During the second half of the 19th century, George Lumley-Webb, a Tunstall based landowner, attempted to reclaim the land. As the owner of land in Lower Halstow and at Ham Green he saw the opportunity to reclaim land cut off from the mainland and flooded by the river.
George Lumley-Webb had inherited about 1,500 acres of land in Upchurch and Lower Halstow from his uncle Henry Murton. Murton’s Father had enclosed about 100 acres of land on Greenborough for agricultural purposes in 1802. This gave George Lumley-Webb the idea of trying to reclaim more land lost to the river.
Mr Lumley-Webb decided to reclaim the land by enclosing it with bricks to protect it from the river and flooding. The length of the entire area which included five creeks covered about two miles. Mr Lumley-Webb employed fifty workers to complete the venture and he bought an old boat to accommodate forty of these. The workers constructed a tramway for trucks to remove the mud on the site. About 1,000 old corn and potato sacks were used to contain the mud. In 1881 a dam was constructed at Bob’s Creek. Two workers were drowned while working on this but it did not stop the project.
Mr Lumley-Webb had the weakest parts of the wall strengthened with ragstone and brick burrs. Grass seed with wild white clover was then sown. The area had to be harrowed by a small pony with a plough attached. This was because the surface proved too soft for a horse and plough to do the job without sinking into the mud.
After completion of the project, Mr Lumley-Webb still had problems to deal with such as the South of England Oyster Company. On the eve of the project completion, they claimed £10,000 in damages arguing that millions of young oysters they had laid in the area had died. When taken to court their claim was adjudged to be dishonest and their case rejected leaving Mr Lumley-Webb free to proceed with his project.
Although regarded as a great success at the time, the project proved to be expensive as the initial cost of the enclosure totalled £15,400 with a further £20,300 added later. However, Mr Lumley-Webb remained unconcerned as he was motivated by enterprise and endeavour rather than by profit. He also wanted to put lost land to use that would have otherwise been wasted.
In total 627 acres of land were enclosed with 237 acres at Greenborough, 237 at Slayhills, 142 at Milfordhope and 14 at Shoregate from where a way for wagons and livestock to reach Greenborough island was constructed and the remains can still be seen today.
The workers completed the job in July 1881 and to celebrate the occasion Mr Lumley-Webb held a special dinner for the men who had worked on the project.
The enclosures lasted until a high tide broke through the wall in fourteen places and swallowed up the entire area on December 31st 1904, ending hopes of continuing with agriculture on the islands. After this, there were no further attempts to reclaim the land.
Click photo to enlarge.
The long-distance photograph, taken in 2016, shows Burntwick Island
with Greenborough Island in front, then Barksore.
Photo courtesy of Kevin Thornton.
Mr Lumley-Webb continued farming in the Ham Green area. He had two identical sets of tied farm cottages constructed for his workers at Ham Green in 1882. These became known as Callows Cottages and Webbs Cottages which still exist.
Mr Lumley-Webb’s orchards were initially managed by James Robinson and then by James Holloway who lived in The Homestead at Ham Green. James Holloway, who was very active in village affairs, gained local fame as a member of the church parochial council, a manager of Holywell School, a long serving member of the church choir, a churchwarden, a member of Upchurch Cricket Club and the bellringers, a parish councillor and as chairman of the parish council. He also entered fruit in exhibitions at the Royal Horticultural Society on behalf of Mr Lumley-Webb for which he won numerous awards.
George Lumley-Webb stopped farming in the Upchurch area during the inter-war years. As one of the most important parish landowners, he offered employment to local people and he gained widespread fame with his attempt to reclaim land lost to the river.
David Wood
David Wood
About David
David Wood was born, raised and still lives in Upchurch today. He is able to write from personal experience about village life and the changes that have taken place over the years, making ‘Memories of Upchurch’ a very readable and detailed historical study of the village.
David's book is available from David at david3702001@yahoo.co.uk or from us here at Upchurch Matters. Price £12 + postage and packing.
