Flax is a crop grown for the production of thread that is woven to make linen. The poorer quality thread, known as hemp, is used for making sails, rope etc., and the seed, for the production of oil, known as linseed oil. It is known that the ancient Egyptians and earlier civilisations grew flax and it is possible the Romans introduced flax to Britain for the production of linen and oil.
In the 18th Century, linen cloth became popular in this country for the making of shirts, table cloths, bed linen, towels etc. Ireland was famous for its linen industry, but was flax ever grown for the production of linen on the fertile soils of Badsey Aldington and Wickhamford? The first indication that it might have been came from the 1841 Tithe Map for Wickhamford. A field within the parish boundary, on the road that leads to Childswickham and Murcot was named Flax Leaze. The field size was 14 acres, 2 roods and 29 perches and was arable. The land was part of the Wickhamford Estate and was owned by the Sandys family of Ombersley Court.
Flax bonds
In the reign of George III, the government decided to encourage the growth of flax in England. Foreign imports were probably starting to take their toll on the home-grown crop so, by an Act of Parliament, a Flax Bond was introduced in 1781, and again in 1786, and they each lasted five years. It worked by levying a tax on the foreign imports of linen and the money raised from this was used to pay a sum of money, a bounty, to the English growers. The money was paid on the weight of the final product. Linen thread was paid at a rate of 4d per stone and 3p per stone for lower quality thread known as hemp. The claimant had to provide a surety, as did two other persons, against a false claim being made. The claims had to be presented before the Justices of the Peace. Published lists were forwarded as returns to the Treasury, which ordered the Receiver of Land Tax to issue money for the payment of the bounties by the Justices of the Peace.
Flax production
The process to get to the final product of linen thread was lengthy and hard work and could take up to two years or more before the bounty could be claimed. Flax seed (Linum usitatissimum) was planted between late March and early May. The soil needed to be damp when planted to help the seed germinate and it did well on poorer heavy soils. A rich fertilised soil produced weak stems that would keel over. The crop didn’t compete well with weeds so keeping the weeds at bay would have been an important job during the growing season. The crop produced blue flowers and grew to about a metre in height. After approximately a hundred days, depending on the season, the crop was ready to be gathered. This was done by pulling the stems from the soil.
Flax processing
The first job was to remove the seeds, for next year’s production or for producing oil. The next process was called ‘retting’. The pulled flax plants were either left on the land for the dew and the rain to soften the outer covering or the stems were tied into bundles and placed in water filled pits, ponds or streams to speed up the process. Leaving the crop on the land was the safer option but took longer. If the flax was left in the ponds or streams for too long it could spoil the inner thread. When the outer covering of the stem had softened sufficiently the next process was ‘scutching’ and this was the process of removing the softened outer bark and the inner covering of the flax fibres. This then left long fibres and these were pulled through a comb like object, a bed of nails on a wooden board, known as a ‘heckler’, in a process known as ‘heckling’. This removed the remaining debris left behind from the previous processes. All these processes were hard work and were probably done by the men. The final process was known as ‘carding’ and this was parting any fibres stuck together and laying the fibres parallel to one another in a way that made the fibres suitable for spinning. The fibres were light golden in colour at this stage and this is where the term ‘flaxen haired’ for someone with golden hair comes from.
Claiming the bounty
The claimants of the bounty were subject to strict conditions. Preparation of the raw material was to be carried out in a proper manner and parish officials, i.e. Church Wardens and Overseers of the Poor, had to sign a certificate that gave full details of the amount claimed, the name of the village and field name in which the crop was grown.
Many of the aforementioned Bonds for Worcestershire survive and are in Worcestershire Records Office. From these it is known that flax was grown in Badsey and Wickhamford and a weaver from Aldington was growing flax presumably for his own weaving business.
