Rose Farm

The picture below shows the car park of the Peldon Rose Inn in the bottom right with Rose Farm Bungalow opposite. The proximity of the marshes is clear and the Strood - the crossing over the water to Mersea Island - can be seen top right.

Photo courtesy of Beresfords

Rose Farm was part of the estate owned by the Manor of Peet [now spelt Pete] Hall; its owners - largely absentee landlords - were the Lords of the Manor of Peet Hall. They would have had copyhold tenants (a kind of leasehold) who in turn had under-tenants who actually worked the land. Originally, Rose Farm will most likely have been part of the farmland and agricultural buildings associated with the farmhouse over the road, now the Peldon Rose.

Up until a boundary change in 1953, part of the land north of the Strood (on the Peldon side) belonged to West Mersea and Rose Farm's fields straddled the boundary between Peldon and West Mersea which explains why deeds and auction particulars refer to Rose Farm's land as being in both parishes.

The Grade 2 listing for the Peldon Rose Inn dates the building to the 15th century but no estate maps and no indication as to the extent of the farmland originally belonging to it have been found.

In researching when The Rose became an inn, I found a major clue in the newspaper report of the annual licensing day in Colchester in September 1838. An application was made by John Chignell for a licence to sell wines and spirits at his beer house in Peldon (now The Plough). The solicitor for those against the application stated, with reference to The Rose

there was a public house in the parish already which had existed for upwards of a century [Essex Herald of 4th September 1838]

This last line written in 1838 is open to interpretation but I would suggest 'upwards of a century' means 'a few' rather than 'many' years ; can we take it that The Rose became an inn during the early 1700s?

The Peldon Rose Inn in 1905

Otherwise, the earliest reference I have found to The Rose as an inn, is in 1755 in Peldon's churchwardens' accounts when it appears a group of Parishioners and church officials were 'beating the bounds' and stopped at The Rose for refreshment.

Exactly when the inn became 'detached' from the bulk of its farmland has not been discovered. It was usual for pub landlords to have a second occupation; farmer, builder, coal merchant and threshing machine contractor were all occupations of local landlords. However, certain parcels of land which formed part of Rose Farm were inherited by a Mersea oyster dredger in 1734 with no mention of the pub so probably the Rose had already ceased farming, become an inn and sold off the bulk of its land. Most landlords would have kept a few pigs, chickens and a horse or two for transport as well as growing fruit and vegetables for their own use, so there would have still been an acre or two for that purpose.

By 1816 when The Rose Inn (Lot 8) and Rose Farm (Lot 9) were put up for auction by the executors of owner, James Blatch, the former was being sold with just 3 acres and the latter with 27.

The earliest reference to the name 'Rose Farm' found so far is in 1815 but further back it seems to have been known as 'Apes Croft and Pulfins' or 'Apes and Pulfins'. Other fields, 'Royses and Ryme Acres', [spellings differ] the latter also known as 'Skewcorners', seem to have been part of the farm and farmed by the same under- tenants. The name 'Royses' clearly links the field to the 'Rose'.

Jacob Brown was Lord of The Manor in the early 1700s when we first find documentary evidence of Rose Farm being sold. His son-in-law, William Kendall, who had married Jacob's daughter, Mary, followed on and then their son William Kendall (junior). The Pledger family, Jeremiah senior and Jeremiah junior, Joseph Augustus Pledger and John Wilfred Pledger who held an estate called Hammonds at Little Baddow were Lords of the Manor for much of the nineteenth century up to the end of WW1. Alexander Eagle, whose family had farmed Peet Hall as tenants for many years, subsequently bought the estate and title in 1919: the final Lord of the Manor, before copyhold with its manorial customs and obligations were phased out in the 1920s, was Sidney Barker Wilson. The Wilson family takes us up to the early 1930s when the Peet Hall Estate was broken up.

One of the earliest copyhold tenants of Rose Farm found so far is William Smythies, a Colchester surgeon who was already a tenant of Peet Hall and owned Home Farm (largely freehold) and Kemps Farm (largely copyhold) in Peldon, adjacent to the Rose. The Smythies were an educated and wealthy property-owning family, generally they were professionals and many were clergymen.

