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Scottish shepherds, stock diaries and breeding sheep on Exmoor

Posting 1 Digital Archiving and Exmoor Sheep Records Over 2024, The Friends have been busy archiving, digitising and digitally archiving the many items held in our collections.  These archiving activities often allow, and indeed often require, time spent looking in depth at material held in the collections.  That has certainly been the case over this year.  It has involved looking at photographs in more detail and reading printed material in more depth.  These activities are necessary to help with the decision-making process about how best to catalogue and describe items and the best tags and categories to apply.  In some cases, this aspect of archiving work can throw up new insights and set off a new train of research and recently our interest was piqued by two sets of Stock Diaries held in our collection.  They are written by Robert Tait Little Robert Tait Little – hoaroak  and Bill Little Little – hoaroak.  These men were not related but both were shepherds from the Scottish Borders, who lived and worked on Exmoor from the mid-1800s to the mid-1900s.   Their stock diaries hold a wealth of information about the sheep raised on several Exmoor hill farms including, for example, Badgeworthy, Duredon, Winstitchen, Toms Hills and Hoar Oak to name but a few.   In some cases, they also recorded other bits of information which, over the years, have proved invaluable to the work of The Friends.  See for example this item about Shepherd John Renwick of Hoar Oak.  Renwick – hoaroak  We noticed that both men had recorded in their diaries the origin of rams used for breeding Cheviot sheep on Exmoor and the links of these breeding rams back to Scottish farms in the Borders.  Although the two shepherds’ diaries span over 100 years it seems this tradition of importing fresh blood from Scotland continued through their time on Exmoor.  Bill Little even left behind photographs of some of his prize winning rams.  With the help of a great friend of The Friends – Nora Solesbury, who lives in the Scottish Borders and has a lifetime’s expertise in sheep, sheep breeding and sheep markets – we’ve been trying to unlock the stories held in Robert’s and Bill’s diaries.  These researches formed a series of postings on FaceBook and Instagram in January 2025. They have been collated here into one blog posting. We will be adding to this blog and putting an alert on social media when there is new information to read.     Posting No. 2   Two Shepherd Littles.  Two sets of Diaries. Robert Tait Little and Bill Little were both shepherds on Exmoor, both came from the Scottish Borders and both had strong links to Hoar Oak Cottage.   Despite sharing a surname, the men were not related. Robert Tait Little – hoaroak  and Bill Little Little – hoaroak.  Both Robert Little and Bill Little are remembered for their knowledge of, and expertise in, breeding sheep –   especially Scottish Cheviots and Blackfaced – the two breeds of sheep imported onto Exmoor by Frederic Winn Knight of Simonsbath.  Part of their job as shepherds involved keeping records, and both men kept stock diaries which have, thankfully, survived and been shared with The Friends of Hoar Oak Cottage who have digitised and saved them in the archive. Stock diaries are kept by shepherds to record the day to day, week to week or even annual records of what happened with their sheep and include details of, for example, the monthly ‘head count’ of the flock, including live sheep, deaths or losses – often described as ‘gone amissing.’  The diaries also included the numbers of lambs born, sales at market, shearing dates, prices obtained for wool and meat as well as records of the rams used to breed with in any particular year.  The photo above, on the right, is of Robert Tait Little’s diaries from the 1880s to just before he died in 1907.  Small and neatly ruled notebooks they hold sheep records from across the Exmoor Hill Farms from his time as Head Shepherd for, firstly, Frederick Winn Knight and then for the Fortescue Estate.  One of the diaries is still with the family.  These four were discovered by The Friends family historian, Nicky Rowberry, held in a back room of the Devon Records Office in Exeter.  Roger Burton, in The Heritage of Exmoor, mentioned these books being in the Devon Record Office in the 1980s in amongst a box of Fortescue papers. That was where Nicky found them in 2012. A member of the Little family came forward with a fifth diary which completes the set. Image below of the inside cover with Robert’s beautiful script. The Friends arranged for all of the diaries to be digitised – thanks to the Devon Family History Society; and also, to be transcribed – thanks to many volunteers coming from the North Devon Voluntary Services in Barnstaple. The diaries have now been catalogued by the South West Heritage Trust and are available to view at the Devon Record Office, catalogue reference 1262M/0/E/21/7&8.   All five can be viewed digitally on request to The Friends.  Email: info@hoaroakcottage.org The photo above, on the left, shows the collection of Bill Little’s stock diaries which cover the period from the mid-1930s to the late 1960s.  These are a combination of ordinary notebooks as well as more modern stock record books printed for the Fortescue Estate.  The later include copy pages (flimsies) used with carbon paper in order to make tear out copies, one for the shepherd, one for the Estate and one left in the stock diary.  Most of these have now also been digitised – the rest are an ongoing project – and are safely in the hands of Bill Little’s descendants. Posting No. 3 The Hoar Oak Herding Stock Diary 1930s One exciting aspect of this Scottish Shepherd’s Diary project, at least for The Friends, is the small black notebook (image attached) which is revealed, by the writing on the inner page, (image annotated 1) to be Bill Little’s stock diary for the Hoar Oak herding dated 1933. In fact, Bill used this diary in the 1930s at Hoar Oak herding and then later, in the 1950s, when he was shepherd at The Mines herding near Simonsbath.  Wheal Eliza Mines herding and cottage is along the River Barle as it flows north of Simonsbath. The move from Hoar Oak to The Mines was linked to the distance the Little children had to walk to school.  The Mines was closer to Simonsbath and the journey could be done – to school and back – in the same day.  For many of us that would count as a good Sunday hike deserving a pint at the Exmoor Forest Inn!!  For the Little children it was just a matter of ‘getting to school.’ When Bill was shepherd of the Hoar Oak herding and the family lived in Hoar Oak Cottage he maintained the tradition of keeping a stock diary.  The image of one of the pages in this diary (annotated 20) is from the 12th of June 1937 and records in detail the numbers of ‘sheared hoggs’, ‘barren ewes’ and ‘sheared ewes’ that were running, that day, on the Hoar Oak herding. The image of another page (annotated 23) is shared for its stock records – the numbers of stock ewe lambs and hoggs brought from Castle Hill to the Hoar Oak herding – but also because it contains a drawing of a flag which looks very much like the Scottish flag.  Although the Scottish Saltire, as the flag is commonly known as, is actually a white cross on a blue background Bill’s drawing does look uncannily like the Saltire.  We shall never know.  We only know, as will be revealed later, that Bill made many trips to Scotland buying Cheviot rams and may have had the Scottish flag on his mind. In the next postings we’ll continue to share information from Robert Tait Little’s and Bill Little’s collections of stock diaries.  Posting No. 4   Lambs born on Exmoor 1882 and a plague of maggots Robert Tait Little had been employed by Fredric Wynn Knight to be Head Shepherd on the Exmoor Estate.  He was recruited from a sheep farming family in Dumfries and came to Exmoor with his wife Jane.  The image below of Robert and Jane is thanks to Roger A Burton. (Heritage of Exmoor 1989)      For most of his life as Exmoor Head Shepherd, Robert and Jane lived and farmed Duredon  Here is the historic record for Duredon Farm.  MEM23060 – Duredon Farm – The Historic Environment Record for Exmoor National Park. On retirement, and after their children had left home, Robert and Jane were moved to live at Limecombe   MEM23855 – Limecombe Cottages – The Historic Environment Record for Exmoor National Park where their son Tom was the shepherd. As Head Shepherd, Robert’s stock diaries cover all of the sheep farms created by Frederic Wynn Knight and some record information about all of the farms and some about individual farms.  The image below is of a page recording the annual totals for lambs born in 1882 and 1883 on the herdings at Winstitchen, South Forest, Larkboro, Badgeworthy, (H)Oar Oak, Cornham, Duredon and Pinkery.  By comparison, the image below records two pages in Robert’s 1892 stock book which contains specific information about the herding at Badgeworthy Farm.  It includes meticulous records of the number of sheep on a month by month, sometimes week by week basis.  There are other titbits of information included on the page such as the July 1st 1892 record of a ‘plague of maggots’ and a note in the December 1893 record that there was 1 sheep ‘amissing found dead.’  The page ends with a record of the name of the Badgeworthy shepherd at the time – Thomas Armstrong from Scotland.   All of Robert’s diaries contain this sort of ‘stock numbers’ information for all of the Exmoor sheep herdings (from 1880s til his death in 1907) as well as bits and pieces of additional information – much of which has helped The Friends with plotting which Scottish shepherd was on which Exmoor herding on which year as well as when they arrived and when they left – although some of course didn’t leave and their descendants are still on Exmoor.  More about Robert Tait Little on this link: Robert Tait Little – hoaroak. Posting No. 5   Bill Little and his stock diaries. Image: Bill and Dorothy Little (nee Jones of Simonsbath) with son David outside Hoar Oak Cottage. Note: the wrought iron cladding to keep out the damp. Photo thanks to David Little. Bill Little was the son of John Little from Peebles on the Scottish Borders who had been employed by Frederic Winn Knight.  More about the Littles of Peebleshire on this link Little – hoaroak .  Bill married Dorothy Jones from Simonsbath and moved into Hoar Oak Cottage when Bill was employed to run the Hoar Oak herding.  The image shared here is of Bill, Dorothy and their son outside of the cottage in the 1930s.   Later they moved to the herding at Wheal Eliza Mine, aka ‘The Mines’,  in valley of  the River Barle  MSO12505 – 19th Century cottage at Wheal Eliza – The Historic Environment Record for Exmoor National Park Bill Little’s stock diaries, compared to Robert Tait Little’s, tend to be more specific as he is recording activity on one herding.   The image shared here, annotated ‘20’, is of his diary entry for June 1937 for the sheep on the Hoar Oak herding where he records, for example, the numbers of sheared hoggs, of barren ewes, lambs, sheared gimmers and ewes.   As well as the ‘day to day’ or ‘year to year’ records of the count of sheep on the Exmoor herdings it was interesting to find that both Robert Little and Bill Little record quite specific information about the rams or ‘tups’ used for breeding on Exmoor.  And that information leads to links back to the Scottish Borders and the shepherds who came down to Exmoor back in the 19th century to work for the Knight family.  Helped by a great friend of The Friends, Nora Solesbuy from Ayrshire – who has a long professional background in sheep farming and sheep markets – we have been able to interrogate these records and the next few postings dig a bit deeper into the pages of Robert and Bill’s stock diaries which contain information about Scottish rams used for breeding sheep on Exmoor. Nora also has links to the Hoar Oak Cottage story  –  she is part of the Johnstone family who sent two ‘sons’ down to Exmoor from the Scottish Borders – James Maxwell Johnstone  Johnstone – hoaroak   who farmed at Hoar Oak Cottage and William Johnstone who farmed at Badgeworthy – find out a bit more about William on this link https://hoaroakcottage.org/scottish-shepherds/.  Posting 6:  Pedigree Cheviot Rams from Scotland As Exmoor Head Shepherd, Robert Tait Little, would be responsible for ensuring that there were fresh blood lines of tups to breed with the herds on the various sheep farms on Exmoor.  He also needed to ensure that these tups, who would be the sires of new lambs, were from reputable farmers, were physically strong and had no obvious health issues or abnormalities that could be inherited.  As a Scot from Dumfries, it is not surprising that Robert Tait Little would look to the Scottish border farms and sheep sales to regularly find new blood stock.   The image is of a page from Robert Tait Little’s stock diary covering 1889 to 1906 and is entitled ‘Pedigree of Cheviot Tups used at Duredon.’ RTL would use these rams to breed with ewes on his farm at Duredon in order to produce a new generation of young sheep.  To produce young females to replace aged ewes and young males to be assessed for their potential use as tups for breeding.  In time, these new blood lines would be distributed around the Exmoor herdings that Robert Tait Little he was responsible for – Larkbarrow, Toms Hill, Badgeworthy, The Mines (Wheal Eliza), The Chains (Hoar Oak), Duredon, Winstitchen and many others.  This aspect of his job as Head Shepherd required a huge amount of skill, a good eye for both the ram and ewes being bred from and excellent record keeping of which rams went to which Exmoor herding in order to ensure there was no risk of inter-breeding. Nora explains the entry in his stock diary about the Pedigree of Cheviot Tups at Duredon as follows: The first column contains the year the ram was introduced onto Exmoor for breeding and the second column contains breed information about the ram: its sire and the farm it came from.   For example, the 1889 entry records that the ram is called ‘Argyle’ by ‘Sourhope’ (pronounced Soorop). The name ‘Argyle’ indicates he would have been from a line of sheep originating in Argyllshire and his sire was a tup from Sourhope Farm in Kelso which lies within the boundaries of the historic county of Roxburghshire in the Scottish Borders.    Looking at the 1896 entry we learn that, in that year, the ram ‘Selkirk ‘was used for breeding on Duredon.  Selkirk’s sire was also a tup from ‘Sourhope’ which, as with Argyle in 1889, was the name of the farm on which it had been bred.  At that time Sourhope was farmed by Robert Sheil who was well known for the quality of his Cheviot sheep.  Newspaper reports tell of Farmer Sheil selling his Sourhope rams for breeding at markets held in Kelso and St Boswells from 1880 – 1890 and that they were making good prices.  Sadly, none of these reports tell us the names of purchasers Similar information can be gleaned for each entry and Nora reflects that “judging by the number of ewes recorded by Robert Tait Little on each of the Exmoor herdings there would be several other tups involved along with the new ones recorded in his stock diaries.  Tups run with ewes in two, 17 day cycles and are often exchanged with another from a different part of the same herding on the 18th day.  That enables the second tup to catch up with ewes ‘missed’ by the first one.   In the next posting we look at Bill Little’s stock diary and the information he recorded about importing Scottish rams onto Exmoor in the 1960s. Posting No. 7    100 years later and Scottish sheep are in favour In the early 2010s, Bill Little’s son David, who grew up at Hoar Oak Cottage and later Wheal Eliza Farm (aka The Mines), told the Friends how his father was a well-respected sheep breeder on Exmoor, importing fresh bloodstock from Scotland and then sharing their offspring ‘round to the hill farms to refresh the bloodline of the Cheviot sheep.  David remembered going up to Scotland with his Dad, on the train, to attend the Hawick sheep markets in order to purchase new tups which would be shipped back to South Molton on the train.  The image is from one of Bill Little’s Stock Diaries and the page is entitled ‘Cheviot Rams From Scotland’ acquired and used for breeding in the years 1964, 1965 and 1966. Nora’s interpretations of this page tell us such a lot and a few examples are given here: Sheep No. 1 identified as ‘Upper Hindhope’ came from a farm of the same name in Jedburgh, Roxburghshire.  It was farmed by W J Douglas who was President of the Cheviot Sheep Society between 1963 and 1965.  Clearly a prestigious source of a new ram for Exmoor and someone Bill Little, or his father John, would have known about from their roots back in the Borders. Sheep No. 6 in 1964 and Sheep No. 15 in 1966 are listed as coming from Castle Crawford – a farm on the Hopetoun Estate at Crawford, Lanarkshire. It featured regularly in market reports of the 1960s for consistently good animals being bred and marketed from there. Sheep No. 11 from 1965 has the wonderful name of Fingland Wamphray named after Fingland Farm near Wamphray, Dumfries which was owned by Sir John William Buchanan Jardine.  The name allegedly comes from the Old Norse word “fingl” meaning “a marshy place” and the Scottish Irish name Wamh-fri meaning the den or deep glen in the forest. Read more on this link Fingland – Name Meaning and Origin  More of these interpretations from Bill Little’s diary will be included in this post – keep an eye out! Nora’s investigations of both Robert Tait Little and Bill Little’s diaries show that, interestingly, some of the names of the tups, and the farms they come from in Scotland, appear in both diaries. It seems that Bill was purchasing from the same Scottish breeders and farms that Robert had purchased from but six or more decades apart. In the next posting we’ll share a few more titbits of interpretation as well as some oral history and a photo of one of Bill Little’s award winning Cheviot Ram. Posting No. 8    Fit for purpose and the importance of a ‘twirl’.  Throughout both Robert Tait Little’s and Bill Little’s diaries one finds records about sick sheep, sheep that have ‘gone amissing’, sheep that have been sold or sheep that have died.  Indeed, in Bill Little’s list of his Scottish rams he notes those that have died or been sold.   The death of a ram is probably self-explanatory, but Nora explains the reasons why a tup might be sold.  It could be because its offspring were weak or sickly; because the tup had some physical attribute which was inherited by the lambs, for example, having big heads which could cause difficult births and/or damage to the ewes or when, despite being with the ewes for the requisite time period, the tup only sired a small number of lambs.   Perhaps most worryingly, however, is if it is found that the tup has a genetic flaw which wasn’t evident to the shepherd’s eye on market day.   Although a tup can look good when ‘dressed’ for market, there can sometimes be a ‘hidden’ flaw which is inherited by the lambs.  For example, a ‘twirl’ of wool growing on the tup’s forehead which can be passed on to their progeny.  This curl is felt to spoil the sheep’s appearance and can affect the value of the animal. The seller may trim the ‘twirl’ off for sale day, but it will grow back and be noticeable again.  By that time, it is too late for the Buyer to complain and seek a price reduction – especially in the case where the sheep has been brought all the way down from the Scottish Borders.  We’ve tried to find an image of such a ‘terrible twirl’ but with no success.  Any shepherds out their able to help with a photo?  David – Bill Little’s son – remembered accompanying his father on the trips up to the Scottish sheep markets. They would travel by train from South Molton up to the Borders, most often to Hawick in Roxburghshire where there still are important sheep markets.  Hawick Sheep Market was, in the 1960s located alongside the railway yards, making it easy for Bill and his son David to get to the market and then to load beasts purchased at the market onto a train to send down south to Exmoor.  They would purchase both sheep and sheepdogs to breed from and the animals would be crated up for their train journey south.  David recalled how a handwritten note would be attached to the crate saying ‘Please give this animal water’ and presumably some kind member of the train crew would do exactly that. David also recalled how his father would distribute the new rams he had either purchased in Scotland or bred himself on Exmoor around the other sheep farmers up on the Exmoor hill farms.  The shepherds would gather together and Bill would, so David said, put all the names of the tups in a hat and pass it round.   Each shepherd would draw a name out of the hat and that would be the tup he took back to his farm.  However, if Bill knew that that ram should not be run with that particular sheep farmer’s herd, he would ask the shepherd to put the name back in the hat and draw out another one.  In this manner, which relied heavily on Bill Little’s knowledge, skills and memory, there was never any fear of in-breeding.   Nora comments that, “Bill’s distribution methods  makes sense where new tups are being allocated.   As well as avoiding risks of inbreeding Bill would be aware of the general physical condition of the ewes as well as the new tup’s potential ability to cope with the terrain and weather conditions. ” Bill had great success in the local sheep fairs and at local sheep markets on Exmoor and the image is a photo of him with one of his prize-winning Cheviot sheep – possibly at South Molton Market.    In the next posting – Number 9 – we’ll say our farewells to Robert Tait Little and Bill Little and acknowledge their legacy to Exmoor sheepfarming. Posting No. 9 The legacy of two Exmoor Shepherds from ScotlandWe hope you’ve enjoyed reading a little bit about Robert Tait Little’s and Bill Little’s Stock Diaries and the insights they have given into the role of Scottish sheep, in particular breeding rams, on Exmoor in the 19th and 20th centuries. No doubt there are still hints of these blood lines in some of the Cheviot sheep on Exmoor and certainly it is still possible to see Scottish Blackface sheep around Hoar Oak Cottage. Both men’s legacies are recorded, in no small part thanks to the research of Roger A Burton (published in The Heritage of Exmoor) as well the amazing friendliness and generosity of their descendants in sharing information and photos with The Friends of Hoar Oak Cottage. Robert Tait Little was originally employed by the Knight family, he was kept on as Head Shepherd when the Exmoor Estate passed to the Fortescue family. He was still Head Shepherd in 1905 and can be seen in this iconic photo from 1905 of all the Exmoor shepherds taken at shearing time with Lady Fortescue – the 4th Earl’s wife. (Photo thanks to Roger Burton). Robert is in the middle at the back – the tall man with a fine white beard. He retired from Duredon to Limecombe with his wife Jane. Son Tom, shepherd at Limecombe, is also in the photo alone with several other Scottish shepherds – Archie Jackson, three of the other Little family – Will, Will Jr and Jack. Robert Tait Little became ill with cancer in 1906 and in 1907 the Fortescue family paid for him to go to London for an operation. Sadly, Robert died, and his body was returned by train back to Exmoor. His granddaughter told The Friends that when his coffin arrived at the Simonsbath estate office his sheep dogs were there waiting for him. They had come from Limecombe to welcome their master back home. Robert has entries in his stock diaries right up until just a few weeks before he died. Bill Little became something of a local celebrity just before his death in the 1980s. An article about Bill appeared in Big Farm Weekly in October 1981 (photo) It reported that he was awarded a Long Service Medal for his service to the Fortescue Estate. Photo attached. The article notes that as the sheep were on land over 1500 feet above sea level the Exmoor shepherds often had to work in extreme conditions searching for and digging out snowbound ewes. Bill was also the inspiration behind an HTV Documentary – The Sheep Walk – a TV Series fronted by historian Asa Briggs (photo) Asa replicated the often discussed ‘sheep walk’ in which the Scottish shepherds on Exmoor were thought to have walked herds of Cheviot and Blackfaced sheep down to Exmoor from Scotland for the Knight family. Both Bill and his wife Dorothy appeared in the series. That TV film is in the Film and TV Archive in The Box in Plymouth and Asa Briggs donated a video copy to The Friend’s Archive. Both Robert Tait Little and Bill Little are buried in Simonsbath Churchyard. Descendants of both men have become great friends and supporters of The Friends of Hoar Oak Cottage. We continue to research what they and their stock books can tell us not only about sheep farming on Exmoor in the 19th century but the social history of this intriguing period of sheepfarming history on Exmoor. When a Scot’s twang could be heard as frequently as the Devonshire dialect and Hogmanay, not Christmas, was the big celebration of the year.Foot Note: Nowadays there is a healthy return of the native Exmoor breed of sheep – the Exmoor Horn – on Exmoor. This is a beautiful, hardy and resilient sheep which sadly Frederic Wynn Knight, back in the 1850s, rejected in favour of imported Scottish Cheviots and Blackfaced. Paddy Groves – a great-grandson of Scottish shepherd James Maxwell Johnstone who farmed at Hoar Oak Cottage from the 1870s til 1904 https://hoaroakcottage.org/johnstone/ – is a well-respected breeder and proponent of the Exmoor ‘Horny’ as they are affectionately known. The photo is of Paddy’s flock and you can learn more about his farm on https://www.woodsdulverton.co.uk/our-farm/ You can find out more about the Exmoor Horn sheep on this link https://exmoorhornbreeders.co.uk/Exmoor
Posted by Bette Baldwin
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1818  Pasture To Let and Prosecution for Trespass

