The country's oldest allotment site lies in the small north Wiltshire village of Great Somerford, where the small plots of land are still being cultivated to this day. The Poor Man's Best Friend tells the story of how the reverend Stephen Demainbray, a pioneering country priest stood up to the powerful local landowners using his power as collector of tithes to salvage a small piece of land for the poor of his parish during the Enclosure acts of the early 19th Century. As well as a piece of local and social history, the book contains a potted month-by-month guide to allotment gardening, punctuated with snippets of rural history, folklore and memories of some of today's allotment holders. With illustrations by Judith Verity, Adam Lloyd, Judy Beeby and Kate Robinson. Paperback, 56pp
Published March 2009 by The Somerford Press, price £4.50
ISBN: 978-0-9561806-0-5
To order a copy, send a cheque for £4.50 (plus £2.50 p&p) to: The Somerford Press, Sayers, Frog Lane, Great Somerford, Wiltshire SN15 5JA or email jillshearer@btinternet.com
(Cheques payable to The Somerford Press)
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The country's oldest allotment site lies in the small north Wiltshire village of Great Somerford, where the small plots of land are still being cultivated to this day. The Poor Man's Best Friend tells the story of how the reverend Stephen Demainbray, a pioneering country priest stood up to the powerful local landowners using his power as collector of tithes to salvage a small piece of land for the poor of his parish during the Enclosure acts of the early 19th Century. As well as a piece of local and social history, the book contains a potted month-by-month guide to allotment gardening, punctuated with snippets of rural history, folklore and memories of some of today's allotment holders. With illustrations by Judith Verity, Adam Lloyd, Judy Beeby and Kate Robinson. Paperback, 56pp