William married his first wife Margarita Richard de Vendargues in 1734 and they had a son, Yorick Smythies, who was later ordained and became long-term rector of St. Martins, Colchester, and Little Bentley. Margarita died early in the marriage and William married a second time, Elizabeth Blatch, in 1741; they were to have a family and their eldest son, James, was born in 1748. James, being left a significant inheritance by his maternal aunt, Sarah Edwards née Blatch, with the condition he change his surname to 'Blatch', became James Blatch in 1772 - the year of his father's death - by deed poll.

William Smythies died in 1772 having bequeathed Home and Kemps Farm in Peldon, to his son James. To his eldest son Yorick Smythies, (his son by his first marriage) he left other property, namely,

Copyhold messuage and Lands with the rights, members and Appurtenances thereunto belonging called or known by the names of Royses and Ryme Acres situate in lying and being in the several parishes of Peldon and West Mersea in the County of Essex held of the manor of Peet Hall and now in the occupation of the widow Tiffin. [TNA PROB 11/977/66 The Will of William Smythies]

This is the first reference to long-term under-tenants of Home Farm, Kemps Farm and Rose Farm, the Tiffins, three generations of whom farmed in Peldon for over 100 years.

In a Sale catalogue advertising an auction in 1776 it would seem that Home Farm 'and another small Farm adjoining' (Lot 3), was now owned by James Blatch esq and Mr Joseph Doyle, the latter married to James' sister, Charlotte. (James and Charlotte were Yorick Smythies' half-brother and half-sister - had he gifted or sold Rose Farm to his half-siblings by then?)

Although the property was not named in the sale particulars, the acreage, and location suggest the 86 acre farm was Home Farm. The other small farm referred to here which was rented to Mary Tiffin, and farmed as one with Home Farm, was Rose Farm.

LOT 3

A farm, part Freehold and part Copyhold, consisting of a Dwelling House, Barn, Stables and other Outbuildings, and of 86 acres, 3 roods, 20 perches of Arable Land and Marsh, situate and lying in the several Parishes of West Mersea and Peldon, or one of them, and now let on lease to Mary Tiffin, Widow, for the Term of 21 years from Michaelmas 1768.

This Farm is included, by the last Owner, in the same lease, with another small Farm adjoining and the whole Premises together are let at One reserved Rent of £60 per Annum, the Tenant paying 2 shillings in the Pound towards the Land Tax. The Vendors have since the Death of the Last Owner [William Smythies], about 4 Years, received only 2/3 for their share of the Rent.

.... This Farm as well as the last, lies very convenient for Water Carriage, they are situated within 2 miles of each other and both within 8 post miles of the Town of Colchester [ERO SALE/B756 Sale Catalogue 1776]

Essex Record Office has a map dated 1788 of a 'Farm belonging to James Blatch Esq.' [ERO D/DHt P26] - just depicting Home Farm - why this was commissioned is not clear but he remained in possession of both farms up to his death in 1811.

Yorick Smythies, who had been bequeathed 'Royses and Ryme Acres' by his father, died in 1824; his will was written in 1773 - the year after his father's death - and he made his wife, Anne, his executrix also leaving her the same farmland he had inherited from his father.

I give devise and bequeath all my Estate Copyhold of the Manor of Peet Hall situate lying and being in the Parishes of Peldon and West Mersea commonly called and known by the name of Royers and Rime Acres and also another parcel of Land adjoining now in the occupation of ____ Tiffin. [TNA The Will of the Reverend Yorick Smythies of Little Bentley 1824 PROB 11/1693/37]

Because Yorick's will was written over 60 years before his death rather a lot had changed in the meantime! His wife Anne had died some ten years before her husband and it was Yorick's nephew, the Reverend James Blatch, who appeared at court as executor to prove the will. As for 'Royses and Ryme Acres' that was to appear named as Rose Farm in an auction held in 1816 following the deaths of his half-brother and sister-in-law, James and Elizabeth Blatch.

James Blatch, died in 1811 and his widow, Elizabeth, inherited the family properties for life.

After Elizabeth Blatch died in 1815 the properties were advertised for sale in local newspapers; the Ipswich Journal of 3rd August 1816 tells us the sale included a farm with 27 acres in Peldon called Rose Farm and a further 80 acres in West Mersea and Peldon occupied by Charles Tiffin, (the latter Home Farm). Widow, Mary Tiffin, had died in 1803 and her son clearly took over/renewed the lease until his death in 1829.

