Glory Hill Farm was bought by my father from author Clifton Reynolds about 1945. My father was a buisness man and apart from knowing how to grow vegetables and fruit tress knew nothing about farming at all. He was a good gardener. Had been taught as a young refugee from Belguim on a market garden that is now part of Heathrow Airport.
Clifton Reynolds was also a business man and at the age of fifty decided he would like to own a farm. With his knowledge of being an efficiency expert,specializing in the organization of engineering and other branches of industry knew that he could enter farming to prove that any educated person provided with textbooks and the necessary equipment can make farming pay.I think he lasted for 3 years on the farm. Unfortunately I only have three of his four books so am not able to write of his reasons for selling.
Glory Hill Farm is in the Chiltern country near Beaconsfield and High Wycome. The farm buildings include a beautiful Georgian house, barns,a cowshed,stables, pigsties and other buildings.
There is a walled garden divided into small plots by an ancient box hedge. A cherry and walnut orchard. A small dell deep and sheltered surrounded by filbert bushes (hazel nuts) next to the garden where one could sit in solitude in the sun if it shone where others would find it difficult to locate you!
The view from the south facing house on a clear day was wonderful, across valleys with sight of the Surry hills half way to the coast.
When I left school I decided to be a nurse and took a job at the local nursing home. I was only 16 years old, was put on night duty but my parents thinking I was far to young put an end to that. I then started work on a farm friend of my father's, bought myself a horse with my first wages and was allowed to keep her on the farm.
Unbeknown to me and probably my mother my father bought Glory Hill Farm I think with the idea that his daughter would run the farming side and he the business side. Well, it didn't quite work out like that! Okay I had my horse there but father bought pigs and employed a labourer to do the heavy work. One day the labourer did no come to work and because of that the pig swill was not cooked. My father was furious. I was expected to organise the cooking and carry buckets of the swill to the pig sties. Don't forget I was only 16! All hell was let loose. I decided enough was enough and took a job on a nearby farm where a milk maid was required to help milk the cows,bottle the milk, deliver with a horse and cart to the nearby villagers who were registered with the farmer because milk was rationed in those days.
During 1947 my brother aged 18 was in his matric year at Merchant Tailors School. He travelled every schoolday with my father to catch trains to get to school. Towards the end of that year my mother suggested that I take up nursing again because of fathers unreasonable outbursts of anger.A military hospital was donated to the British government by the Canadian government at the end of world war two .This became the first nationalised hospital in Britain and was situated on Lady Astors estate, Cliveden. The hospital was named the Canadian Red Cross Memorial Hospital.
I took up my mothers suggestion and started nursing again. My brother by then had achieved his matric and became part of my fathers business. But sadley at the age of 19 was diagnosed with cancer and passed away just before his 20th birthday. This became the begining of the end of Glory Hill. No son and no daughter at home and with continous tantrams from my father, my mother and my grandmother who was living with us at the time, left to stay with a friend in Marlow.
The farm was eventually sold, the contents auctioned. A sad day for what could have been a wonderful life on magnificient farm. My horse was found a new home. The dog went with my mother. Thank goodness in my nursing days accommodation was provided. I had no home to go to until my mum and gran bought a small house in Marlow. As soon as I took my final exams I married a South African and came to live in Benoni South Africa in a home of our own!
Some of this may have been repeated in other blogs but this was mainly to relate to the events of Glory Hill Farm.
complex there is no space to make compost but I did in a small way and that was by making it in four milk crates hidden behind a hedge!When it is ready to be used on the garden I will mix it with the compost from my worm farms and hopefully grow a better garden. The photos shown are Christine agapanthas that have been a wonderful sight this year. Both agapanthas and sparaxis are indigenous to South Africa. Sorry can't find my pic of sparaxis.
18th April 2010
