BENTLEY FARM, Holt

Bentley is a common place and farm name throughout England. It is usually derived from the Old English ‘beonet leah’, woodland clearing where the bent grasses grow. A derivation of 'Beonat Setna', the beekeepers family seat, has been proposed for Bentley Farm, but Beonot leage is the oldest form of the name that has been noted. Bentley is the oldest identifiable farm in the parishes of Holt and Little Witley. It was identified as a manor in later part of the eighth century, apparently long before Holt came in to being as a place name.

Before amalgamation in the eighteenth century Bentley was split between several farmers. By the middle of that century the number had been reduced to three, namely messers Croft, Cowell and Kettleby.

Thomas Croft was farming 34 acres from at least 1731 until his death in 1764. Walter Croft, his father, was perhaps farming at Bentley in 1725. Thomas served as Parish Constable in 1731, 1743, 1756 and 1761 and 'allowed' the parish accounts in 1732, 1734 and 1737. He died intestate. The Letter of Administration was granted to his brother, John, and lists items such as four horses, two colts, a wagon, dray and plough, standing and stored crops and various personal and household items. He also had rents of £54 due to John Pardoe and £10 to Lord Foley. He owed his housekeeper nearly £11 in wages. Mr. Lowick (presumably Edmund Lowick of Naunton Farm) was owed £5 and the blacksmith £1.

Cowell, who farmed 34 acres, does not appear to have held any parish posts. Mrs. Kettleby had 30 acres at Bentley in the 1750's. There is no sign of her husband in the parish prior to that date.

By 1776 John Beach was farming Bentley Farm as a single holding. Beach had a connection with the previous Croft tenants through his wife, Martha. She was one of the eleven children born between 1718 and 1738 to Walter and Elizabeth (known as Betty) Croft, in Holt. Walter was the brother of Thomas Croft, the previous occupier. Martha Beach received a £10 legacy from her spinster sister Mary in 1788.

From at least 1787 until 1795 Beach paid an annual land tax of £8/2s/4d and a rent of £65, £5 of which went to Crane for land let from him. With Edward Carter of Gunley in 1792 then Edmund Lowick of Naunton in 1793 and 1794, Beach was assessor of Land Tax in Holt. In 1794 the farm rent was increased to £140, an average of £1/acre. In 1794 Beach had 67 acres of arable, 49 acres of pasture and meadows, and 10 acres of hops. The substantial brick house had apparently been standing for a few years by then, but the hop kilns, barns, cider mill and animal houses were all of timber and thatch construction. These must have been rebuilt in brick soon after. Beach witnessed the parish accounts in 1776, 1778 and 1779. He served as Churchwarden in 1782. John  Beach died in 1796 leaving all his worldly goods, valued at less than £600, to his widow and then brothers Richard and William on her demise.

The initials 'DC' carved into a beam are probably the handy-work of Daniel Cowell, the next tenant of Bentley. His relationship if any to the earlier Cowell tenant is unknown. Daniel came from Rock near Bewdley. He was born in that parish in 1755, one of five children of Thomas and Elizabeth Cowell. Daniel and his wife, Margaret, had six children. Their first two children, Thomas and Daniel, were born in Rock before the growing family moved to Bentley.

Upon arrival at Bentley, Daniel Cowell paid an addition £1 land tax indicating that about 15 acres had been added to the farm at that time. In 1802, 1811 and 1821 Cowell served as Overseer of the Poor. His farming enterprise included cattle, sheep and pigs.

The Cowells had lodgers living with them in their large house. In 1818 Mary Tindall, formerly Dorrell, died in Holt parish. She was probably resident at Bentley for she was Margaret Cowell's aunt. In her will she bequeathed £100 to another niece, Elizabeth Newey of Bewdley, and the remainder of her estate to Margaret. Daniel and Margaret were executors of the estate.

Two widows were lodging at Bentley in the 1820's. Sarah Nelson was living at Bentley in 1823 when she wrote her will, leaving her all her worldly goods to Elizabeth Jones, widow of John Jones, who was also living there at that time. There were three witnesses to Sarah's will; George and Martha Best, and Thomas Nelson Jones [!]. Elizabeth was formerly of Droppings Well in Kidderminster. Sarah died at Bentley in 1826 at which time Elizabeth was still living there. Elizabeth had to obtain Letters of Administration before the Will could be proven.

Daniel Cowell died at Bentley on 7th November 1833. In his Will he left his wife £100 and all his farm stock, shares and personnel belongings, all of which were to go to his son John on her death or remarriage. Daniel left his silver plate to his daughter Elizabeth, wife of Richard Gill of Rock, £5 to his son Thomas and £50 each to his sons Daniel and William, all to be paid on the death of their mother. Drusilla Davies of Rock and James Mellowchip, butcher, of Birmingham were also beneficiaries. Daniel’s son John and Thomas Lowick acted as executors of his estate, swearing that in value   it did not exceed £1500. When Margaret died on 1st April 1825 John had to obtain the Letter of Administration from the Bishop of Worcester. In so doing he swore that his mothers personnel estate amounted to less than £20. His father’s legacy would have past to him automatically at the moment of his mother’s death.