Lot 3. Consists of 27 Acres of very superior Land, with a barn, stable and other convenient outhouses, situate in Peldon, and in the occupation of the said Charles Tiffin, under notice to quit at Michaelmas next, and called the Rose Farm [Ipswich Journal 3rd August 1816]

In a parcel of documents held at Essex Records Office there is a solicitor's document entitled

Description of Estates late belonging to James Blatch Esquire, deceased, ordered by his will to be sold

The document is not dated but clearly was a preparatory document detailing all of Blatch's properties prior to selling them in 1816.

There are three properties in Peldon; Lot 7 was Home Farm, Lot 8 was The Rose Inn and Lot 9 was Rose Farm - although not named, once again the clues are there that it is Rose Farm - copyhold, location, the same acreage, and tenant.

[Lot 9] Consists of 27a of very good Copyhold land near Lot 8 in the occupation of Charles Tiffin
This Lot is also holden of the Manor of Peet Hall and subject to a
fine certain & with Lot 8 to a Quit rent of £1. 5. 0. per Annum
but which is to be apportioned.
The 2 last lots are subject to the tenant's quitting on 6
months notice [ERO D/Del E14]

The successful bidder for Rose Farm in 1816 (and some of the other properties belonging to Blatch's estate) was William Green of Stanway Hall, Colchester; members of his family were to be the manorial tenants of Rose Farm from his purchase in 1816 to 1893. In his will written on 15th May 1829 William Green bequeathed

... unto my younger son the Rev[eren]d
Charles Henry Green all and every my messuages farms
lands and hered[itament]s as well freehold as Copyhold situate lying
and being in the several parishes of East Mersea, West Mersea
and Peldon...purchased of the devisees of James Blatch Esq; as the same
farms and lands are now in the occupation of Charles Tiffin
[TNA PROB 11/1933/297 The Will of William Green]

William Green died in August 1840 and his son, the Reverend Charles Henry Green, inherited; he would subsequently have been 'admitted' as a copyhold tenant by the manorial court of Peet Hall Manor.

The next time we hear of Rose Farm, the newspaper reports that the under-tenant, Joseph Digby, a farmer and miller (the mill and mill house were adjacent to Rose Farm) had a fire.

FIRE AT PELDON:- On the 3rd instant, about one
o'clock, a fire broke out at Rose Farm, Peldon, in the
occupation of Mr. Joseph Digby, farmer and miller,
and the property of the Rev. C. Green of Saxmundham.
The fire was first discovered in some straw in the middle
of the yard by a little girl, who immediately gave an
alarm, and assistance was speedily at hand. The pro-
erty consumed consisted of two stacks of 16 acres of
Talavera* and rough chaff wheat, two stacks of clover
hay, a bay of beans and barley in the barn, a stack
of oats, and a stack of barley straw, with a few imple-
ments. The only portion saved was a granary filled
with wheat, and a few sheds. Mr. Digby is insured in-
the Globe Fire Office, and roughly estimates his loss at
£400 which is not fully covered. The premises are in
sured in the Essex Equitable Fire Office. The origin
of the fire is a mystery, as no one was seen near the
premises for some hours previously, and a labourer, ing any lucifer matches in his pocket.
[Ipswich Journal 12th October 1861]

* a wheat variety

While the Tiffins, by now a third generation, Charles and wife Mary, were still farming Home and Kemps Farm in 1861 and Mary (widowed in 1869) continued there until her death in 1884, it seems they had given up the tenancy of Rose Farm; Joseph Digby was the under-tenant, certainly by 1855 when he is mentioned in his landlord's will.

Peldon Mill where Joseph Digby was the miller

The manorial tenant, the Reverend Charles Henry Green, resident in Sibton, Suffolk, died on 3rd September 1862.

In his will dated 17th December 1855 Charles bequeathed

All those his messuages farms, lands and hereditaments situate lying and being in Peldon...and in the Island of Mersea... then in the tenure of Elijah Clarke and Joseph Digby...

Rose Farm was to go to his wife, Ellen Anne Green, for life, then daughter, Margaret Jane Green, for life, then her heirs, then to his daughter, Anne Green.

We next meet the Greens' tenant, Joseph Digby, being prosecuted under the Contagious Diseases (Animal) Act not only for failing to report that pigs at his other small farm in Peldon called 'Easters' were infected with foot and mouth disease but also

There was a second summons against defendant for ne-
glecting to report the existence of foot-and-mouth disease at
his premises at Rose Farm, Peldon [Essex Standard 30th August 1872]

Joseph's woes were not over for he had a third prosecution for allowing 16 pigs to stray on the highway! He was fined for each animal.

