Long Mead Husborne Crawley

Long Mead shown in green

In 1970 Bedfordshire and Luton Archives and Records Service staff carried out research on a number of fields belonging to Woburn Experimental Farm| in Husborne Crawley. This seems to have been prompted by an enquiry from The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Plant Pathology Laboratory about Workhouse Field|.

Research on Long Mead [CRT130HusborneCrawley2] revealed that in 1760 [R1/42] the ground was occupied by Broad Mead Common and the ends of Broad Mead itself. This was Midsummer land - in other words permanent pasture preserved either for hay or for tethering beasts owned by people with the necessary rights until Midsummer Day when the pasture became common. By 1820 [R1/43] the land had become an inclosed field called Broad Mead

Cropping books forming part of the estate archive of the Duke of Bedford [R4/209, 215, 223 and 229] show that in 1866 the field comprised 3 acres, 2 roods, 35 poles. Between 1866 and 1909 it was either used for grazing or mown for hay as shown below:

• 1866: hay;
• 1867: grazed;
• 1868: hay;
• 1869-1870: grazed;
• 1871: hay;
• 1872-1875: not recorded;
• 1876: grazed;
• 1877-1879: hay;
• 1880: grazed;
• 1881-1883: hay;
• 1884: grazed;
• 1885-1886: hay;
• 1887: grazed;
• 1888: hay;
• 1889: grazed;
• 1890-1891: hay;
• 1892: grazed;
• 1893: hay;
• 1894: grazed;
• 1895: hay;
• 1896-1898: grazed;
• 1899-1901: not recorded;
• 1902: hay;
• 1903: grazed;
• 1904: hay;
• 1905: grazed;
• 1906-1907: hay;
• 1908: grazed;
• 1909: hay.