Where the Coltmans and Burleigh Hall Collide. Pt 2

In this week’s blog post, following on from last week, we continue the story of Howard Coltman as he settles into life at Burleigh Hall.

Circa 1958

Later in 1922, Howard Coltman is listed in a telephone directory as living at Burleigh Hall, and this information also appears in a 1925 directory, which also lists Thomas Mayo at Burleigh Farm. The telephone number for Burleigh Hall was Loughborough 591. By 1949, as Loughborough was growing quickly, and more telephones were being installed, this had changed to 2591.

In 1923, Howard hosted the MP, Brigadier General E. L. Spears, and his wife, who gave a talk to the Loughborough Women’s Liberal Association. And later in 1923, Howard was advocating that a ‘living wage’ be paid to people who worked on a short-term, or seasonal basis for the council, and that steps should be taken to provide housing for these workers. One of Howard’s own workers was paid 37s. a week. In the following year, Howard was elected as a joint honorary secretary of the Loughborough Liberals. Howard was present at a reunion of the Old Loughburians – old boys from the Loughborough Grammar School - in July 1924, when the group presented a roll of honour listing 400 past pupils who had served during the First World War.

November 1924 saw Howard appointed as Chair of the Loughborough Branch of the National Farmers’ Union, and presiding at the Farmers’ Union dinner the following year. Later that year, Howard was appointed as chair of the rural district council. Although predominantly a dairy farmer, Howard also kept sheep, but must have been disappointed by the price paid for some of his fleeces, in 1925, that were about 40 per cent below what was paid in the previous year. The highest price in 1925 was 17d. per fleece, which was paid for his 57 Oxford Hampshires, and cross-bred ewes, and 16 hogs.

By 1926 Howard’s cows had begun to produce Grade A milk [1], and in May he hosted a visit to his farm from sanitary inspectors who were undertaking a course at the Midland Agricultural and Dairy College. As if that weren’t enough, Howard also won 3rd prize for his sugar beet at the Loughborough Agricultural Show on Southfields Park.

In 1927 Howard was one of a number of people from both Loughborough and beyond who attended a meeting at Dishley Grange to discuss raising funds to erect a suitable memorial to Robert Bakewell, who had been a prominent local agriculturalist.

In the same year that Howard was president of the Leicestershire Farmers’ Union, he and his wife Chrissie had a daughter, Ann Theodora, who was born in December 1930. In September of the same year, Howard Coltman had allowed some of his land to be used to host the Loughborough Show, organised by the Loughborough Agricultural Association. Previous venues had been Southfield Park, and the Corinthian’s football ground, but the grounds of Burleigh Hall, being situated on the edge of the Charnwood Forest, were ideal. As if that wasn’t enough, also in 1930, Howard was Chairman of the Yorks, Leics. and Lancs. Grade A Milk Producers’ Associations and was appointed to a sub-committee. Meanwhile, two women from Radmoor Cottages were fined for stealing potatoes from Burleigh Farm.

In 1932, Howard was the chairman of the Milk Recording Society [2], and in June of that year he accompanied members of the Leicestershire and Rutland branch on their annual visit, which this year was to Cambridge. The group were able to visit the Animal Nutrition Research Station of the university, and a farm in Bottisham, before enjoying tea in Cambridge. By 1936, Howard was a governor of the Loughborough Grammar School, and later (1948) became its chairman.

Boundary changes had recently come into effect and Howard was elected as a representative of Northern Area Guardians Committee in 1935.

In 1936, Howard Coltman, prominent member of the Farmer’s Union, at Burleigh Farm 1936, was proposing to stand for election as an independent member to the town council, in the new Beaumont Ward, at a time when the population of Loughborough was around 30,000. However, I believe he was finally appointed as a Conservative candidate.

During 1937, Howard Coltman was regarded as a leading authority on milk production, and was concerned that the government was proposing to enforce milk quotas and import duties, via the Milk Board.

When the 1939 Register was taken, Howard, dairy farmer and ARP Warden, and Chrissie were living at Burleigh Hall, on Ashby Road. Also listed there were Ada B. Kendrick aged 78, who was Chrissie’s retired mother. Howard and Chrissie’s son, John Coltman, born 12 February 1918, is listed as an articled law clerk, who was working for A. G. Davies in Loughborough, and who had been taking exams of the Law Society during the past 5 or so years. Howard and Chrissie’s daughter, Anne Theodora Coltman born 5 December 1930, was also listed on the Register, and was a scholar, and would later marry a man surnamed Morris. Also listed at the Hall are John Woodford, a farm pupil, and Florence M. Neal, the domestic servant.

