Castleham Farm
Dating back to around the 16th Century and known previously as 'Castles', Castleham Farm sat to the west of today's Battle Road and was parcelled up with Castleham House when the Castleham Industrial Estate was constructed in the early 1970s. The farmhouse itself would sit slightly west of the junction between today's Castleham Road and Gresley Road with the farmland belonging to it stretching from behind Old School Cottages in the east to where Ingleside is in the west and as far north as High Beech. Until 1901, it was under the tenancy of Mr. Wm. Yielding, who placed all of the livestock, mainly consisting of Shorthorn cows, carthorses and implements up for auction on the 9th of October 1901[1]
In 1954, there was some debate in Council chambers as to whether the Castleham Farm Estate, or that of Ashdown Farm should be purchased to create a further housing estate, described in the press as the 'last big Corporation Housing Estate'. The site of Ashdown Farm had already been released by the Ministry of Agriculture to provide housing and a price of £11,200 agreed by the District Valuer. The decision was deferred to the aforementioned Ministry for their views[2]Ultimately, it was decided that the site of Ashdown Farm, together with that of Down Farm should be utilised for housing, in spite of the hilly terrain[3]
The seventeenth century barn that had stood in the farm was carefully dismantled and re-erected at the home of Mr. Yeo, a hospital consultant, in Bodiam[4].
The electrical engineering firm of Thomson-Houston Co. Ltd. proposed occupying a £1,000,000 factory providing 100 jobs on the site of the farm in 1957, with the Council meeting the costs of construction, however that did not come to fruition; both the Ministry of Agriculture would not permit the Council to release the funds and the firm citing the uncertain economic climate as a reason[5], together with on-going commitments to their premises at Rugby and Willesden, in which sufficient capacity could be found.
Images
- Images
CastlehamClearance
Castleham Old Barn 1972
Castleham Old Barn c1972
CastlehamFarmandHouse1977
References & Notes
c
- ↑ Hastings & St Leonards Observer 21 September 1901 pg. 4
- ↑ Hastings & St Leonards Observer 16 October 1954 pg. 2
- ↑ Hastings & St Leonards Observer 27 November 1954 pg. 7
- ↑ Leigh Kennedy
- ↑ Hastings & St Leonards Observer 11 May 1957 pg. 9