John Cowell was born at Bentley in the winter of 1802/3. His older brother Joseph may have taken on the farm had he not died in May 1826 at the age 27 years. John probably took over management of the farm at around the time of his brother’s death, for in 1826 he served as Churchwarden. He also served in that position in 1827 to 1829, 1836, 1837 and 1850. In 1830, as well as on six further occasions up to 1869, John served as Overseer of the Poor on behalf of Bentley. He was entered in the electoral register from 1843 up to the time of his death in 1874. Daniel however continued to be responsible for the £9/6s/4d annual Land Tax until his death. John was one of the two assessors of Land Tax from 1833 to 1835.

In 1839, when the tithe was assessed, John had 152 acres of which 91 were  arable, 42 pasture and 15 hops. Any orchards would have been included with the pasture figure as stock were generally grazed below the fruit trees. In the 1840’s John paid a Poor Rate of £5.12/6 three times a year, in addition to his annual rent of £317. Throughout that period the farm remained at 152 acres. In the winter of 1850/51 he acquired an additional 39 acres that was once part of Rowley Farm. There must have been a reorganisation of the farm very soon after, for at the end of March 1851 John professed to be farming 115 acres with six labourers. Perhaps he had sub-let a portion of the farm. That area remained constant for at least ten years, with the same number of labourers, albeit two of them were boys at that time. By 1871 the area had again increased, to 200 acres, with six labourers and one boy.

John married Susan Turley, daughter of James and Sarah Turley of the Holling in Martley. She was about thirteen years his junior. John and Susan were not to have any children. That is not to say that they did not have company in their large house. They had four servants in 1841; Thomas Lance, George Price, Harry Bird and Mary Powell. In 1851 they had five servants; Eliza Badham, Louisa Price, Sarah Rouse, William Shuard and George Veal. The latter two were farm servants or labourers. In 1861 there were again four servants; Ann Morris, Jane Bowen, Thomas Williams and William Lune. Ann was a dairy girl, Jane a housemaid, and Thomas and William worked on the farm as a carter and cowman respectively. Ten years later there were three servants; Jane Morris who was probably the younger sister of Ann, for they were both born in Naunton Beauchamp, Ann Sayse from the village and still Thomas Williams from Stockton.

John Cowell died on 4th April 1874. Having no children he left £100 to his wife and all his furniture and farm equipment to his wife's brother-in-law George Grainger, china manufacturer, of Worcester. Grainger's daughter Susan, and Elizabeth Gill's two sons Daniel Richard Cowell Gill and Francis Gill, each received £50. Gill's two other children, Elizabeth Baker and Jane Gardiner, shared the rest of the estate with John's  nieces, Mary and Jane Cowell and Ann Rogers, and Grainger's six children including Susan. John added a codicil to his will stating that the farm was not to be re-let without his wife's permission. She apparently gave that permission in 1876 for in that year she left the house, which was then known as Bentley Court. It is not known were she went but upon her death in November 1886 Susan Cowell was buried alongside her husband in Holt churchyard.

When widow Cowell left in 1876, 55 year old Thomas Dorrell of Holland Moor, then Bishampton, took over. He may have been related to the Cowell's for John Cowell had a great aunt who had been born a Dorrell. As well as Bentley, where he chose to live, Thomas Dorrell also farmed at Hollingshead and milled at Holt Mill. Dorrell took on all the Cowell's 200 acres at Bentley and continued to employ six men. He had with him his wife, Susan, who was born in about 1833 at Astwood Bank, and sons William James and Henry, both born in Bishampton in 1856 and 1860 respectively. The family had a servant, Mary Ingles, who came from Gloucestershire. In 1881 William James was a land surveyor and Henry helped manage his fathers farm.

At the same time as Thomas Dorrell took on Bentley, Edward Dorrell took Naunton. Edward was born in about 1850 and although of an age to be an older brother of William James and Henry does not appear to have been closely related. Thomas served as churchwarden from 1884 to 1892, when William James took over. Thomas witnessed the parish accounts in 1880, 1883 and 1887, and acted as Overseer of the poor in 1879. He also served in this latter post in the previous year due to his tenancy at Hollingshead. Thomas Dorrell died at Bentley on 2nd September 1896.

From 1892 Thomas had been in a state of semi-retirement, William James having taken over management of the farm. It is not known what became of his younger son Henry. The year after his father’s death, William James married Ada Elsie Chavasse at St Mary Lebonne, in St. Johns Ward, London. Ada was the daughter of Horace and sister to James, both of whom lived at Naunton Farm for a time, which is presumably how William and Ada met. With the exception of four small fields, this latter farm was certainly managed from Bentley from the mid-1890s until 1920.

William James Dorrell took over his father’s position as churchwarden in 1892 and served until at least 1907. He also served as Overseer in 1904 and probably at other occasion before and after that time. He was a pillar of the local community, becoming a Justice of the Peace in about 1925 and being remembered on a plaque in Holt village hall.