In 1874 the newspaper carries an advert for an auction on behalf of Joseph Digby who 'is leaving Essex'. The auction was to be held at The Rose Inn and for sale were

98 acres of Luxuriant, GROWING CROPS of
WHEAT, BARLEY, OATS, BLUE PEAS,
and * MAZAGAN BEANS [Essex Standard 3rd July 1874]

* an old variety of fava/broad bean

This acreage no doubt included his other small farm and possibly land belonging to the mill.

The next known tenant was farmer, Henry John Eagle, who was also a tenant of Peet Hall where he lived with his family.

An Indenture dated 27th November 1880 records Ellen Anne Green and Margaret Jane Green, Charles' widow and daughter, formally leasing the farm to Henry John Eagle who was then already in occupation of Rose Farm; the area was 28 acres. The lease was from 29th September 1879 for 17 years at £35 annually and Henry was to have use of the barn and granary at the premises and was required to cultivate the land as a 'four-course shift'. Often called the Norfolk four-course shift this was a form of crop rotation using wheat, turnips, barley, and clover or ryegrass.

Henry Eagle had become tenant of Peet Hall just before his marriage in 1869 and his son, Alexander, was later to become the next owner of Peet Hall and Lord of the Manor when he bought the estate and title from John Wilfred Pledger in 1919.

Charles Green's daughter, Margaret, died on 6th July 1888, unmarried, and his widow, Ellen Anne Green, died 20th July 1892. As recorded in an indenture dated 7th November 1893, his younger daughter, Anne Green, was admitted tenant by the Manor on 6th June 1893 to

All those lands called Apes Croft and also certain lands called Pulfin's heretofore stated to contain together Twenty Acres more or less but containing by admeasurement Twenty Seven Acres... now or late were in the tenure or occupation of Charles Tiffin... And also All that piece or parcel of land or ground containing by estimation Twenty rods more or less abutting upon the Windmill formerly of James Digby towards the South upon the Road or Kings Highway leading from Colchester to Mersea towards the West and upon the Stackyard and lands now of the said Charles Henry Green towards the North and the East And also all that piece or parcel of land containing by estimation Twenty rods more or less formerly part of the waste of the said Manor abutting upon the said Road towards the East upon the Copyhold lands of the said Charles Henry Green towards the West upon the last mentioned piece or parcel of land towards the North and upon the Copyhold land now or formerly of the Reverend John Bawtree late part of the waste of the said Manor towards the South And also all that piece or parcel of land or ground late part of the waste soil of the said Manor situate lying

It is this document that offers confirmation that the old names of 'Apes Croft and Pulfins' are indeed Rose Farm and connected with two earlier owners, William Henley and John Kempton, the latter having sold the farm to William Smythies. The name 'Apes and Pulfins' also appears in an Essex Record Office document that was an abstract of title referring back to 1734 but appears to have been re-used (the title is crossed out) to list James Blatch's properties for sale following his wife's death in 1815.

Abstract of the Title of the
Devisees in trust of the late James Blatch Esq;
Deceased to a Copyhold Estate called The Rose
& certain Lands called Apes and Pulfins

It refers back to a court baron of the Manor of Peet Hall [the courts that dealt with transferring land] dated 20th February 1734 when the copyhold tenant of Apes and Pulfins, William Henley, was reported to have died. It was not until 19th January 1735 that John Kempton of West Mersea, an oyster dredger, appeared at the court with Henley's will dated 25th December 1734 in which John Kempton was bequeathed a number of properties including Apes and Pulfins.

In the abstract of title, William Smythies pays Kempton £1,200 for 'divers copyhold Messuages Lands and tenements holden of the manor of West Mersea' at the time of Smythies marriage to Elizabeth Blatch in 1741. These properties were to be held in trust as a jointure for Elizabeth [an estate settled on her for the period during which she survived her husband in lieu of a dowry]. The mention of the manor of West Mersea might indicate that Apes and Pulfins was the part of Rose Farm that was sited in West Mersea.

Returning to the Green family's sale of Rose Farm in 1893, notices in the newspapers advertised an auction of seven lots 'on behalf of the trustees and devisees of the late Rev. C.H. Green' including other farms at East Mersea and West Bergholt. Of interest here are the 'newly erected buildings' at Rose Farm which clearly included a farmhouse; Jemima Eagle (née Pertwee), widow of Henry Eagle was the tenant of Peet Hall.

