Great Green Farm Eaton Bray

Great Green Farmhouse March 2012

Great Green Farmhouse was listed by the former Department of Environment in September 1980 as Grade II, of special interest. It is an ancient property, dating from the 16th century. The first floor is timber-framed, with red brick infill known as nogging; the ground floor is red brick. The house comprises two storeys beneath a modern tiled roof.

The Rating and Valuation Act 1925 specified that every building and piece of land in the country was to be assessed to determine its rateable value. Eaton Bray, like much of the county, was assessed in 1927 and the valuer visiting Great Green Farmhouse [DV1/H30/18] found that it was owned, like Old Ley Farm, by Bedfordshire County Council. It was occupied by Harry Heley who paid rent of £52/1/- per annum for 18 acres.

The house comprised two reception rooms, a kitchen and a dairy with three bedrooms and a boxroom, upstairs. Water came from a well. In the yard stood a weather-boarded and thatched archway (“cart house”) and a barn used as four pigsties. There was also a weather-boarded and corrugated iron lean-to calf box, abrick, weather-boarded and corrugated iron stable for four and a weather-boarded and thatched food store, loose box and barn.

Directories for Bedfordshire were not published every year, but every few years. Kelly's Directory for Bedfordshire for 1894 records James Roberts as tenant of Great Green Farm. he is simply recorded as farmer in 1885 and 1890 and may have been at Great Green Farm then. By 1898 Fred Bird is the farmer and is also recorded in the directories of 1903, 1906 and 1910. The farmer in 1920 is recorded as Arthur Fred Bird. Harry Heley is simply recorded as a farmer in 1924. He is recorded at Great Green Farm in the directories of 1928, 1931, 1936 and, the last one for the county, 1940.