The estate sale of 1920 saw Bentley reduced to 171 acres by the hiving off of the western portion, the loss of the piece of Rowley acquired some 70 years previously, the loss of Naunton and the loss of three cottages. Dorrell was paying an annual rent of just over £200 for his total holding at Bentley, and £146 for Naunton with an adjacent piece of Holt Castle Farm. The sale lot consisted of  70 acres of grass, 76 acres of arable and 22 acres of orchards. There was an extensive range of farm buildings, many of which were for cows or beef stock, as well as stabling for four horses. The two large gable-ended cottages that stand to this day on the Worcester to Tenbury road, to the north of Bentley, were also included. There was £249 worth of standing timber. The farm was withdrawn from sale at £6500. The last bid presumably came from Dorrell for he stayed on at the farm following the auction. He purchased it privately before the 1925 sale.

In 1928 the tithe was assessed for the last time. It amounted to £33.13/10 for 169 acres.

Susan Dorrell, mother of William James, died at Bentley in 1929 at the age of 96. Her daughter-in-law Ada Elsie, wife of William James, died in 1941 at the age of 70. Three years later George Frederick Chavasse, Ada Elsie's brother, also died at Bentley. William James Dorrell was a pillar of the local community. In 1931 he resigned as churchwarden after forty years service, and in 1944 he requested that a younger person take over his long-standing chairmanship of the Parish Council. With no children to take over the farm, the Dorrell occupation came to an end on 4th May 1954 when William James died at the age of 98 years.

Following the death of Dorrell, Bentley was put up for sale by auction. The sale lot was 172 acres, which included the two cottages on the Worcester to Tenbury Road and the two Hurst Cottages. The latter are further along the same road, adjacent to Holt Mill drive. The auction was held on Monday 27th September 1954 at the Crown Hotel in Broad Street, Worcester. The sale brochure described the house in great detail, noting that it had twelve bedrooms on two floors and two stairs; one at the front and one from the kitchens. The extensive range of farm buildings included the older brick and tile ones, plus newer timber and steel framed barns with corrugated iron roofs. Horses were still kept, but the stabling was for three Hunters, not workhorses. The presence of a tractor shed and oil store indicated that the farm was fully mechanised by that time. There were 74 acres of pasture, 81 acres of arable and 13 acres of orchards. The latter were mainly pasture orchards indicating that the trees were perhaps quite old at that time.

Sidney (Sid) Millichip purchased Bentley. Twelve months previously Millichip had purchased the portion of Rowley Farm known locally as 'No-gains'. This was exactly the same parcel of land that had been annexed to Bentley from 1850 to 1920. In 1953 'No-gains' was offered for sale with planning permission for a dwelling and farm building but this lapsed without building work taking place. A (burned-out) Dutch barn now stands where this small farmstead was planned. In 1953 Millichip paid £5000 for a 15acre piece and two cottages to the north of Northingtown drive, adjoining the southeastern corner of Bentley, that was previously part of Naunton Farm. The enlarged Bentley again came on the market when Millichip died in 1966.

The property was split into three lots for the sale of 1966. Lot 1 was the main farm including the 15 acre piece and two cottages to the north of Northingtown drive, lot 2 'No-gains' and lot 3 the pair of cottages on the Worcester to Tenbury Road near to Bentley's north drive. Hurst Cottages were already disposed of, probably following the acquisition of the two cottages near Northingtown drive in 1955. The main lot consisted of 42 acres of pasture, 115 acres of arable and 24 acres of orchards. Most of this latter was more recently planted intensive apple and plum orchards rather than the older style pasture orchards. The 39 acres of 'No-gains' were all down to grass. The auction took place on 2nd May at Agricultural House, Barbourne Terrace in Worcester. Lot 1, the farm, sold to James (Jimmy) Richards for £65250; lot 2, 'No-gains', to Ernest Arnold of Ombersley and the cottages were sold privately.

Richards' home farm was Northingtown, across the brook from Bentley, but in Grimley parish. He installed a farm foreman, Lionel Stokes his wife and two sons, in Bentley house and managed the farm from Northingtown. The farm was sold to its current owner in 1978.

Timothy (Tim) Brooks purchased the farm in 1978 and farms it to this day. Richards grazed sheep over much of the farm, but now it is an intensive arable unit with a few large fields and a small area of rented out pasture. None of the orchards remain, although the current occupier has undertaken an extensive tree-planting scheme around the house and farm buildings.

The house is a grade II listed building. The listing reads 'Bentley Farmhouse II Former estate farmhouse, now house. Early C19. Painted brick, tiled roof with overhanging eaves, massive chimney stacks having 3 courses of cogged brickwork and grouped diagonal shafts with oversailing cap courses. Tudor Gothic detailing. Two storeys, cellar and attic with gabled dormers. U-shaped plan; all windows are casements, main ground floor windows having hood moulds with returns. Entrance elevation to side of west wing: 3 bays; 2 ground floor casements, 3 first floor casements, 3 gabled dormers with pierced bargeboards and casements; panelled door and traceried rectangular fanlight beneath hood mould with returns; end brick stacks. Formerly part of Dudley estate.'