Allotments

ALLOTMENTS ARE NOW more popular than ever with a queue of people wanting one in Bourne although they may have to wait for up to three years until a vacancy arises. Yet the practice of renting a plot of land to grow your own fruit and vegetables dates back several centuries, a tradition now perpetuated by the Queen, who has had one dug inside the 40-acre grounds of Buckingham Palace in an attempt to promote self-sufficiency, while Michelle Obama has one at the White House and Sarah Brown is reaping the benefits from the garden at No 10.

These small areas of land let out at low rents have become part of the British way of life and the butt of music hall jokes and they survive today as a regular source of both fresh produce and rich humour. The higgledy-piggledy collection of sheds, shanties and lean-tos that have sprung up around them are claimed to be the refuge of henpecked husbands anxious to escape their nagging wives and there may be a grain of truth in this but they also contain the spades and forks and other equipment needed to tend the land and to grow the cabbages and carrots, the parsnips and potatoes, with which they invariably return home after a Sunday morning's hard labour.

The allotment is defined by law as a piece of land that is cultivated as a farm or garden. There was a time when each cottager had his own small parcel which he tended for the benefit of his family and in addition had the right to graze his cattle, pigs and geese on common land, but such rights were denied under the Enclosure Acts of the 18th and 19th centuries and by way of compensation, gardens were reserved for them in many districts.

Allotments were regarded as an inducement to keep agricultural workers in the countryside and to stop the drift of much needed labour to the towns. The Parish Councils Act of 1894 provided this stimulus and during the first four years of its working, almost 15,000 acres were allocated to 32,000 tenants, an impetus reinforced by the Small Holdings and Allotments Acts of 1882 and 1908 which gave compulsory powers to local authorities to provide allotments.

Many city dwellers took on allotments during the Great War and by 1918 there were 1.3 million of them producing vegetables at the impressive rate of 2,000,000 tons annually. When the Second World War broke out in 1939, a campaign was launched in Britain under the slogan Dig for Victory when parks, wasteland and even private gardens were turned into allotments. Exhibitions were organised, demonstration plots established and millions of information leaflets distributed. The pros and cons of the allotment were discussed in talks on the radio, vicars were urged to stress the virtues of growing food in their sermons and some authorities appealed to the competitive spirit of their communities with prizes for the best vegetables and even the best compost heap.

In Bourne, allotments were provided in the past at many locations by benevolent landowners, notably the Earl of Exeter (Lord of the Manor of Bourne), William Ann Pochin (Lord of the Manor of Bourne Abbots), Lord Aveland and Lord Willoughby, a particular pioneer of allotments for working people who addressed a public meeting on the subject at the Victoria Hall [now demolished] on Saturday 16th March 1889. The terms of agreement provided for sixteen allotments of two acres each in Bourne Fen, with an annual rental of £2 per acre, payable half-yearly. There were also 17 one-acre allotments in two fields near the Auster Wood with an annual rental of £1 per acre, also payable half yearly. This was a very popular move by his lordship and there were 33 applicants for the large holdings, the first experiment of its kind in this part of Lincolnshire, and 51 applicants for the smaller holdings, and all were subsequently let.

Today, there are two areas of allotments in Bourne but their size is far less generous than those of the 19th century. The smaller of these is owned by Bourne United Charities which has been providing allotments since the trustees were petitioned by 150 labourers and cottagers in 1886 and the present holding at the corner of Meadow Drove and Spalding Road is divided into 13 plots, all of which are occupied.

The other larger area of land is in South Fen Road and administered by the town council. Both enjoy the benefits of a rich, black soil and producing annual crops of vegetables for those who cultivate them at a fraction of the price they can be bought in the shops but far more importantly, providing a hobby for those with little garden space at their own home while also maintaining the tradition of self sufficiency.

Bourne Town Council purchased the land in South Fen Road from Lincolnshire County Council in March 1982 and the official opening of the allotments was held later that year by the Mayor of Bourne, Councillor Malcolm Jones, and Councillor Ray Cliffe, chairman of the amenities committee (pictured above). The total area of 4½ acres was originally divided into 89 various sized plots. Every allotment holder signs an agreement at the beginning of their tenancy and pays a small amount of annual rent. Tenants may also erect a small shed not larger than 4 ft x 6 ft for the safe keeping of tools and gardening equipment, a water supply is available and a contractor maintains the car parking area and roadways.

There has always been a keen and friendly rivalry among allotment holders and since 2002, the town council has been organising an annual Best Kept Allotment Competition to keep this spirit alive. By this summer, there was a list of 66 names of people wanting allotments with a possible wait of three years before they get one and with no further land available to create more, the authority has began splitting up the larger plots as they become vacant to meet the demand with the result that the original 89 plots have now been increased to 92. The popularity of the allotment in Bourne is therefore assured for the foreseeable future.