass | 12 |
| Total | 24.75 |
All but 0.75 acres of this total were located at Crown Farm.
Livestock
| CATTLE | ||
| Cows and Heifers in milk | 93 | |
| Cows in Calf, but not in milk | 10 | |
| Heifers in Calf, with first Calf | 15 | |
| Bulls being used for service | 2 | |
| Bulls (including Bull Calves) being reared for service | 1 | |
| 1 year old and under 2 | Male | 34 |
| Female | 60 | |
| Under 1 year old, for rearing (excluding Bull Calves being reared for service) | 106 | |
| TOTAL CATTLE and CALVES | 321 | |
| Steers & Heifers over 1 year old being fattened for slaughter before 30/11/1941 | 19 | |
| PIGS | ||
| Sows in Pig | 7 | |
| Gilts in Pig | 1 | |
| Other Sows kept for breeding | 7 | |
| Boars being used for service | 1 | |
| All other pigs (not entered above) | ||
| Over 5 months old | 115 | |
| 2-5 months | 115 | |
| Under 2 months | 53 | |
| TOTAL PIGS | 299 | |
| POULTRY | ||
| Fowls over 6 months old | 2129 | |
| Fowls under 6 months old | 1302 | |
| Ducks of all ages | 420 | |
| Geese of all ages | 33 | |
| Turkeys over 6 months old | 3 | |
| TOTAL POULTRY | 3887 | |
| GOATS | ||
| Goats of all ages | 9 | |
| HORSES | ||
| Horses used for Agricultural purposes (including Mares kept for breeding) or by Market Gardeners | mares | 34 |
| geldings | 21 | |
| Unbroken horses of 1 year old and above | mares | 4 |
| geldings | 3 | |
| Heavy Horses under 1 year old | 3 | |
| Stallions being used for service in 1941 | 1 | |
| All Other Horses (not entered above) | 7 | |
| TOTAL HORSES | 73 |
Although the form had a section for recording sheep of all sorts, there was not a single one listed (this is also true of the Hackford and Hardingham returns).
Tractors
Wheel Tractors for field work
Click on a MAFF Farm No. to see the full details of that farm.
| MAFF Farm No. | Farmer | Name of Farm | Number | Horse Power of each | Make or Model of Tractor |
| 2 | Mr A. Allen | Hall Farm Deopham | 1 | Fordson | |
| 4 | Exors of C. Clarke | Park Lane Deopham | 1 | 16 | Allis Chalmer |
| 12 | Mr Chas Leverett | Laurel Farm Deopham | 1 | 16 | Allis Chalmers |
| 15 | Mr P. Percy | High Elm Farm Deopham | 1 | 22 | Fordson |
| 31 | Hingham Nurseries Ltd | Crown Farm Deopham | 1 | 25 | Fordson Utility |
| 45 | Mr F.C. Woods | Park Farm Deopham | 2 | 30 16 | Allis Chalmers |
Fordson Tractor
Image: eBay
Wheel Tractors for stationary work
| MAFF Farm No. | Farmer | Name of Farm | Number | Horse Power of each | Make or Model of Tractor |
| 31 | Hingham Nurseries Ltd | Crown Farm Deopham | 1 | 21 | Titan |
Titan tractor
Image: Cheffins Auctions
Electricity
The following Deopham farms ticked boxes to indicate that they were using electricity in 1941 in one way or another. The survey results are listed below as recorded on the forms. Not all entries are consistent.
Click on a MAFF Farm No. to see the full details of that farm.
| MAFF Farm Number | Name of Holding | Name of Farmer | Public light | Public power | Private light | Private power | Is it used for household purposes? | Is it used for farm purposes? |
| 12 | Laurel Farm | Mr Charles Leverett | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| 25 | Half Moon Inn | Mr Ernest Collins | Yes | No | Yes | No | ||
| 31 | Crown Farm | Mr Frank B Law | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| 33 | Shaws Farm | Mr Arthur S. Long | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | ||
| 45 | Park Farm | Mr Frank C Woods | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Water
Not one Deopham farm had piped water at the time of this survey. Most farmers were dependent on wells; some on springs. Mr Frederick Phoenix mentions that at South Hill they have to carry water 50 yards to the house.
Water supply was still a problem in 1960 as recorded in the report of a parish meeting.
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| 12-13/7/23 | Link to farm details list; links added to tractor tables; List of farms using electricity. |
| 10/7/23 | Note on the Stalland; link to sample forms page. |
| 8/7/23 | Added lists of tractors |
| 2/7/23 | Note about Crown Farm and fruit and veg |
| 30/6/23 | Published |
Deopham History 