Samuel William Farmer, From Market Lavington

A School’s Adventure by Geo. W. Olive, first published in 1951, relates the story of Dauntsey’s School. The book begins with a photograph of Samuel William Farmer and ends with two appendices about him.

The first is an ‘Extract from Mr Farmer’s Statement,’ and reads:.

“I was born at Market Lavington on November 29^th, 1847, attended a village Dames School, kept by my Aunt (my Father’s Sister), till 8 years old. I consider the education I received from her and at Mr Evans, Devizes, was more intrinsically valuable than that received at any other period in my life.”.

“From 1855 to 1863 I was at School at Devizes (Mr Evans) and at the Spa, Melksham (Dr Gilchrist’s).”.

“In January 1863 when I was 15 years old I went to Aberdeen where I attended the Grammar School, King’s College (arts), and Marischall College (Medicine) till 1866. In that year I suffered from severe haemoptysis which continued till 1868 and to a much less degree for several years.”.

“I attained my twenty-first birthday in 1868. My Father was taken seriously ill in November 1868 and died May 1869 in his forty-third year leaving his Executors with two butchering businesses, one at Trowbridge, and another at Market Lavington, also a farming business of about 1,500 acres at Market Lavington, Easterton and Eastcott.”.

“The Executors disposed of the Trowbridge business, and I took over the Lavington butchering business and the farming business at Michaelmas 1869. I had been with my Father during the summer of 1868. I had no knowledge of either business except what I picked up at that time and during his illness.”.

“The years 1869 to 1874 were, considering the size of the business, probably as prosperous as, if not more prosperous than, any I have since experienced.”.

“In 1874 I sold the Lavington butchering business and gave up all the land I had hitherto occupied except the Eastcott Farm. In that year 1874 I married Emily Redman, daughter of William Redman of Coulston. I took the Little Bedwyn Farm and we made Little Bedwyn our home.”.

The second reference to Samuel William Farmer is an ‘Extract from Mr Gauntlett’s Paper.’ It reads:.

“Mr Farmer, I suppose, was the most successful farmer in England; it is a curious fact that his name should be Farmer. Another curious fact is that his main education was taken in Aberdeen at Marischall College, where he studied for a doctor, but his health broke down and he could not take his examinations. At the same time his father was taken ill and died when Mr Farmer was about 20 years old, and left him with two butchering businesses and 1,500 acres of land at Market Lavington near Devizes which he farmed in partnership with my father. He came to Little Bedwyn in 1874 and died here in 1926 and left a fortune of £400,000. He also gave away probably £100,000 besides that. In 1879 seventy-five per cent of the farmers in the country went bankrupt, and Mr Farmer took over farm after farm till he got together about 25,000 acres, 5,000 acres farmed by himself, 5,000 with my father as partner, and 15,000 with Mr Frank Stratton as partner. All this land was arable and taken when everyone else was going bankrupt. He was the pioneer of selling milk to London from Wiltshire, largely produced from arable land till the labour question and prices became more difficult. He milked over 1,000 cows in old barns converted to cow sheds paved with blue bricks which are good today.”.

“He fatted many cattle besides rearing nearly all the cow calves. He also had some 5,000 H.D. [Hampshire Down] ewes which meant 5,000 lambs to be fatted through the summer. This system was carried on until the War when the H.D. sheep gradually went to be replaced by grass sheep. After the War changes came swift and fast. Landlords began to sell and Mr Farmer foresaw great depreciation coming, and instead of buying farms took the opportunity of getting out while prices were high.”.

“His success largely was having two wonderful partners, Mr Stratton and my father, whose delight was good farming. My father had several hard working sons who gave their best. And last but not least he was clever in selecting key men. He worked hard and expected everyone to do likewise.”