Were the Vellacotts at Hoar Oak affected? The sale of the Royal Forest of Exmoor in 1818 caused some anxiety to those who had century’s old Commoners Rights to take their cattle and sheep up on to the Exmoor Hills for summer pasturage.    In Roger Burton’s file of research notes* – kindly gifted to the Friends for safe keeping – are two interesting references to newspaper articles at the time.   The first is from the 27th August 1818 and is a notice posted in the Taunton Courier by John Knight – the new owner of Exmoor – offering pasturage for a fee on Exmoor.   The notice reads:  ‘Exmoor Forest  Notice is hereby given, that the Royal Allotment on the above Forest will be CONTINUED as a PUBLIC SHEEP PASTURE.  The Price of the Summer Keep of Sheep and Lambs will soon be inserted in this paper.  JOHN KNIGHT.  Simons Bath. August 6, 1818.’ Clearly the new owner Knight intended to keep earning income from farmers using their old right to use the Forest for public sheep pasture.  However, by October of the same year it looks like relations between Knight and the farmers have soured – or maybe this is just a warning shot from Knight across the locals’ bows.  In the October 29th, 1818 edition of the Taunton Courier the tone has changed slightly.  This notice reads:  ‘Exmoor Forest.  Qualified persons are hereby requested not to destroy the GAME and FISH on the above forest.  Poachers will be punished as the law directs.  Those who cut turf, heath or commit any other trespass will be prosecuted without any further notice.  JOHN KNIGHT.  Simons Bath  Sept 30, 1818.’ Elsewhere on these newspaper pages can be seen several types of warnings to ‘qualified’ people to not do what they weren’t ‘qualified’ to do.  In this case ‘qualified’ would probably be more accurately read as ‘allowed’ to do……in other words those farmers allowed to take their beasts up onto the moor for summer pasture were not allowed to fish, shoot game, cut turf or heath or do anything else Knight deemed as trespass. These two little newspaper clippings cast an interesting insight into the shaky period of changeover from Exmoor Forest being a Royal Forest to becoming a private estate. Images: Thank you to the British Newspaper Archive. All Rights Reserved. * The Exmoor Historian, Roger A Burton published ‘The Heritage of Exmoor’ and ‘Simonsbath The Inside Story of An Exmoor Village’. He will also be remembered for his incredible work on researching the history and archaeology of Exmoor mines and mineral lines. Some years ago Roger gave The Friends his file of researches which touched on Hoar Oak Cottage. It comprises a large folder of hundreds of pages of records from the days when research in a public archive meant hand copying the info you were interested in. Roger’s amazing diligence to transcribe documents is breath taking and we will be featuring some of the interesting snippets it reveals here on our blog and in our social media – Facebook and Insta. We have just begun the work to scan and archive every page in his research folder. The pages are now becoming frail and a little bit faded and need some love and digital preservation. The photos below are from left to right: Friend’s trustees Bette Baldwin and Will Bowden meeting with Roger Burton. Roger A Burton’s folder of archive researches covering Hoar Oak Cottage. Friend’s trustees Nicky Rowberry and Bette Baldwin starting work on the folder and Roger at his home in Barnstaple.
Posted by Bette Baldwin
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1818 Pasturage to Let. Prosecutions for trespass.