The ROSE FARM, Peldon, with newly erected
Buildings and 30 acres of Land, forming a valuable
accommodation farm, near Colchester, and occupied by
Mrs. Eagle [East Anglian Daily Times 3rd July 1893]

The result of the auction was published in the Essex County Chronicle of 14th July 1893

The Rose Farm, Peldon, with buildings and 30 acres of land, let at £35 per annum. Mr. G Pullen, £600.

The indenture of 7th November 1893 records the conveyance of Rose Farm by Anne Green to Charles Mead (the brother of Jane Pullen, landlady of The Rose Inn) that year for £600.

All that farm with the barn stables sheds and other buildings closes pieces or parcels of land thereto belonging called or known by the name of "The Rose Farm" situate in the several Parishes of Peldon and West Mersea...and containing according to the Ordnance Survey Thirty Acres One rood and four perches...and now in the occupation of the Executors of the late Henry John Eagle deceased as tenants thereof under a Lease expiring the Twenty ninth day of September One thousand eight hundred and ninety six.

The discrepancy between the newspaper report and the conveyance about who actually bought the copyhold can be explained by George Pullen being Charles Mead's brother-in-law - possibly it was George who bid for the farm but Charles was recorded on the conveyance as the owner. He can be found living there in the 1901 census (the farm is not named but it is situated close to the Peldon Rose and it is probable it was Rose Farm). Charles Mead is 55 and listed as a farmer while his mother, Sarah, aged 83 who was living with him, is described as a retired inn keeper.

On 22nd October 1912 Horace Charles Mead, son of Charles and nephew of Jane Pullen who advanced him a £300 loan, was admitted to the property.

The farm is described as containing 30 acres one rood and four perches and interestingly the indenture also includes land where the Shell Works was to be built by the sea wall - now Shell Bungalow - on the other side of the Mersea Road, Peldon to the pub.

All which said premises are (including about two acres Numbered 278 and part 279 which have been sold to * Elmer Musters Mersea Shell Crushing works) set out and described in a deed of covenants 7th November 1893 between Anne Green and Charles Mead

* this is likely to be Anthony Chaworth Musters who we know bought the land for this purpose - did he have a partner called Elmer?

This is a restoration of a photocopied plan that is attached to the 1893 indenture, although of poor quality it is the only map we have showing Rose Farm (on the right delineated by the thick). Of interest is the dotted line (beginning by the road in the right hand corner) which slices through the farm showing the boundary between Mersea and Peldon. On the left of this plan, field numbers 278 and 279, were the fields sold by Anne Green to the Mersea Shell Crushing works.

The landowners named on the map are as follows: Joseph Pledger was the Lord of Peet Hall Manor, Thomas Escott owned Home Farm and George Pullen was the Rose Inn's landlord. The triangular field marked Mr G Pullen just above the Mersea boundary is Rhymeacre or Skewcorners.

Horace Charles Mead died on 23rd June 1934 and his will was proved on 6th June 1935. His cousin Basil Ivan Pullen, landlord of the Rose Inn, inherited the farm, now comprising 26 acres 30 perches.

It was Ivan (George's grandson) and Mary Pullen who had the Rose Farm bungalow built over the road in 1960/1 and they lived there after they gave up the pub. The farmhouse that was newly erected in 1893 had presumably long since been demolished, no one now remembers an older dwelling.

Many years later, Ivan made a declaration as to ownership of certain fields belonging to him adjacent to the north to Rose Farm. He records the chain of ownership between family members and because the deeds had been mislaid he had to swear a declaration that he was the 'sole absolute owner free from incumbrances'.

