| Administrative History | Edward John Deavall, known as John, was at Post Office Farm in 1952. The Deavall family moved to Manor House Farm in 1954. The farming business was run sometime in partnership with Mrs Deavall's brother George Moseley. John Deavall died in 1978 aged only 49. George Moseley died in 1982 aged 59. Edith Deavall then sold tthe farm but bought the house and three acres of land from the Sandon Estate. She died in 2017. The Manor House itself was previously occupied by a great uncle of George and Edith, and he was a farmer and coffin maker. In 1901 George and Edith's father and aunt moved to Gayton after being orphaned, and the family continued to live in Gayton.
Information supplied by Christine in 2018 when these records were donated:
My mother, Edith Deavall and father, Edward John Deavall, moved into Manor Farm, Gayton towards the end of 1953. At that time it was owned by Sandon Estate, and came with a small acreage of land (less than 12 acres). My mother had been born in the village and her parents were living at Cherry Cottages (where council owned bungalows now stand). My father was born in Penkridge but moved to Kents Farm on Church Lane, Gayton where his grandparents and, subsequently, his parents lived. When my mother and father married in 1949 they moved into another of the Cherry Cottages. At that time my father was a farm labourer and, I believe, was employed at Parkside Farm, Gayton. My parents briefly moved to Fradswell (for approximately 10 months) before subsequently moving to Manor Farm.
My maternal grandfather, Robert Butler Morris Moseley born 1894, had been orphaned at an early age. He and his sister, Jessie, were living at Manor Farm, in the early 1900s, with his late mother's brother, Henry Foster, Henry Foster's wife, Sarah and several cousins plus his paternal grandfather. Henry Foster was a farmer and a coffin maker (the current kitchen at Manor House was where he used to make the coffins). With the help of his uncle, my grandfather claimed an inheritance of a butcher's shop in Worcester Street, Wolverhampton. He did not move there himself but pledged the butcher's shop to his son George Moseley.
At some stage, George Moseley bought Old Post Office Farm, which included approximately 20 acres of land. My father and George set up a joint company, Deavall and Moseley, as well as having separate companies in their individual names. The farmer-butcher partnership was advantageous to both and, in August 1962, they bought the Waddens Farm, on the Uttoxeter Road, Weston. This farm came with a substantial farmhouse, which was occupied by a farm manager, and over 165 acres of land. At that time, therefore, they were able to expand from the predominantly pig and poultry farming, to more arable (potatoes, wheat, barley) farming plus some sheep and beef cattle. There were battery cages for many thousands of hens on both the Waddens Farm and on Old Post Office Farm. Manor Farm continued to be mainly pig and poultry farming with regular preparation of chickens for the table and Xmas turkeys.
My grandfather died in October 1968 and my grandmother downsized into one of the new bungalows on Cherry Lane, Gayton. A farm manager briefly lived in the Old Post Office farmhouse, but this was largely unsuccessful (his large family doing significant internal damage) and the farmhouse itself was sold in November 1972.
In 1978, my father became ill and died. My mother's name was not on the tenancy and so she was given notice to quit Manor Farm. She applied for succession to a tenancy
of Manor Farm (or Manor House Farm as it was also called) and a Agricultural Land Tribunal hearing was arranged in January 1979. I was not living in Gayton at the time and do not know the full details of how my mother managed to purchase Manor Farm (the farmhouse plus almost three acres) from Sandon Estate shortly afterwards.
At the time, my mother wanted to continue farming with the assistance of her brother, George, but he died three years later towards the end of 1981, and the Waddens Farm was sold in January 1982. Whereas my mother was willing to continue farming with her brother, she was not prepared to continue with George Moseley's son, Robert. Robert Moseley inherited the butcher's shop in Wolverhampton but, unfortunately, the business went into liquidation.The land on Old Post Office Farm was sold in 1984.
My mother died in September 2017, aged 93, having lived at Manor Farm (called Manor House after she bought it) for almost 64 years. My sister and I were, thus, left with Manor House to sell. Not only was my mother a hoarder but there were also issues regarding a pre-emption agreement between my mother and Viscount Sandon to resolve. Completion of the sale is, however, set for 26 October 2018 and a young couple, both from a farming background, will be taking it over. |