THE HISTORY
Before allotments
1845
Our allotments at Romford Smallholders were originally part of the Mawney Estate
1896
The Romford and District Smallholders and Allotment Holders Society Ltd
In 1911 prominent local residents; Messrs. Carr, Blane, Edwards, Green, Richardson and others held an inaugural meeting of the Romford Smallholders and Allotments Society Ltd. at the Lamb Inn in Romford Market Place.
Four people agreed to act as Trustees: Messrs. Brown, Edwards, Green and Harris. The first secretary of the society was Mr. Millard. The rent for an allotment then was 6d. (worth £3.48 in 2022) per rod. In 1935 the society went into liquidation and the notice of the meeting of the creditors was annouced in the London Gazette of 26th January 1937
An area of land 10.5 acres in size was selected and Sir John Bethell, the local Liberal Member of Parliament, was approached about its purchase. Sir John Bethell was able to acquire the site on payment of £100 (worth £13,900 in 2022) to Mr. Gay for the manorial rights. Sir John Bethell lent the society the necessary money, free of interest and he became the society's first President. He also presented a Shield and Cup, to be competed for annually.
Romford Smallholders Society
At a meeting held on 22nd August 1935 the new Romford Smallholders Society replaced the previous limited company.
Trading commenced in 1939 with the purchase of a hut and scales and the initial sales of bone meal, hoof and horn, peas and beans. Lime went on sale the following autumn when 10 tons was sold!
For some time the society managed three sites: Pretoria Road, Eastern Avenue and Victoria Hospital. The Victoria Hospital site was eventually released back to the hospital who wanted it for development, members who were working there were offered plots at Pretoria Road . The society then released the Oak Street end of the Pretoria Road site back to the Crown.
The present day size of the site is just under 13 acres (5 hectares).
Membership remained healthy in the 1950s with approximately 1500 members reported at the AGMs. However, the Committee of the time had to continually deal with the problems of dumping of rubbish and overgrown plots, especially on the Oak St site. In 1953 the Council installed a mains water system with 7 standpipes.
Over time gardening became less popular. Membership of the Society halved from 1200 in the late 1980s to 500 in the 1990's. The majority of members were local gardeners who enjoyed the benefits of the Trading Store and the opporunity to enter the show. Despite the large number of members, the allotment site itself became overgrown as a quarter of the site was unlet.
The Society had its ups and downs in the 1930s, however, with the war the government increased the number of allotment sites. Romford smallholders then managed sites in Cotton's Park and North Street. After the war allotment gardening remained popular and demand exceeded supply. When the London Passenger Transport Board wanted the North St site for a bus depot in the late 1940's there was much concern about where alternative plots could be found.
In 1949 was doing so well that they produced a film to showcase the years events. This captures the allotments and winners of prizes for best garden. Click here to view the film courtesy of Havering Libraries - local studies
The allotment site in the 21st century
During the early years of the 21st century, allotment gardening started to become popular again. Volunteers worked during the winter months to clear overgrown plots of brambles, rubbish and derelict sheds. Equipment was hired to establish new parking areas, by 2011 the site was fully let and had a small waiting list. As Covid hit in 2020 allotment gardening became very popular and the waiting list rapidly increased to over 80 people. With the increasing cost of living and more and more people living in flats, allotments remain extremely popular. As the older generation leave, the younger generation move in, but plot sizes have reduced.
2005 with the site around 50% overgrown
2012 the site fully let
In 2012 a pumped water system was installed so that there was a break between the mains and the standpipes, allowing members to continue to use a hose. By 2021 this needed replacing with a larger tank and an upto date temperature monitoring system.
From 2012 onwards the Society worked to make the site suitable for people with mobility issues. Grant money was obtained and with the help of volunteers a new toilet block, including a wheelchair accessible toilet was built. Raised beds suitable for wheelchair users were built close to the Pretoria road entrance.
Prior to building the toilet block
Toilet block completed
The show, open days and fun days
An annual show was held until 1937 when it was discontinued through lack of interest. It was re-introduced in 1939 and went from strength to strength. They were held in the Kings Head public house in Romford market place and were well known for their musical accompaniment. Mr Stan Ward conducted a small ensemble playing thoughout the show.
The show continued to florish until the early 1990's, often local schools or community centres were used. Exhiibitors competed in 12 sections and the judges came from as far as Southend-on-Sea. The show required its own committee to organise the venue, exhibitors and prizes. At the end of the day the exhibits were sold in the aid of local charities. A booklet was professionally printed click here to see the booklet for the 1988 show.
During the 1990's the show struggled through lack of funds. Car boot sales were added to increase the interest, but the number of exhibitors fell. In 2002 the shows ceased.
In the 2010s the annual summer event was restarted as an open day to allow the local residents to look around the site and purchase fresh fruit, vegetables and home made cakes, jams.
This page is work in progress. If you have any information about the history of the site, or any old photos please email them to the secretary at romfordsmallholders@gmail.com
This page is being rewritten and updated. Information on the original page was provided by Hilda Jeffrey, Claude Hollis, Bob Wilding, Daniel Smart & Bob Roper