BASIL IVAN PULLEN of Rose Farm, Peldon in the County of
Essex DO SOLEMNLY AND SINCERELY DECLARE as follows:-
IN or about the year 1880 my late Grandfather Mr. George
Pullen of the Rose Inn, Peldon aforesaid purchased and there was
conveyed to him in fee simple the enclosure or field known as
Rhymeacre otherwise Skewcorners being Ordnance Survey 251 for
the Parish of Peldon...and also the enclosure
or field adjoining to the South-east of Rhymeacre being Ordnance
Survey 253a for the said Parish of Peldon and Ordnance Survey 28 for
the Parish of West Mersea as the said
enclosures or fields are for the purposes of identification only
delineated and edged in red on the plan hereto.....
EVER since the death of my said Grandmother on the 19th day
of February[1935] and up to the date hereof I have been continually in
free open and uninterrupted possession of the rents and profits of the
whole of the said enclosures or fields and during the whole of that period
I have never paid any rent or mortgage money to any person or
corporation

The plan below is attached to Ivan's declaration of 7th October 1972. Clearly a much older map (Joseph Augustus Pledger died in 1910!) it shows Skewcorners or Rhymeacre (OS No. 251 in Peldon), field No. 253a (in Peldon) fronting the main road and field No. 28 (in West Mersea) all of which are delineated within a thick line.

It is interesting to note that the land occupied by Rose Farm Bungalow and, later, Skewcorners were where the Downs family of Wickham Bishops used to hold their steam-driven funfairs from just before WW2 until 1960 - they still attend steam fairs and private functions today. Some of the most famous rides include its traditional gallopers. These steam-driven gallopers, with three abreast, built in 1898, have been in the Downs' family for three generations. Allan, the grandfather of the current owner, David Downs, originally purchased the Gallopers in 1940. Allan's son, John, took over in 1960 and in turn his son, David, has looked after them since 1992. David travels all over the country to shows, weddings and parties with the gallopers, which are one of the few remaining that are still steam powered.

During the war, according to life-long Mersea resident, Ron Green, the funfair was laid up in a yard opposite the Peldon Rose

and they had a small showman's steam traction engine complete with brass spiral posts supporting an overall roof. This engine took over threshing duties driven by John Downs and his son John jnr. whose younger brother Allan attended Mersea school. This brave little engine sported a hand painted headboard 'Tiger on war service', it often got bogged down in the muddy stackyards during the winter and had to call for help from Uncle Frank Richer's D4 Caterpillar.

They made a fine sight, the diesel and the steam engine going at full blast until they were out of the mud. The Hall Barn was used as a depot for light servicing of tractors etc. Bigger jobs were sent away to Writtle. Mrs Johnson was in charge of the land girls and had an office in the barn. Ron Green

Traction engines such as this would have been seen at the funfair opposite The Rose Inn

Penny Burr née Pullen, Ivan's daughter, who was brought up in The Rose remembers the night a German incendiary bomb landed on the roof of The Rose which the Downs' boys flicked off the roof with sticks before too much damage was done.

She remembers the Downs family camped opposite the Rose on vacant land, in the days before Rose Bungalow was built, and tells me in later years they were to move along the road to the field called 'Skewcorners'.

The Downs family visited The Rose every year and the Pullen family was so fond of them they felt the Downs were part of the family. Penny can date the last time the Downs came to Peldon because it was on her wedding day - 1st October 1960. She relates sadly that 'the 'old man had died' - Allan Downs.

Marianne Smith remembers the steam gallopers outside the Rose and the living wagons were all a rusty red colour. Her mother Sylvia Brand became very friendly with Mrs Downs see photo below.

At the fair - Mrs Downs and Sylvia Brand

One of the 'showmen's' living wagons remained in a field opposite The Rose for, within living memory, a well-known local eccentric, Ernie Richardson, lived there. Having moved to the area at the beginning of WW2 Ernie, a conscientious objector, is best known for living on a flat-bottomed boat - possibly an ex-army vessel, barely 3 foot deep, by the sea wall, over the road from Bonners Barn. Getting by through selling cockles, dabs and shell animals as he travelled through local villages on his bicycle he eventually moved into the living wagon opposite The Rose and when he became too frail to manage on his own he moved into a residential home in Colchester where he died in 1997.

A living wagon similar to that opposite the Rose

Preparatory to giving up the Rose Inn, Ivan applied for planning permission to build a retirement bungalow for him and Mary opposite the pub at Rose Farm.

The Peldon Rose, one of the best-known Inns in Essex, is to be sold. The present licensee for 23 years, Mr Basil Pullen has lived there all his life, and The Rose has been associated with the Pullen Family for over 80 years. Built in the fifteenth century, the old house is still in its original state inside. [Essex County Standard Friday 30th August 1957]

Following the sale of the Peldon Rose in 1959, Ivan and his wife moved into Rose Farm Bungalow over the road.

By the 1970s the couple's plans were to move to New Zealand where their daughter, Rosemary, was living.

