With only 468 inhabitants recorded in 1861, most of whom worked in the parish and did not have access to modern public services or today’s quality of life, Upchurch was a very different village during the 1860s.
The village centre where most residents lived was based around the church which played a central part in village life and Reverend John Woodruff served as vicar. He lived at the vicarage in Vicarage Lane (now Oak Lane) which he had had converted from Parsonage Farm years earlier. This remained more or less the same until it was demolished to make way for Bradshaw Close in 1976 leaving only The Paddock intact. George Dennis served as parish clerk and he resided at Vicarage Cottages situated in the vicarage grounds in Oak Lane.
Of the four village pubs Henry Hedgecock managed The Crown, George Freeman The Three Sisters, William Pretty The Anchor & Hope and George Baker The Brown Jug. These pubs served as the principal places of social life for male village residents who mainly did physical work on local farms or in the brickfields. The construction of The Three Sisters in 1863 coincided with the coming of the brickfields and served the workers up to the 1970s when the brickfields closed.
In the village centre two grocer’s shops were run by George Bedo and Daniel Castle. Horatio West served as the village baker and Edward Cozens the village blacksmith in Forge Lane. Most residents in The Street who lived mainly opposite and on the same side as Terry’s shop were agricultural labourers. Because work was seasonal and often relied on favourable weather conditions farm labourers sometimes suffered lengthy periods of unemployment and some had to spend time in the Milton Union workhouse although the village charities provided free bread for the poor at Michaelmas and on Maunday Thursday. Reverend Woodruff also distributed medicine to sick villagers to combat ague, a form of malaria contracted from mosquitoes on marshland. In 1869 income to assist the village poor from the village charities totalled £31/6/8d.
Businessmen in Upchurch included William Knight who sold corn, hay and straw, Wildish & Amos who sold bricks, John Mark a beer retailer, Thomas Knight a brick-maker and William Savage a shop-keeper at Otterham Quay. Because a post-office did not exist residents had to go to Rainham, although a letter box in the church wall allowed residents to post letters with a collection at 4-40 pm each day.
A mixture of fruit, hops and ground crops were grown in the parish while sheep grazed on the marshes and on Burntwick and Greenborough Islands. The main village farmers who were responsible for this included Richard Mitchell, William Waters and Stephen Hedgecock at Ham Green, William Green at Horsham Farm, Henry Miskin at Holywell and William Solomon at Gore Farm. Edward Dodd, William Spittle, John Wells, John Dutnall and Wakeley Brothers from Rainham also owned land in the parish. Wakeley Brothers had a brick works constructed at Brick Hill in Poot Lane and had a tram line laid which took finished products to barges at Twinney Wharf and Lower Halstow from 1862.
Although the village road layout more or less resembled that of today the landscape appeared different as there were not any buildings in Chaffes Lane apart from Chaffes Place Cottages near the entrance to Gore Farm where Arthur Crawford worked as the farm bailiff. A recreation ground and a cricket ground did not exist and much of the land in the parish was open arable farmland with a few orchards and hop gardens. Apart from the church and ‘Wayside’ opposite only a barn existed a little farther along the road and Horsham Farm and the Brown Jug pub farther down Horsham Lane.
Just past the vicarage in Oak Lane Vicarage Cottages were constructed on the left during the 1860s while Black Horse Cottages which had existed since the Mid-18th century were located a little farther along on the right. These cottages continue to exist today. The remainder of Oak Lane consisted almost entirely of arable or open fields.
In Forge Lane an oasthouse, a forge, cottages and an Elizabethan barn were located on the site of the present day Church Farm Road with an orchard and pond which made up Church Farm owned by Wakeley Brothers. Paris Farm (now Street Farm) existed opposite the present day Holywell School with open arable fields that extended to the corner of Halstow Lane.
Poot Cottages (now Poot House), constructed in the early 19th century and still in existence today, stood at the corner of Poot Lane where William Tress an agricultural labourer and his family and a fisherman named Mr Smith resided. Yew Tree Cottage, constructed in the 17th century, existed as the only other dwelling in Poot Lane.
Thatched cottages at Ham Green and Wetham Green were inhabited mainly by agricultural labourers. Poor houses were located on the corner of Susan’s Lane and some of the inhabitants living there included agricultural labourers Edward Chambers and John Breaks. Harriet Smitherman and George Clark were farm labourers who lived at Frog Farm.
The old Holywell School situated just beyond the present day Upchurch Cricket Ground in Holywell Lane provided education for the village children which included infants because a separate Infant’s School did not exist until 1883. Rebecca Hills served as the mistress from 1861 and resided in the house attached to the school. Mary Holland took over in 1865. Volunteers also helped like Mrs Woodruff, the vicar’s wife and Mrs Sibley. Reverend Woodruff visited the school every week to conduct prayers. As compulsory education did not exist until 1882 parents could take their children out to work causing poor attendance. In order to combat this the summer holidays were made to coincide with the fruit and hop picking seasons.
Overall, Upchurch existed as a small and quiet rural village during the 1860s where most residents, who were generally poor, remained for their entire lives.
About David
David Wood was born and raised in Upchurch and is able to write from personal experience about many people and aspects of the village and of changes that have taken place over the years making ‘Memories of Upchurch’ a very readable book and a detailed historical study of the village. David's book ‘Memories of Upchurch’ is available direct from David at: david3702001@yahoo.co.uk or from us here at Upchurch Matters. Price £12 + £3.50 postage and packing.
David Wood