Were the Vellacotts at Hoar Oak affected? The sale of the Royal Forest of Exmoor in 1818 caused some anxiety to those farming families who held century’s old Commoners Rights to take their cattle and sheep up on to the Exmoor Hills for summer pasturage.    In Roger Burton’s file of research notes – kindly gifted to the Friends for safe keeping – are two interesting references to newspaper articles at the time.   The first is from the 27th August 1818 and is a notice posted in the Taunton Courier by John Knight – the new owner of Exmoor – offering pasturage for a fee on Exmoor.   The notice reads:  ‘Exmoor Forest  Notice is hereby given, that the Royal Allotment on the above Forest will be CONTINUED as a PUBLIC SHEEP PASTURE.  The Price of the Summer Keep of Sheep and Lambs will soon be inserted in this paper.  JOHN KNIGHT.  Simons Bath. August 6, 1818.’ Clearly the new owner, John Knight, intended to keep earning income from farmers using their old right to use the Forest as ‘public sheep pasture’.  However, by October of the same year it looks like relations between Knight and the farmers have soured – or maybe this is just a warning shot from Knight across the local farmers’ bows.  In the October 29th, 1818 edition of the Taunton Courier the tone has changed slightly.  See below. This notice reads:  ‘Exmoor Forest.  Qualified persons are hereby requested not to destroy the GAME and FISH on the above forest.  Poachers will be punished as the law directs.  Those who cut turf, heath or commit any other trespass will be prosecuted without any further notice.  JOHN KNIGHT.  Simons Bath  Sept 30, 1818.’ Elsewhere on these newspaper pages can be seen several types of warnings to ‘qualified’ people to not do what they weren’t ‘qualified’ to do.  In this case ‘qualified’ would probably be more accurately read as ‘allowed’ to do……in other words those farmers allowed to take their beasts up onto the moor for summer pasture were not allowed to fish, shoot game, cut turf or heath or do anything else Knight deemed as trespass. These two little newspaper clippings cast an interesting insight into the shaky period of changeover from Exmoor Forest being a Royal Forest to becoming a private estate. During this period the Vellacotts of Furzehill had secured their foothold and rights by converting the shepherd’s hut they had built at Hoar Oak into a permanent cottage for Charles Vellacott and his new wife Elizabeth.  More on this link: https://hoaroakcottage.org/vellacotts-2  Their ‘allotments’ under the sale of the Royal Forest (Nos 279 and 280) meant they were fairly secure in terms of their security on Exmoor and with established rights to take turf and heath and water etc off the moor.   Presumably, however, they were just as susceptible to  prosecution for poaching deer and fish – if they got caught! Thanks to Roger A Burton for his research which led us to these two items.  Thanks to the British Newspaper Archive for use of images BL_0000348_18180827  and of BL_0000348_18181029. All Rights Reserved.  Follow this link to another blog which talks more about the costs for locals to pasture their beasts on Exmoor. Pasturage of livestock on Exmoor – hoaroak
Posted by Bette Baldwin
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Recording Womens History

