Farm Lane (North and South) 
Barton on Sea 
A brief history of Farm Lane

The name Barton derives from the age of the Jutes and Saxons. The ‘Ton’ part of the name indicates a farm settlement. The ‘Bar’ part is a shortening of ‘Beorma’. Thus, Barton means ‘Beorma’s farm’.  In the Domesday book it is recorded that ‘Bermintune’ or Burmintune was held by an old friend of William the Conqueror, namely Roger de Montgomery.  

The Barton area was largely in agricultural use from Saxon times until about 1894 when the farms were sold and the area started to be developed. 

The earliest reliable map we have of the area is the 1841 Tithe Map. The field numbers have been highlighted in the area of the lane and surrounding it. At the end of this article is a table produced from the Tithe Map Allocations showing who owned which piece of land. From the table it is possible to see the names of the people owning land along Farm Lane, the name of the field, and how big it was. The size is in acres, roods and perches. The measurements of land are; 1 Acre = 4840 sq yds. 1 Rood = 1210 sq yds. 1 Perch = 30.25sq yds. 1 Acre = 4 Roods. 1 Rood = 40 sq perches

The Tithe Map shows that to for a person to travel to the coast from Milton Village you had four options. One was via Southern Lane down to Barton Lane and go past the coastguard cottages. The second route was via Southern Lane, into Moat Lane and south east across Barton into Dilly Lane. The third way was east of Milton village by travelling due south along Farm Lane. This would link up with Dilly Lane at the southern end and take you past Barton Farm to the coast. 

Farm Lane has been described in a June 1963 published history article as a “a tiny track from the Christchurch to Lymington Road [which] joined Dilly Lane where Mr Long’s Little Barton Farm stood”.  This suggests that a person would have had difficulty getting a horse and cart along it. The fourth option to get inland to the coast was along what is now called Becton Lane but in 1841 was Barton Road.  

The whole of the area now called Barton On Sea was largely agricultural. It was made up of numerous fields, lanes and a few cottages. The largest land owner in the area lived on the Barton Court Estate. This was a country house situated slightly inland from the coast in 1841. The remnants of Barton Court are perched on the cliff edge today. 

Another farm of reasonable size was the Barton Farm Estate. This was to the east of Barton Court and almost due south of Farm Lane. As well as the two large farming estates there were a number of locals who owned considerable land though out Milton Parish. Mr John Bursey was the principle landowner. Much of the land was rented out to tenant farmers. Some people owned just a small plot of land, enough to survive on…just. It can be seen from Tithe map allocations that the land around the Farm Lane area was owned by a mix of large land owners, smallholders and tenant farmers. It was recorded that in 1870 there were only 9 other cottages in Barton. The 1872 OS map does tend to support this. If you look at the map, I have highlighted the buildings shown that appear to be separate from the two larger farm estates. 

The whole area was fairly lawless as the inhabitants tried to survive the crushing poverty of the time. Many locals indulged in illicit poaching and became involved in smuggling. In 1823 the first coastguard premises were built on the cliff top.  In 1868 a new coastguard station was built to house seven men and a chief officer, in an effort to stem the loss of revenue. 

The old and new coastguard stations can be seen on the 1872 map to the west. There were regular patrols along the cliff top by ‘riding officers’ who spotted ships loitering off the coast and parties forming up on the shore to receive the contraband. The Riding Officers would alert the Coastguard who would swing into action and make arrests and seize the goods. Riding Officer Bursey lived in a cottage in Chewton and was very good at his job and was murdered by smugglers. 

The development of the area started when the Barton Court estate was sold and divided up into plots for housing. There were a number of auctions of these plots of land in Barton. The first was in 1894. The following two years saw the sale of the Barton Farm Estate and Barton Common. In the following years further plots of the Barton Court Estate were sold and built on. 

Greatly assisting the auctions for plots of land in Barton was the opening of the railway line from Brockenhurst through to Bournemouth which created a station at Milton. A Winchester brewer, Mr Hugh Wyeth build a hotel next to the train station. When the auctions were advertised for the sale of land in Barton, the catalogues mentioned the times of the trains to Milton and that good quality accommodation was available beside the station. 

The above map taken from the 1894 initial sale. This shows proposed roads in Barton. Barton Court Avenue and Barton Court Road can clearly be seen. Farm Lane is still visible on the map. Note that there are some patches of land around the lane that are not included in the sale. Two new roads were proposed which would cut the lane. In the end only one was constructed, Highlands Road, which created Farm Lane North and Farm Lane South. 

The track that led from Southern Lane south east across Barton via the moated area was developed and rerouted. Once it was split by Barton Court Avenue, the southern half of the track becomes part of Dilly Lane. See the below 1931 OS map. 

In conclusion Farm Lane south did not belong to an individual farm. As can be seen from the Tithe Map it was made up of a number of land owners and tenants. It has always been agricultural land from Saxon times through to 1894 and the first sale of plots of land. 

