2010/5

W. Robinson (Printer)

This is a poster, with black and red text on white paper, from 1931 advertising a sale at Manor Farm in Redbourne, Lincolnshire. The sale took place on 1 April 1931 and was conducted by Reg. J. Broadgate, Dickinson & Davy. The farmer's, Mr E. Owen Ayre, lease has expired and all stock and equipment were up for sale. The date suggests that this may have been due to the agricultural depression of the inter-war years. The poster was framed by MERL.

MERL 'Handwritten accession' form (Museum of English Rural Life) – Description: Poster for the sale of live and dead farming stock of Manor Farm, Redbournce, Lincs. to be conducted by Reg. J. Broadgate Dickinson & Davy on Wednesday April 1st, 1931. Sale was occasioned by the expiration of the lease of Mr F. Owen Ayre. Printed in heavy white paper in black and red, and in two sections which have been glued together. Main items of sale are listed eg. 13 horses, 61 beasts etc. Framed by MERL// Associated information: Purchased as part of the Collecting 20thc Rural Culture project, Collecting 20thc Rural Culture blog [Tuesday, 15 April 2010] – 'Farm sale poster, 1931 // The key feature here is the date, 1931, because this is the story of a farm broken by the terrible agricultural depresssion of the inter-war years. The place is Manor Farm Redbourne, between Brigg and Lincoln, and we're told that Mr E.Owen Ayre's lease has expired, thus necessitating the coming sale of everything - stock and equipment - off the farm on April 1st. From that we can probably assume that the lease ran out on the previous quarter day which would have been 25th March, or Lady Day. // Mr Ayre can't be moving to another farm, because he's selling all he has, nor is he handing over to a son, because the lease is not being renewed. I suspect that he is getting on in years, and is a traditional type of farmer, perhaps a little old fashioned, who is unable or unwilling to carry on in the very severe economic conditions prevailing at the time. Why old fashioned? Well, it's a 370 acre mixed farm worked entirely with horses. There are six prime plough horses here - Prince, Daisy, Short, Duke, Turpin and Captain - together with some younger ones being brought on and for lighter work. Clearly, Mr Ayre was not dabbling with those new-fangled tractors and the list of implements for sale shows nothing that might be considered modern or forward-looking at the time. // Tough conditions in farming lasted through the 1920s but plummed new depths in the period 1929-32, and the grain growing areas on the eastern side of the country were most severely affected. World markets were glutted with cereals and there was no money in trying to grow them at home. By the beginning of 1930, prices were below the level of 1914 and in the coming year fell by another third. The overall agricultural price index, which included all farming commodities, stood at 292 in 1920 but was down to 120 in 1931 and still falling. It was reckoned that the average cost of growing wheat was £8 per acre and the average return to the farmer no more than £3 or £4. No wonder that Mr Ayre decided that he couldn't carry on. He wasn't alone, for others also were cutting their losses and selling up. Landowners, often unable to let vacant farms even at a knock-down price, were left with little choice but to abandon them until conditions improved.', MERL object history note [poster text] – 'Manor Farm Redbourne 6 Miles from Brigg, 17 Miles from Lincoln. Reg. J. Broadgate jointly concerned with Dickinson & Davy favoured instructions from Mr E. Owwn Ayre, owing to the expiration of his Lease, will sell by auction on the premises on Wednesday, April 1st, 1931 The whole of the Live and Dead Farming Stock, ...: 13 horses... 61 beasts... 348 sheep... 41 pigs... poultry, implements for a 370 acre Cliff Farm... Gearing for 10 horses. Luncheon as customary (supplied by Mr. Gilliat, Brocklesby Ox, Brigg). The Sale will commence with the Implements at 12 o'clock to be followed by the Sheep, Cattle, Pigs and conclide with the Horses. Full particulars in cards obtainable of the auctioneers. Offices: Kirton Lindsey Brigg Louth and Grimsby. W...Robinson, Printer and Stationer, Wrawby Street, Brigg.'

Brigg

1931 - 1931