As 2024 Women’s History Month draws to a close our last posting tells the story of one descendant of Hoar Oak Cottage and what happened when she tried to ‘tell her story’. In 1990, Edna Stevens submitted her memories of her Hoar Oak Cottage grandparents for publication in the Exmoor Review.  She always said that what she wrote and what was published were quite different and she’d always wanted the record put straight.  At the time Edna was already an elderly woman; she had hand written her memories on simple Basildon Bond notepaper and hadn’t kept a copy.  Sadly, Edna is no longer with us and won’t know that quite recently, one of her relatives, found her original letter in the Exmoor Society Archive and is now able to share it online.  We hope you find what she wrote of interest.  Memories of Hoar Oak Submitted by Edna Stevens to the Exmoor Society, June 1990 James Maxwell Johnstone was my grandfather.  He came down from Scotland in Nov. 1886 to work as a shepherd for Sir Frederic Knight and later, for the Fortescue estate.  Also my grandmother Sarah and their children Marion, Sam and Emily my mother.  They had to live in one of the wildest and most lovely parts of Exmoor – called Hoar Oak.  It was so lonely they had to be self-supporting. In those days their wages were low, but they had a cow or two and horses – also pigs and poultry – plenty of wood and peat for fires. Thank goodness my grandmother was a good cook – making bread, scones, cakes (Whortleberry pie and cream). Also butter and cheese.  The nearest small store was at Barbrook, which was a long walk over a rough track or ride horseback to Lynton. My grandfather was quite well educated – he taught the children quite a lot – they all worked very hard so life was never dull.  He had a great sense of humour, was a very good singer, they all sang the old songs (that are still remembered today).  Did the Scottish dancing. Can you imagine the impact it made with all the Scottish families getting together at Simonsbath. My mother used to play (outdoors?).  They were a large family, no money for toys in those days.  They had to make their own fun.  As Shakespeare said – “Find tongues in the Trees Books in running Brooks And good in everything thing.” No time for boredom, they broke in Exmoor ponies and rode the lovely hills – they also (went) past the Boundary Wall and played in the Old Cottage where years ago three or four Irish miners lived. Go on from there and get to Exe Head – Go right to the wonderful Chains.  They say you don’t know Exmoor unless you have walked across them.   Which I have done many times.  But oh those bogs.  I couldn’t do it now. The old track that passes Hoar Oak, was used years ago by men with Pack Horses coming from Challacombe going on to Furzehill, Barbrook then Lynmouth.  Before John Knight made the roads to get through from Simonsbath. I never knew my grandfather because he died in March 1904 at the age of 50 years.  He was ill only a short time and was buried at Lynton Cemetery.  Later the family lived at Lynton. For many years I have returned to Hoar Oak with my cousins and friends but now I cannot do the rough walk. The place has been turned into an old barn, which is sad – However my friend, Miss Frances Fry has done several paintings – before it was altered – Also I have many photos.  And Happy Memories of a wonderful place. By E. Stevens. Having sent in her letter and memories, Edna saw her contribution in print in the Exmoor Review.  It had been edited to read as follows: James Maxwell Johnstone was my grandfather.  He came down from Scotland in November 1886 to work as a shepherd from Sir Frederick Knight, and later for the Fortescue estate. He and my grandmother, Sarah, had three children, Marion, Sam and Emily, my mother.  They had to live in one of the wildest and most lovely parts of Exmoor, at Hoar Oak, so remote they had to be self supporting.  Wages were low in those days; but the family had a cow or two, pigs, poultry, and a couple of horses. There was plenty of wood and peat for the fires.   Grandmother was a good cook, making bread, scones, butter, cheese, and wortleberry pie with clotted cream. The nearest shop was at Barbrook, a long walk over a rought track, or on horseback to Lynton.  Grandfather was quite well educated, he taught the children, and they all worked very hard, so life was never dull.  He had a great sense of humour and sang well.  They all sang the old songs and did Scottish dancing.  Can you imagine the impact they made – all the Scottish shepherds’ families, getting together at Simonsbah, Scottish yarns, the Highland Fling, and the poetry of Robbie Burns, helped by a wee drap of whisky!  At the end of the party they rode home on horseback in the moonlight, the horses knew where the bogs were.  The old track that passes Hoar Oak was used years ago by men with pack horses coming from Challacombe, on their way to Furzehill, Barbrook and Lynmouth – that was before John Knight made the connecting roads from Simonsbath.  My grandfather died at the early age of 50 and was buried in Lynton cemetery.    One can see why Edna said, ‘they didn’t print what I wrote.’  Its not clear where the additional material about Scottish shepherds having parties in Simonsbath came from but it’s the two omissions which are fascinating.  Edna references Shakespeare’s play As You Like It and in using the well-known quotations about ‘Find tongues in trees’ and ‘Books in running brooks’ Edna captures beautifully how the Hoar Oak Cottage shepherd families lived in step with nature.  Nowadays a modern aspiration.  Then a simple fact of how life was lived.  How I wish for one more conversation with Edna to ask about that quotation.  The second omission is Edna’s reference to her friend and artist Frances Fry and her paintings of Hoar Oak Cottage made before the cottage was dismantled by the Exmoor National Park Authority.  The Friends of Hoar Oak Cottage have started to try and find these Frances Fry paintings.  As the last contribution for 2024 Women’s History Month, the Friends of Hoar Oak Cottage hope that in telling Edna’s lost story another bit of untold history about the cottage – the place and its people – can be shared and interesting new lines of investigation pursued.  Who knows what there will be to report in 2025!
Posted by Bette Baldwin
Agricultural History Exmoor Scottish Exmoor Links sheep Uncategorized