Wickhamford
There is a Flax Bond, held at Gloucestershire Record Office, for Samuel Ashwin, Willersey. It gives details of the two men acting with Samuel as surety. They were Thomas Okey of the City of Gloucester, Inn Holder, and James Milton of the same city, Yeoman. The Deed is dated 10th July, 1798. On the 3rd October 1798 his claim appeared before the Justice of the Peace, Edwd Bloxsome, and in another document it states that Samuel is entitled to £8 10s 4d for 511 stone of flax grown on land held by Francis Holland at Wickhamford. Could this land possibly be the aforementioned Flax Leaze?
The Holland family were renting, from the Sandys family of Ombersley, Wickhamford Manor Farm and living at The Manor House from approximately 1760 to 1812. The Francis Holland mentioned in the Flax Bond would be Francis Holland Junior who was baptised in St John the Baptist church, Wickhamford on 29th January 1763. It is therefore possible that the land mentioned in the Flax Bond is indeed Flax Leaze.
Badsey and Aldington
Samuel Ashwin of Willersey, a flax grower and weaver, was growing flax in Worcestershire in 1791, 1792 and 1793. He was growing on land in Badsey, in 1791, held by Wm. Collett and Edwd. Wilson; in 1792, on land in Sedgeberrow held by William Far and in Bretforton, on land held by Henry Byrd. Also, in 1793, on land in Broadway and Hampton held by Jon Lane. He was claiming for a total weight of 1,762 stones and the claim was witnessed by the church wardens, Thomas Hiatt and Lionel Lampitt, and presented to the Justice of the Peace, Chas. Jasn. Alwyn, on 4th July 1794.
In 1791, 1792 and 1793, Joseph Cooper of St. Peters, Bengeworth, was growing flax at the following places: Cleeve Prior (Jonsons Close, Longdon Close, Middle Ground and Mill Close), Harvington (Part of Mill Close) and Badsey (Sand Piece and New Close). He was paid £12 14s 6d for 763½ stones of flax.
Thomas Grove, a weaver of Aldington, was claiming for flax grown in Honeybourne and Pershore in 1787, 1788 and 1789. He was also claiming for crops grown in Bengeworth, in 1787, on land known as The Leys held by Jn Davis, in 1788, on land known as Avon Close held by Mr Cartright, and on Lower Leys, held by himself. The bond for the three years was witnessed by Philip Rock, Churchwarden, and Thos. Savage, Overseer of the Poor, in July 1798. He was paid £17 9s 6d for 1040½ stones of flax.
Conclusion
The ten years that the flax bonds were paid is only a snapshot, but from them we know that flax was grown all around the Vale of Evesham.
David Cox’s book entitled Evesham Abbey and Local Society in the Late Middle Ages gives details of the Prior of Evesham Abbey’s Registers from 1520 to 1540 and Household Accounts for 1456/7.
The Household Accounts tell us that the Abbot was purchasing ells* of linen. There must have been great excitement in Evesham and the surrounding villages, including Badsey, Aldington and Wickhamford, as Henry V1 was visiting the Abbey in March 1457. The Abbot at the time of the King’s visit was John Wykewane, who had probably been born in Wickhamford. Margaret Stone was paid 3s 4d for the dyeing of linen cloth to refurbish the beds in preparation for the Lord King’s arrival. Linen cloth was purchased for making napkins for the Lord Abbot’s table and towels for the bath. In preparation for the feast of St Ecgwin, on 14th December 1456, linen was purchased to make aprons for the cooks in the Abbots kitchen. Linen was also used for the vestments of the clergy.
The Abbey Registers from 1520 to 1540 tell us that Flax and Hemp tithes from crops in their respective parishes were part of the of the income of the chaplains of Bengeworth, Bretforton, Church Honeybourne, Hampton, Norton and Lenchwick and Wickhamford. Flax and hemp are also mentioned in the Priors Registers of 12th December 1534 relating to the land of Aldington Manor.
Although no longer grown in the three parishes, or in the district, it is almost certain that flax was an important crop and was grown for centuries or maybe a millennium and longer on the fertile soils of the Vale of Evesham.
*An ell is a length of 45 inches
Valerie Harman, July 2025