1923 Diary of Elliot Woolford of Hook Farm, Lydiard Tregoze

1923

Two big changes in the Woolford family take place in 1923. Elliot’s ten year old son Rowlie leaves the village school at Hook and enrols as a pupil at the High School in Swindon. Now Elliot has to factor into his busy day getting Rowlie to and from school, so he buys a car.

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 Vsct Bolingbroke. In 1930 Elliot 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.