October 2012

 
The last part of October brought some very welcome sunny days, but too late to rescue what is widely being described as one of the worst harvests on record. Despite this, the turnout for the annual Harvest Festival was as jolly as ever, and our ancient little Parish church was packed with people and produce.

St Margarets, dating from the 14^th century, and with 12^th century origins, was built by the owners of Corse Court, a half-timbered manor house beside which it still stands. Now surrounded by acres of cider apple orchards, it’s set away from any roads and accessed only by a narrow track through the orchards.

The interior is plain, which highlights the equally simple 12^th century carved stone font. The 16^th and 17^th century bells have beautiful tones, and to hear them ringing on a still summer’s evening is a delight.

The church now houses a record of the fascinating history of the Parish of Corse, and it’s place in the vision of an agrarian England, populated by communities of smallholders living and working in harmony with the land and with one another! This was the Chartist Movement, whose aims were political reform and social regeneration. ‘The People’s Charter’ was put forward in 1838, and called for various parliamentary reforms and increased democracy. Although this failed, its instigator, an Irish aristocrat called Fergus O’Connor, pursued his aim of extending land ownership to the working classes, and thus they would gain the right to vote.

His vision was to release workers from the tyranny of the factories, and settle them on the land. He described villages for 125 families, with a school, library and hospital, all managed by the National Land Company with shares allocated to the smallholders. Each family would have a cottage and between 2-4 acres, deemed to be adequate to support a family. Between 1846 and 1848 the Company bought five estates and built 250 dwellings, and two of these are within the Parish of Corse: Snig’s End and Lowbands.

Sadly, the financial and land allocation arrangements (basically a lottery) proved too complex, and the National Land Company was finally wound up in 1851. However, the legacy remains, and despite some inevitable 20^th century in-fill and the ubiquitous UPVC replacement windows, the cottages and their land remain intact.



Although social conditions today are a far cry from those in the 19^th century, there is nevertheless a growing demand for allotments, backyard chickens are de rigeur, and cottages with a few acres don’t stay on the market for long!

www.smallholderseries.co.uk