When they were formed during the mid-19th century, Wakeley Brothers inherited land which included a sizeable acreage in Upchurch from Rainham farmer Thomas Dodd because of marriage between the two families. The firm employed large numbers of local people to work for them in the parish of Upchurch. Apart from land they also had a blacksmith’s workshop, an Elizabethan barn and cottages at Church Farm in Forge Lane and a 100 year old windmill on Windmill Hill until it burnt down in a fire in 1910. Overall, they treated their workers well, providing them with free housing in Upchurch and providing annual feasts, held in their granary at Otterham Quay.
The firm built five oast houses in different parts of the parish to store produce such as hops from their ‘Seventeen Acres’ hop garden located on the site of the present golf course in Oak Lane. Many local Upchurch residents worked there over the years up to the 1970s. Norman Long from Church Farm Road became one of the last Upchurch residents to work for the Wakeley Brothers during the 1990s.
From the 1880s Wakeley Brothers had farm cottages constructed for their workers in the parish such as Wetham Green Cottages at Wetham Green, Plantation Cottages and Otterham Cottages in Horsham Lane and Red Brick Cottages in Poot Lane.
The bricks used for the houses came from the firm’s Poot Lane brickworks which existed from 1862 to the first quarter of the 20th century. Most of the bricks from there were transported by a trolley rail system across Wetham Green to Twinney Wharf from where the firm’s barges took consignments of bricks to different locations along the river and as far as London.
The brothers each had a role in the business. William Henry Wakeley managed the firm’s milling business and steam mill at Otterham Quay. He also won fame as a champion rose grower and he won many awards locally and nationally. William Street, Henry Street and Wakeley Road in Rainham are all named after him.
Richard Mansfield Wakeley who resided at and managed Moor Street Farm which covered part of Rainham and adjoined Oak Lane in Upchurch, became one of the first Upchurch parish councillors when the parish council was formed in 1894. He also contributed land to the parish for use as allotments. His brother John who also lived at Moor Street Farm helped him and he became a school manager at Holywell School.
Upchurch Pottery - Seymour Road 1940, Wakeley Farm - Forge Lane 1914.
Pieces of Upchurch Pottery, Wakeley Mill - Windmill Hill 1903.
Inset Thomas Stanley Wakeley.
Thomas Stanley Wakeley dealt with corn and spent time at the corn exchanges in London and Rochester. He also organised the transportation of company produce from Rainham railway station to London and he dealt with the markets. His office was located in the oast next to Rainham railway station. In Upchurch, he negotiated a land deal with Upchurch parish council at Church Farm in the village centre for the construction of the Infant’s School in 1882. As an evangelical preacher, he also held services for his Upchurch congregation at the Wakeley granary in Otterham Quay Road during the 1860s. He was regarded as a very shrewd and clever businessman. The former Lord Stanley Inn at the bottom of Windmill Hill was named after him.
Seymour Wakeley, a second generation member of the family business, organised affairs at the Hartlip and Upchurch hop gardens and he helped organise some of the early Upchurch fetes at the vicarage. He lived the longest of the Wakeley brothers, reaching 91 years old. Seymour Road in Rainham is named after him.
Brian Wakeley became the only family member to reside in the village. He lived at Church Farm Cottages in Forge Lane from the 1920s to the 1950s and he played a part in village activities and organisations such as the tennis club at the vicarage, various village theatrical productions and he served as captain in the Upchurch Home Guard during World War Two.
Female members of the Wakeley family also played a role in Upchurch village affairs. Minnie Wakeley, wife of Richard Mansfield Wakeley junior, became the first president of the Women’s Institute in 1931, while Dora Wakeley, wife of Seymour Wakeley had a great interest in pottery and she founded and developed Upchurch Pottery with the help of her husband. The business began in 1909 when a bottle kiln and workshop was constructed in the chalk pit just off Seymour Road in Rainham. It gradually expanded and Upchurch Pottery which it produced became well-known on the porcelain market.
Ted Baker from Windmill Hill was employed as the potter and he had a big influence on the pottery style. He produced pots mainly influenced by Greek and Roman vases. He used a style of soft colours with a matt finish. This became characteristic of Upchurch pottery made of clay that Dora Wakeley personally obtained from the saltings just off the Ham Green peninsular. Upchurch pottery became well-known nationwide and is identified by its distinctive colouring and finish.
Wakeley Brothers farmed in Upchurch until the late 1990s. They mainly produced top fruit such as apples and pears during their later period and they had a cold storage centre built on the site now occupied by Woodruff Close which replaced the oast houses that had been demolished in the parish. They later moved to a new store in Spade Lane, Hartlip. When the warehouse was destroyed by fire, William Wakeley, the great grandson of Thomas Stanley Wakeley decided to finish farming and retired while his son James who had managed the land in Upchurch and Rainham left the area.
The Wakeley family influence on Upchurch continued to be important until the late 20th century. They offered employment to local residents during this period, they involved themselves in village affairs and they had houses constructed which still exist, while the hop garden, the oast houses, the barges and the brickworks are long gone.
David Wood
About David
David was born and raised at Ham Green and still lives there today. He writes from personal experience about Upchurch village life and the changes that have taken place over the years.
David's book, Memories of Upchurch, is a very readable and detailed historical study of the village and is available direct from David at: david3702001@yahoo.co.uk price £12 + postage and packing.
