Barmoor Farm
Description= 2 miles from Marlow. In 1895= 295 acres with farmhouse and 6 cottages. 1937 = 328 acres with house and 8 cottages. Consisted mostly then of pasture but also had a small wood and for plantation attached. Earlier a mixed farm. Farm no longer exists (it is under Booker Airfield).
1250 - a Barmoor Manor existed in Marlow which may be the origin of Barmoor Farm. It was seemingly a minor manor. First known mention of the farm as Barmoor Farm was in 1672.
Occupiers - these are not usually the same as the owners. Gaps in dates are current gaps in our knowledge=
1758 - part of the farmland (only) occupied by Moses Medwin.
1798 - Mr Brangwin
1833 - 51 George Brangwin who was born Hambledon circa 1791, as was his wife Mary. The owner of the farm was then Sir William Robert Clayton. George also rented Red Barn Farm next door from the same owner.
1859 - 61 Isaac Wane son in law of George and Mary Brangwin. Wife Eliza. Isaac was born circa 1821 in Fairford Gloucestershire. He had previously been running Red Barn Farm for George Brangwin. Both Isaac and Eliza were members of the Salem Chapel in Marlow, entering that church in 1845.
1863 - 68 George Brangwin back in charge though Isaac Wane seems still to have been involved. He continued to rent Red Barn Farm too. George died in 1868 aged 75.
1868-82 Following the death of George Brangwin Isaac was back as the lead farmer and had the lease in his own name. In 1872 his daughter Clara passed the Cambridge Exam. She and her siblings had had the benefit of a governess who taught them French and more. Isaac's widowed mother in law Mary Brangwin also lived within his household. In 1868 James Faulkner labourer was convicted of poaching at Barmoor Farm and was fined 30 shillings. In default 1 month in prison. [Bucks Herald 1869 Feb 13th, British Library Archives via the BNA]. Isaac gave up the lease in 1882. He stayed at Red Barn until 1892 when he retired from farming altogether. He died circa 1893. More on Isaac and Red Barn here.
1882-95 James Elliott who also rented Red Barn Farm towards the end of that period. He was elected as one of the parish overseers in 1889. James made a significant income from growing mushrooms in his fields but struggled with thefts of them. Mushrooms were extremely popular in late Victorian England for making into the condiment mushroom ketchup as well as using in soups etc. In 1895 both farms were put up for sale by auction. James made a bid for Barmoor but it wasn't high enough. Red Barn Farm did not reach its reserve price. James's wife Elizabeth had died earlier that year aged 67.
1897- 98 W Lee. He gave up the farm in 1898 and sold off his stock. This does not seem to have been substantial. He raised sheep.
1899- 1936 Thomas Lacey Morris born circa 1871. He occupied the farm until his death age 65. His wife was Emily. Owners and occupiers in one. Both were from West Wycombe according to the census. Their baby daughter Kathleen died at the farm in 1899. Another daughter Margaret married William Pinches of Field House / Pinches Farm in Marlow. Thomas bred and sold shire horses at the farm.
1937 - the house, farm and "sporting estate" of Barmoor put up for auction by the executors of Thomas Morris at the Crown in Marlow. It is sold for £10,500. 358 acres, a fir plantation, a wood, pasture land and eight dwellings.
1938 - the farm is used to film the film I Met A Murderer (originally intended to be called Deadwater) directed by Roy Killino and starring James Mason as a murderous farmer and Pamela Kellino as the woman he meets. The farm shire horses Boxer and Ronnie feature as plough horses in the film. Filming is difficult because of muddy conditions on the farm and the sheep running away from the strangers when they are meant to be in shot. The film is a low budget film noir. The owner of the farm is unknown to me but he was an owner occupier and advised on the accuracy of scenes of thatching shot on the farm.
1939 - W Thomas. Later that year Watton Aviation Limited have the farm and it is to become part of the future Booker Airfield.
Compiled by Charlotte Day from research by both Charlotte and Kathryn Day.
Selected Sources=
William Page (ed). 1925. A History of Buckinghamshire (Victoria County History) Volume III. Volume 3. p74.
Census of England and Wales 1841-1901 transcribed from microfilm by Charlotte Day and Jane Pullinger.
The Aeroplane. (1939). United Kingdom: Temple Press.
Canadian Moving Picture Digest. Volume 30 (1938). Canada.
https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0031464/
Shire Horse Stud Book. United Kingdom, n.p, 1932. English Cart Horse Society.
International Directory of Pedigree Stock Breeders. (1928). United Kingdom: Tillotsons Publishing Company.
Marlow Directory 1891
Kelly's Directory of Buckinghamshire etc 1899 and 1939 editions published by Kelly's Directories Limited.
Duttons Directory of Buckinghamshire etc 1868.
May 28th 1937 edition of the Bucks Advertiser (sale of Barmoor).
Barmoor sale catalogue=
https://testslbuckinghamshire.spydus.co.uk/cgi-bin/spydus.exe/ENQ/WPAC/BIBENQ?SETLVL=&BRN=558967
Country Life, 26th June 1937.
Maidenhead Advertiser 27th October 1886 (mushroom theft problem).
Parish surveyors notebooks for 1833 and 1834 in my possession.
GRO death and marriage registrations online
Private letters.
©Marlow Ancestors. You are welcome to use our research for family or local history purposes with credit to this blog.
