Chapel Farm Colmworth

Chapel Farm seen from the road December 2009

Chapel Farmhouse can just be glimpsed, behind a high hedge, on the east side of the road near the junction with Chapel Lane. The Rating and Valuation Act 1925 specified that every piece of land and building in the country was to be assessed to determine its rateable value. Colmworth, like most of Bedfordshire, was assessed in 1927. The valuer visiting Chapel farm [DV1/H22/46] noted that it was owned by Richard Wade Gery and leased by Charles Bates who had paid £53 per annum rent since 1919. The farm comprised 42 acres which, the valuer commented, included a lot of woodland, making the rent expensive.

The house, of brick, stud, plaster and tile, comprised two reception rooms, a kitchen and dining room downstairs with three bedrooms and a box room above. A coal barn and privy stood outside. The valuer noted: "Water fetch [sic] from Cottages over the way".

The homestead comprised: a stable for four horses; three loose boxes; a granary; a calf box; an open hovel; a hen house; a corn and hay barn; a two bay open hovel; a further loose box and a three bay cart hovel. The buildings were constructed from wood on brick foundations with thatched roofs. There was a pond nearby.

Outbuilding at Chapel Farm September 2009