Pasturage of livestock on Exmoor

How much did it cost? The Friends continue to research the Scottish shepherds on Exmoor – how they came to be there and what their impact was.   One of the first known to arrive with a cargo of Scottish sheep was Gerald Spooner who took the lease of Winterhead Farm from John Knight in 1852.  More can be read about Spooner on this link    Gerard Spooner – hoaroak (hoaroakcottage.org)    One of the Scottish shepherds who came with Spooner was William Scott who went on to become John Knight’s Bailiff.  Recently, a research partner of The Friends, based in Scotland, found an interesting newspaper advertisement from 1865 that William Scott is advertising ‘pasturage’ on Exmoor – in other words charging farmers to take their cattle: bullocks, horses, ponies, sheep with and without lambs etc., up on to the Forest of Exmoor for a fee which ranged from 2/6 to £1 per animal.  Edward T MacDermot’s book, ‘A History of the Forest of Exmoor,’ gives an insight into this ancient practice and helps us to understand that the sale of pasturage to local farmers is a method to earn income from Exmoor which has a very long history.  McDermot records some of the charges for pasturage.  For example, in 1655, the charge would be 4d a head for sheep taken onto the Forest for pasture.  Equivalent to £1.73 in modern times.  MacDermot page 202 Knight’s purchase of the Royal Forest of Exmoor was part of an ambitious aim to introduce a modern agricultural reclamation project, but it seems the tried and true method of making the Forest pay – to charge local farmers to pasture their livestock on the moor – was still in place in 1865.  The advert from The Taunton Courier in April 1865 shows that Bailiff William Scott would be charging a fee of 2/6 a head for sheep in 1865.  Equivalent to £7.39 in modern times.  Hoar Oak Cottage began life hundreds of years ago as a one roomed shepherd’s cott used for the shepherd responsible for sheep taken up onto the hills of that part of Exmoor for the summer pasturage. MacDermot Edward T, 1973, A History of the Forest of Exmoor. Image courtesy of the British Newspaper Archive © Currency converter: 1270–2017 (nationalarchives.gov.uk)
Posted by Bette Baldwin
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Supporting Exmoor History Research

Last year, 2023, the Friends were pleased to support research undertaken jointly by the Universities of Plymouth and Exeter which sought to reassess how the ‘reclamation’ of Exmoor under the Knights should be considered.  This research, led by Leonard Baker, used information from two disciplines – archival material and paleoecological data.  Material held in the Friend’s archive, particularly the digitised and transcribed sheep diaries of Scottish Head Shepherd, Robert Tait Little, fed into this research project.  You can find out more about Robert on this link Robert Tait Little – hoaroak (hoaroakcottage.org) The researchers from Exeter and Plymouth felt that their findings enabled them to “position ‘reclamation’ within a sequence of long-term management practices that shaped these complex ecosystems” rather than reclamation being a one-off event of improvement during Knight’s heyday.  They say that “Revaluating the ‘reclamation’ of Exmoor using archival and palaeoecological data reveals critical differences between what historical actors wanted to happen, what they believed was happening and what was actually happening to local ecosystems.”  They explain that “Our work reveals that many of the schemes and projects that historians focus upon during assessments of upland ‘improvement’ were far less ecologically significant than previously assumed.” And that unfortunately, “this was not the exciting story of technological ‘progress’ and ‘conquest’ that the Knights, their agents, or subsequent commentators, wished for.” No doubt many – perhaps most? – of us have ‘bigged up’ what we or ancestors did and would like to be remembered by history in a positive light.  But this new research suggests the need to sometimes reassess what the historical record tells us.  The research team published in 2023 and their paper can be accessed on this link through Open Access Revolution and continuity? Reassessing nineteenth-century moorland reclamation through palaeoecological and archival research (tandfonline.com). *  It is a fascinating read and the same team are currently working on a book revisiting the reclamation of Exmoor story – due for publication in 2024.  For The Friends, it is a delight to be able to bring the record left behind by ordinary people, including Robert Tait Little, into this wider academic community.  His descendants are thrilled that his diaries have, all these years later, been dug into to help tell the ongoing history of Exmoor. *Distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way.
Posted by Bette Baldwin
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Explore Your Archive December 2nd 2023

