A #OnePlaceAdverts View of 1875 in Wing Buckinghamshire

For more than a decade I’ve been running a weekly project within my one-place study, reading the local newspaper corresponding to the date exactly 150 years earlier and posting on social media about any mentions of my place. At year-end these are collated and published on my website.

1875 was a fairly typical year for the kinds of things that you might hope to see advertised. All examples mentioned below are taken from the Leighton Buzzard Observer.

Death is a very common trigger for advertisements. One type is seeking those who may want to make a claim on the estate. These adverts may give valuable clues as to where former residents of a place have moved to, as in the case of Mr James Biggs, deceased, where claimants are requested to make contact with one of the two administratrixes, Mrs Mary Ann Biggs (“of Wing aforesaid, widow”) or Mrs Annie Purrett (“the wife of Mrs Thomas Purrett, of Wynch Hill in the parish of King’s Walden, in the County of Hertford”).

Two weeks later, an auction ad for the estate of the same James Biggs appeared. With auctions it was common for there to be an initial advert, run multiple times, giving a brief heads up on the upcoming auction with a short outline of the goods on offer, followed by a more detailed advert much closer to the auction date. That was the case here with the detailed ad listing “the whole of the live stock, which consists of 67 head of valuable young dairy stock, the greater portion of which are in full profit; a flock of 200 sheep, viz:- Eighty-four half-bred couples, 87 tegs, 20 meaty barren ewes, 7 wethers, and an Oxfordshire Down Tup; a team of 6 active young cart mares, brown cob, quiet to ride and drive; a 3-years-old cart colt, three 2-years-old colts, a yearling cart colt, and a yearling nag colt, by “Wildbad”; the agricultural implements are nearly all modern and by the best makers; also 4 steam engines in excellent condition viz:= an 8-horse-power, by Clapton & Shuttleworth (nearly new), and three 7-horse-power, by Hensman (in good working order); 2 thrashing machines, by Clayton and Shuttleworth; and clover-dressing machine; together with the whole of the dairy and brewing utensils, the neat, nearly-new & modern household furniture, and numerous other effects.” A wealth of information can be gleaned about the Biggs’ farming operations and standard of living from this advert.

An auction that proved amusing for the social media audience was for the estate (specifically a house and cottages) of Stephen Capp, that first ran on 21 September 1875 promising “full particulars will shortly be issued”. The same ad ran week after week, causing great impatience for the eventual reveal of these particulars, until finally on 30 November the solicitor informed the public of 1875 (and 2015) that the property had been disposed of by private treaty instead.

Other adverts that appeared during 1875:
• In early January, Vicarage Farm advertised hoping for the return of their missing fox terrier dog that went missing on Christmas morning.

• In March, a decree of the High Court of Chancery regarding Adams against Bone prompted the solicitor executing the will of Joseph Bone (sheep dealer who died three years earlier) to advertise requesting any further creditors to present their claim and supporting accounts, or face exclusion from the benefit of the decree.

• In May, the local auctioneers Messrs Hart & Son (responsible for the majority of auction advertisements in the Leighton Buzzard Observer) advertised 72 acres of grass keeping (to September 1875) in four well-fenced and watered inclosures of Messrs Willison. The field names are given along with their acreages. In the same issue, the deputy steward advertised that the general court baron of Lord Overstone was to be held at the Cock Inn on the 28th.

• In June R. Vallentine was advertising for sale his “genuine manures of the very best quality only” with a comment to the effect that he used them himself so they must be good – a comment that carries somewhat more weight if you’re familiar with his various agricultural prizes and publications! Also in June we learn that estate agent Edward Hart has landed the job of providing tickets for admission to Baroness Mayer de Rothschild’s house and grounds in neighbouring Mentmore (no children under twelve but all teachers welcome).

• Towards the end of November the notice of the first of a series of concerts to take place in the School over the winter season appeared, alerting the audience to attend on Friday 3rd December. The writeup of the event itself appeared in regular news two weeks later.

If you’d like to see the range of Wing news as 1876 progresses you can follow the hashtag #1876OPS on either Bluesky or Mastodon, and you may like to adapt this approach for your own one-place study.
Alex Coles