For three generations (over 100 years) the Pullens of The Peldon Rose have been known in our village. Mr Basil Pullen has lived here all his life. Now the time has come for him and Mrs Pullen to join their clan in New Zealand and we wish them all the best on their long journey and in their new home [Peldon and Wigborough Parish News December 1972]

Sadly, Ivan became ill and only three months later in March 1973 he was to die of cancer and he and Mary never got to their new life in New Zealand.

In 1970 Ivan sold The Rose to Roy H Hobson 'and others' which was presumably the Flynns, a couple who became landlord and landlady for a few years before the Hobsons took over. Roy and his wife, Jean, moved into Rose Farm where it is likely they stayed until they sold the Peldon Rose in 1985 to their good friends, Alan and Ariette Everett. Two or three years later, the Hobsons sold Rose Farm Bungalow to the Tileys, whose arrival in the village was recorded by the parish magazine in 1988.

Fred and Cicely Tiley were born and bred in the Chelmsford area - Fred in Great Baddow and Cicely in Sandon. Fred came from a farming family, his father was a smallholder and cartage contractor and Cicely's father was a poultryman. As a young woman Cicely trained as an archivist at County Hall in Chelmsford while Fred worked assisting his father on Little Claydons Farm, Little Baddow. The story is picked up by their daughter, Rosemary, who wrote an obituary of her mother published in the March 2007 edition of the Peldon Parish magazine.

While at school she got to know Fred Tiley from the farm along the lane and shortly after she started work war broke. The archives were abandoned for nursing, and after giving the war four years to end, Fred and Cicely were married on 24th September 1943.

Married life at Little Claydons Farm was brutally shattered in November 1944 when a U2 rocket landed on the house. Cicely was the most seriously injured, losing an eye and receiving cuts all over her body. Some injuries resulted from trying to rescue her mother-in-law.

After the war her three children were born and there were years of struggle to rebuild the farm at a time when money and materials were short. Despite this, we three had an idyllic childhood with Mum's complete attention and will focused on our upbringing.

Sadly John, her only son, was killed in 1974 and this shadowed the rest of her life. Without John to carry on, Dad took the heartwrenching decision to retire and sell his life's work. Not wanting to be too close to Little Claydons, they moved to Peldon in 1987, where they quickly made friends and settled into village life.

The Tileys embraced village life made many friends and were involved with the church, social gatherings and village lunches. They went on to offer room in their barn for the newspapers collected by volunteers in the village on the first Thursday of every month which were then sold to raise funds for the church. Eventually, the sums of money earned in this way became so small as to make the scheme not worth doing.

Fred died in 1995 and Cicely in 2007, following which the farm was sold to the current vendors.

Last sold in 2008 Rose Farm now bears little relation to the bungalow built in 1959 by Ivan and Mary Pullen for their retirement; updated and enlarged - and no longer involved with agriculture - it offers 21st century facilities ...and easy access to one of the most celebrated local pubs to which its history is inextricably linked!

Elaine Barker
Peldon History Project

Postscript:
In researching both the farm and the pub a question has crossed my mind that Rose Farm and the Rose Inn might be named after a surname, 'Roise', rather than the flower.

In the tithe awards for Peldon surveyed in 1838 and published in 1840 another Smythies family member, William Carleton Smythies, grandson of Yorick's first cousin, is listed as the owner of land to the south of the Mersea Road, Peldon, close to the Rose, along with 'Three Corners', the triangular arable field opposite the Rose Inn which must be another name for Skewcorners.

William Carleton Smythies had two other parcels of land nearby, 'Roys Marsh' and 'Roys Field' listed in the tithe awards. We have already met 'Royses and Ryme Acre' in all its different spellings, is there a possibility the Rose and Rose Farm could be named after a previous owner and, with time, as so often happens, the name has changed?

There is a Richard Roise listed in Peldon's vestry minutes who stood as parish overseer (managing the relief of the poor) in 1702 and as the surveyor (in charge of the roads) in 1706, then all references to him cease. Peldon's early registers for baptisms, marriages and deaths covering that period have not survived, could Richard Roise have given his name to the farm, died in the early 1700s and the farm then became an inn? There are no earlier references so far found to 'Royses' or 'Rose' pre-dating the eighteenth century. Food for thought!

Read More
The History of the Peldon Rose
The Mills and Millers of Peldon

Peldon History Project
More Peldon History.