Theme:  Challenges – for the shepherd and the housewife. Two of the many, many challenges that would have face the shepherd, his wife and family who lived and worked at Hoar Oak Cottage would be – for the shepherd, protecting the sheep in winter and for the housewife, doing the laundry. From ‘The Housewife’s Poem’ by Mollie Hawcutt, written about Dorothy Little of Hoar Oak we learn that “She washed clothes in a boiler tub down by the river” and others have described the task of washing including a dolly and tub to agitate the clothes once out of the boiler.    Learn more here:  Dorothy Little and The Hoar Oak Cottage Housewife’s Poem The sheep stells seen on Exmoor, sometimes clearly visible, sometimes overgrown, were an introduction by Scottish shepherds to provide sheep with protection during the heavy snows of Exmoor.  More here:   Protecting sheep in winter – hoaroak (hoaroakcottage.org)
Posted by Bette Baldwin
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Explore Your Archive November 29th  2023 Theme UNIQUE

In the Friends of Hoar Oak Cottage’s social media sites – Facebook, Instagram and Twitter – we have on occasion shared links to publications which explore the unique words and dialect associated with ‘old’ Devon including Exmoor dialect and terms.  For today’s theme ‘Unique’ we’d like to share The Friends archive of audio-visual clips about Hoar Oak Cottage and suggest a look at those by Jim Vellacott talking about unique aspects of life at Hoar Oak Cottage in his uniquely wonderful Devon accent. You can find the audio-video clips on this link . Jim loved sharing stories about his memories and times as a boy in and around ‘Fuzzhill’ including memories of Hoar Oak Cottage. And we loved hearing and recording them. Thanks Jim!
Posted by Bette Baldwin
Exmoor History Mining Uncategorized Vellacott

Mining in the Hoar Oak Valley

Stories and memories come in many shapes and this one is from a letter sent to the Voices Project by Roger Burton well-known Exmoor heritage author and North Devon mining expert.  Roger gave generously of his time and knowledge to the Hoar Oak Cottage Voices Project and after one meet up Roger got in touch and as he describes in his letter below, “the conversation triggered off something in the back of my mind concerning a mine and mining within the close proximity of Hoar Oak (in the mid-1850’s) which I had written up for the Exmoor Mine Research Group newsletter in July 2004.”

There is a long history of mining on Exmoor – well told elsewhere in books such The Heritage of Exmoor by Roger Burton; The Reclamation of the Exmoor Forest by Orwin and Sellick; The West Somerset Mineral Railway by Sellick to name but three.  However, this story starts with Roger reviewing letters from the Knight family estate which had been deposited in the Somerset Records Office in Taunton.

For the Knights, there was a strong desire to find other sources of income from Exmoor and mining was clearly considered a good option to pursue. This little collection of notes made by Roger Burton from estate managers’ letters from the Knight family collection relate to their attempts to resurrect an old mine at Hoar Oak which had already been used and abandoned by the 1850s.  A letter dated January 9th, 1856 states that:

“The mines at Hoar Oak have difficult ground to encounter but we are in hope of cutting the lode very shortly, the old lode has been cleared and the lode looks remarkably well. Vellacott* has cut through the lode which is showing it at the angle where Comer made his rapid turn to the east and it is 7’ to 8’ thick in clay, but has not seen any small stones of iron.”

Read more about the Vellacott family and their association with Hoar Oak Cottage here.

The next report is dated January 12th, 1856 and mentions that “Captain Morcambe and Trelease (Combe Martin Mine Captains) were at Hoar Oak yesterday. They were pleased with the appearance of the neighbourhood. The first cut old level is an unfortunate affair; it is run in again and some of the timber has given way. I have decided upon adopting the new level so far as it has been driven and then carry on a new level on the lode which is running north of Comers first or old level. The upper level is still going through hard ground; it will take many fathoms to reach the upper clays.”

By January 17th, 1856 it is being recorded that “They can’t take the timbers out of the first level; we are driving on north side without any timber” and on January 23rd that “The new level going well and 6 ft deeper than the old one” and on February 4th that “The Hoar Oak Miners driving new level at the Old Works the first one had nearly run together so no one could reach the end.” On February 12th it is reported that “The men are almost at the end” and by February 23rd that “Hoar Oak has reached old lode and there they well made a cross-cut to old mind workings.”

A sketch of the mine workings at Hoar Oak – included in a letter dated February 23rd 1856 – was included by Roger Burton in his notes to the Friends.  Although perhaps not very clear to us, it was no doubt very clear to the Mine Captains of 1856 what was being portrayed.

As mentioned on the sketch, the approximate location of the Hoar Oak Mine is at SS744 431 which puts it on the west side of the Hoar Oak Water and about 500 metres south of Hoar Oak Cottage.  Its intriguing to consider how much noise and disruption this mine would have caused the occupants of Hoar Oak Cottage.  Its not easy to pin down who was likely to be living at the cottage during the years of mining but it spans the 1850s which covers the occupation of the Moule family,  John Vellacott and then Mr Taylor.  It is entirely possible that the cottage – owned at that time by the Vellacotts and used to house their shepherds – may well have lain empty during this flurry of mining work.  It may have even been used to billet the miners in.  But if it was occupied by one of the shepherd families did the miners and other workmen benefit from cups of tea from the shepherd’s wife?  Maybe even a hot meal now and then?  Or were they just a nuisance to the Hoar Oak occupants trying to get on with their lives as sheep farmers and agricultural workers?  The letter from Roger Burton, including his notes taken in the Somerset Records Office, does actually mentions that ‘Vellacott had cut through the lode’ so perhaps one of the Vellacott family were actively trying to encourage this mining enterprise by doing some preliminary work for the Knights to establish the old mine at Hoar Oak could be made viable.   It would have been a much richer source of income than simple sheep farming.  The extract from the old map below – Ordnance Survey Maps – National Library of Scotland (nls.uk) – shows the site of the mining works identified by ‘iron workings’, ‘adits’, ‘spoil heaps’ etc below Gammon’s Corner.