 

1841 Tithe Map information on fields along the route of Farm Lane in Barton. 

Plot No	Owner	Occupier	Plot Name	Plot Use	Plot Size
97	John Rogers (senior)	Henry Self	Goodbody’s Piece	Arable	1 Acres, 2 Perch, 16 Rood in size.
100	John Bursey Esq. In 1841 census, John Bursey shown living at Milton Cottage of independent means. The book Miltoniana published in 1910 states Bursey is a churchwarden and one of senior men of Milton Village.	Himself	Ten Acres	Arable	9 Acres, 2 Perch, 34 Rood in size.
101	John Bursey Esq. Leased under the wardens, fellows and clerks of St Mary College Winchester. In 1841 census, John Bursey shown living at Milton Cottage of independent means. The book Miltoniana published in 1910 states Bursey is a churchwarden and one of senior men of Milton Village.	John Bursey	Withy Bed Six Acres	Arable	6 Acres, 2 Perch, 1 Rood in size.
102	Jane Ann Dent	Herself	Withy Bed Paddock	Arable	1 Acres, 2 Perch, 15 Rood in size.
103	John Bursey Esq. In 1841 census, John Bursey shown living at Milton Cottage of independent means. The book Miltoniana published in 1910 states Bursey is a churchwarden and one of senior men of Milton Village.	Himself	Withey [sic] Bed Moor	Pasture	2 Acres, 2 Perch, 36 Rood in size.
104	William White	William Cox	Heathy Piece	Meadow	1 Acres, 2 Perch, 34 Rood in size.
107	John Bursey Esq. In 1841 census, John Bursey shown living at Milton Cottage of independent means. The book Miltoniana published in 1910 states Bursey is a churchwarden and one of senior men of Milton Village.	Himself	Withy Bed Coppice	Coppice	1 Acres, 2 Perch, 5 Rood in size.
108	John Bursey Esq. In 1841 census, John Bursey shown living at Milton Cottage of independent means. The book Miltoniana published in 1910 states Bursey is a churchwarden and one of senior men of Milton Village.	Himself	Withy Bed Moor	Rough Pasture	1 Acres, 2 Perch, 21 Rood in size.
109	John Bursey Esq. In 1841 census, John Bursey shown living at Milton Cottage of independent means. The book Miltoniana published in 1910 states Bursey is a churchwarden and one of senior men of Milton Village.	Himself	Fowls Mead	Pasture	3 Acres, 3 Perch, 33 Rood in size.
128	Peter Preston and Harriett Preston, executors of the late Robert Dale	George Preston	Meadow	Meadow	0 Acres, 2 Perch, 32 Rood in size.
129	Peter Preston and Harriett Preston, executors of the late Robert Dale	George Preston	Plot behind Miles’ garden	Arable	0 Acres, 1 Perch, 17 Rood in size.
130	Peter Preston and Harriett Preston, executors of the late Robert Dale	Henry Miles	House and Garden	House and Garden	0 Acres, 1 Perch, 17 Rood in size.
131	Peter Preston and Harriett Preston, executors of the late Robert Dale	Henry Miles	Garden adjoining Acre plot	Garden	0 Acres, 0 Perch, 38 Rood in size.
132	Jane Ann Dent	Herself	Moses Mead	Meadow	0 Acres, 0 Perch, 6 Rood in size.
133	Stephen Best	Mary Bourne and Thomas Bourne	Garden	Garden	0 Acres, 1 Perch, 2 Rood in size.
134	Stephen Best	Mary Bourne and Thomas Bourne	House (Two Tenements)	House	0 Acres, 0 Perch, 2 Rood in size.
135	Elizabeth Dawkins	William Dawkins	Clarkes Piece	Arable	4 Acres, 0 Perch, 39 Rood in size.
136	Robert Rice	Robert Corbin	Acre Plot	Arable	0 Acres, 3 Perch, 30 Rood in size.
137
138	Peter Preston and Harriett Preston, executors of the late Robert Dale	George Preston	Plot across the road (linked to 128 and 129)	Arable	0 Acres, 2 Perch, 36 Rood in size.
139	Jane Ann Dent	Herself	Lambs Croft	Arable	6 Acres, 1 Perch, 32 Rood in size.
142	Jane Ann Dent	Herself	Red Gates	Arable	8 Acres, 2 Perch, 33 Rood in size.
143	Jane Ann Dent	Herself	Waste	Pasture	6 Acres, 2 Perch, 32 Rood in size.
144	John Bursey Esq. In 1841 census, John Bursey shown living at Milton Cottage of independent means. The book Miltoniana published in 1910 states Bursey is a churchwarden and one of senior men of Milton Village.	Himself	Barton Great Mead	Meadow	6 Acres, 2 Perch, 32 Rood in size.
217	John Bursey Esq. In 1841 census, John Bursey shown living at Milton Cottage of independent means. The book Miltoniana published in 1910 states Bursey is a churchwarden and one of senior men of Milton Village.	Himself	Lane Leading to Daw Close Moor	Waste	14 Rood in size
218	John Bursey Esq. Leased under the wardens, fellows and clerks of St Mary College Winchester. In 1841 census, John Bursey shown living at Milton Cottage of independent means. The book Miltoniana published in 1910 states Bursey is a churchwarden and one of senior men of Milton Village.	William Hutchings In the 1841 Census, William Hutchings is shown as an agricultural labourer aged 65 living with Mary aged 65, Sarah aged 25 and a boy of 5.	Cottage and Garden	Cottage and Garden	House and Garden 1 Rood and 7 Perch in size.
219	John Bursey Esq. In 1841 census, John Bursey shown living at Milton Cottage of independent means. The book Miltoniana published in 1910 states Bursey is a churchwarden and one of senior men of Milton Village.	Himself	Barton Little Meadow	Meadow	3 Acres, 0 Perch, 8 Rood in size.

Measures of land

Acre = 4840 sq yds. 1 Rood = 1210 sq yds. 1 Perch = 30.25sq yds. (Perch = Rod = Pole) 1 Acre = 4 Roods. 1 Rood = 40 sq perches