Next door to Burleigh hall, in the Gardeners Cottage, was Alfred W. Linton, the head market gardener, born 5 June 1896, and his wife, Annie born 1898, as well as a redacted person, and Bernard Linton, a scholar who was born in 1928. Next door to the Gardener’s Cottage is Burleigh Hill Cottage, which was lived in by poultry farmer (heavy worker) Frederick Richards, born in 1904, and his wife  Frances born in 1900, along with James W. Haughton, born 1916, herdsman (heavy worker), a redacted person, John (Tom) Barrett born 1903 who was the ploughman (heavy worker), and Olive Clarke born 1912 who was the dairymaid.

Listed as being next door to Burleigh Hill Cottage, was Burleigh Hall Lodge, where we find Hedley Gurney, born 1897, the farm horseman and tractor driver, Martha Gurney born 1893, his wife, and a redacted person. Next door to that is Knightthorpe Lodge, followed by Holywell Cottage, then Holywell Farm, then The Priory pub, which had only opened three years earlier.

During the Second World War (1939-1945), Howard was the chairman of the County War Agricultural Committee, and diplomatically encouraged farmers to produce as much as they could, even though this might mean the ploughing of pastureland for the sewing of crops, or even evicting those farmers who were less productive and efficient.

Sadly, in 1942, Howard and Chrissie’s only son, John, a Sergeant Observer, No. 1151281 [3] in the RAF (V.R. 115 Sqdn.), was reported as missing, and presumed to be dead. John had attended the Loughborough Grammar School, as had his father before him, and had passed his intermediate law exams, before signing up for the RAF. John is remembered on the Runnymede Memorial.

1950 saw the establishment of the Thomas Burton Lodge No.7007 of the local Freemasons, and an obituary appearing in The Loughburian of July 1964 suggests that Howard was one of the founding members, however, he is not included on a photograph of the founders back in 1950: perhaps he was away at the time the picture was taken.

In January 1951, Howard and Chrissie’s only daughter, Ann Theodora, became engaged to Mr Herbert John Frank David Morris, who was the son of Mr John Cameron Morris, himself the son of Herbert Morris. The marriage took place later that same year.

In the New Year Honours List of 1952, Alderman Howard Coltman, Deputy Chairman of the Leicestershire Agricultural Executive Committee, was awarded an OBE. Howard had been a member of the Leicestershire County Council for more than 15 years, and at the time of the award was the Chairman of the North Leicestershire Education Executive, and a farmer at Burleigh Hall. In 1958 Howard was awarded an honorary Master of Arts degree from the University of Nottingham in recognition of his contribution to agriculture in Leicestershire, and for his work at the Sutton Bonington campus of the Nottingham University when it was the Kingston [-upon-Soar] Agricultural College, where he had been a governor during the time of transition to the Nottingham University, and also for his work at Brooksby College, near Melton Mowbray.

By 1958, Howard Coltman was living at 258 Forest Road, and this year marked his 26 years of membership of the East Midlands Regional Committee of the Milk Marketing Board, for which he received an inscribed silver salver, at a lunch to celebrate the occasion.

Known to be a proponent of the advancement of both general and agricultural education, in 1961, Howard Coltman was elected to the sub-committee of the Regional Council Advisory Panel for Agricultural Education, which was looking into agricultural education in the region.

On 26th January 1964, Howard Coltman died, and probate was granted on 2nd April 1964, to solicitor Walter William Straw, and chartered accountant John Bernard Sidney Marsh. Effects were £138,679. An extensive obituary appeared in the Loughborough Grammar School magazine, ‘The Loughburian’.

Howard's wife, Chrissie, lived on at 258 Forest Road until her death on 19 January 1972.

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Notes

[1] According to reports from the House of Commons for 1914, it was proposed to grade milk into three classifications: Grade A, being the best sort of milk that had been drawn from herds guaranteed free from Tuberculosis, and with a low bacterial count, that could safely be given raw to children; Grade B would be safe for adults to drink, but probably less so for children, and which included pasteurised milk, and Grade C would include any milk that didn’t fall into either Grade A or Grade B! 

[2] ‘National Milk Recording’ was established in 1943, and was aimed at encouraging milk producers to record the yield of their cows. However, prior to this Milk Recording Societies existed in each county, and each had its own committee. According to the NMR website, although membership of these societies was small, the members made up for this by being both enthusiastic and progressive!

[3] An air observer in the RAF was mostly concerned with reconnaissance missions.

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Posted by lynneaboutloughborough

With apologies for typos which are all mine!

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