On February 23rd 1856, it is recorded that “Hannay visited Hoar Oak and was pleased with clays and ores in the sample room. Lode of clay and ironstone is 5 ft wide.” Roger Burton tells us that this Hannay is almost certainly from Schneider and Hannay and a quick Google search shows them to be an active mining concern, Schneider, Hannay & Co,  in the mid-1800s.  Burton also notes that the Hoar Oak Mine formed part of the sett* leased to Schneider and Hannay on the April 3rd, 1856 but there is no evidence that that mining company ever actually worked the Hoar Oak mine and that, in fact, all previous work there had been carried out by employees from the Exmoor Estate.  Perhaps that is where the ‘Vellacott’ referred to comes in.

* A ‘mining sett’ is a legal term – traditionally used in Devon and Cornwall – referring to land exploited for mining.

On March 29th, 1856 it is recorded that there were “4 men driving at Hoar Oak Upper level” and on April 14th, 1856 a final note says “Hoar Oak works stopped.”   Roger Burton completes his letter to the Friends of Hoar Oak Cottage by saying: “It is obvious from the reports on the mine at Hoar Oak that mining had been carried out there in earlier times but, of that earlier mining, there is no record.”

The records of the Exmoor Mining Research Group – in which Roger Burton often published his researches – were lodged in the Somerset Records Office in 2014 and the Friends are planning to spend some time looking through them to try and find a few more gems of information to share about mining at Hoar Oak Cottage.  On this link it is possible to find a further bibliography and searchable database of mines on Exmoor. A recent research project, more on this link,  jointly delivered by Universities of Exeter and Plymouth, has investigated, amongst other things, the impact of Knight and his mining exploits on Exmoor and it is hoped this research will be made public soon.

Posted by Bette Baldwin
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Robert Tait Little and Military Leadership

The diaries of Robert Tait Little – Head Shepherd on Exmoor (1870 to 1907) – and a native of Dumfries and Galloway, are an absolute delight to read.  They are a treasure trove of information about the (mainly) Scottish shepherds were working on Exmoor through those years and tell us who was working on which herding, when they came and went and often where, in Scotland, they came from.  But the diaries are really a meticulous recording of stock on Exmoor and as Head Shepherd RTL’s records are superb.  Nonetheless it is the occasional recording of titbits which shed light on what the shepherds and their wives and their families were up to that are of particular interest in telling the story of Hoar Oak Cottage.

But there was another side to RTL.  He was clearly an erudite, well read, and thoughtful and we are sharing here 2 and half pages of his diary through January and February 1880, which take the reader into an entirely different area of RTL’s interests.  In these pages he reviews and comments on Captain Napier’s book on military warfare and, it seems, is expressing opinions on warfare, class and leadership.

To try and understand these pages which swerve so far away from sheep and shepherds the Friends asked Military Historian Phil Curme  http://www.walkingthebattlefields.com/ to transcribe and interpret the pages.  The results are fascinating.  We hope you find them of interest too.

Below are first shown images of the two pages followed by Phil Curme’s transcription and interpretation notes.

 

RTL writes:    (Note: …. is used where it is not possible to decipher the handwriting)

From Napier’s Peninsular War speaking of Wellington he says its certain …. exacted the confidence of his soldiers as a leader. It is not so certain that he ever gained their affections.[1] The barbarity of the English military code excited public horror. The inequality of promotion created public discontent, yet the General complained he had no …. reward or punish.[2] And he condemned alike the system and the soldier it produced. The latter were detested for everything but fighting and the officers were as culpable as the men.[3]

Deep unmitigated hatred of democracy was indeed the making of the English forces policy.[4] Napoleon was …. against, not as they pretended because he was a tyrant and usurper for he was neither; not because the invasion of Spain was unjust, but because he was the powerful and successful enemy of aristocratic privilege.[5]

29 Jan 1880

At Paris treason had done its work and Napoleon, the man of mightiest capacity, known for good …., who with minds enlarged with …. avarice and dissolution were at the very moment of triumph intent to defraud the people by whose strength and suffering they had conquered, the only reward they demanded was just Government.[6]

The Battle of Wellington was the making of a battering ram. Down went the walls …. The Battle of Napoleon was the …. and dash of a mighty …. before which the …. yielded and the healing flood poured onwards …. all.[7]

Napoleon the greatest man of whom history makes mention. Napoleon the most wonder commander. The most …. politician. The most …. statesman. Poland …. and Portugal, Spain and France fortune that …. Combinations of infinite …. war waiting for him. And with her aid the designs of man all at …. on a troubled Ocean. [8]

Feb 5, 1880

[1] History of the War in the Peninsula by William Napier, London: Thomas and William Boone, 1835

[2] The author is referring to the system of buying commissions in the British Army. Prior to the Cardwell

Reforms of 1871 promotions were mostly awarded on the ability to pay rather than merit. The inability to punish or reward is, I think, a reference to the inability of a commander to demote or promote based on merit.

[3] At the time of the Napoleonic Wars, Private soldiers in the British Army were generally uneducated and from impoverished backgrounds. Or, as Wellington is reputed to have said, they were ‘the scum of the Earth’.

[4] The author is suggesting that since only the rich could buy commissions, those who supported the system were protecting the interests of the aristocracy to the detriment of the ‘common man’. This is a sentiment that was rife during the time of the French Revolution. Promotion in the Grande Armée was on merit.

[5] The author’s comment resonates with an important strand of contemporary thinking. The British aristocracy were fearful that Napoleonic France would ignite revolutionary fervour amongst the working class. Napoleon was, after all, seeking to export the ideas that had emerged in France during the early days of the Republic.

[6] Here the author’s admiration for Napoleon is very apparent. He says that the it was the ‘common people’ who fought for Napoleon and they did so in order to secure a political voice. Sadly, this proved to be naive in the face of political reality.

[7] The author returns to his theme of Wellington compared with Napoleon. Wellington’s tactics were crude with a reliance on force of numbers whilst Napoleon was a skilled practitioner of warfare. His admiration for the latter is clear.

[8] This is the main point. Purity of thinking and high ideals being undone by hard realities. Despite being an exceptional leader (in the author’s eyes), Napoleon – in the end – disappoints.

Thankyou to Phil Curme for his time and knowledge in understanding these pages.  Phil leads walking trips of battlefields throughout the globe and can be contacted through his website http://www.walkingthebattlefields.com

Posted by Bette Baldwin