1927 Diary of Elliot Woolford of Hook Farm, Lydiard Tregoze

1927

In the summer of 1927 a drought followed by heavy rains and frequent storms ruined crops. In July lightening killed a cow belong to William Hiscock and in August Elliot writes that all the hay in Dayes is ‘utterly spoilt quite useless’ and the oats collected in Four Acre was ‘poor.’

It was a challenging year for the farming community of Lydiard Tregoze. Elliot makes little mention of social events in the parish and there was no seaside holiday for the Woolford family that year.

Background

In a meticulously kept and unbroken series of diaries, Elliot Woolford provides the reader with a no-nonsense view of farming life at Lydiard Tregoze spanning more than 45 years. His livelihood was forever at the mercy of the vagaries of the weather and fluctuating market prices.

Elliot and his brother Rowland acquired the tenancy of Hook Farm in 1899 from the 5th Viscount Bolingbroke. In 1930 Elliott was able to purchase the farm when part of the Bolingbroke estate was sold by the Viscount's widow, Mary. The Woolford family remain there to this day.