JESTY FARMS, etc.

Many of the Jesty family have been farmers, but my generation--Old Charles's great-great grandchildren-- is probably the last of them in Dorset, at least for the present. This page collects some of the Dorset farms that Jestys have farmed. Most were tenant farmers. These are in approximate order of Jesty occupancy. [Click on the thumbnail to see the picture. These files are fairly small; if you want an original (all except Frankham)--good for a high-quality print up to 6x8 inches or so--email me.]

Winterhays was farmed in the 1700s by Robin (Robert) Jesty (1696-1751), probably as a tenant of the Earl of Ilchester. It is about 1 mile south of Yetminster on the Chetnole road, immediately beside the railway, a good part of which was built by his great grandson, Charles Jesty (1800-1897). The farmhouse, which was likely built in Robin's time, and the barn, which is possibly earlier, are now, I think, separate from the farm.

Frankham Farm was farmed by Robin's eldest son, Robert Jesty (1722-1778). It is about 2 miles west of Yetminster on the road to East Coker.

Upbury Farm in Yetminster was Benjamin Jesty's (1736-1816) first farm, until the 1790s. He was the 4th son of Robin and brother of Robert. It is when he was living here that he did the first recorded vaccination with cowpox. The farm is immediately by Yetminster church. It is the oldest Jesty farmhouse that we know, probably dating (my guess) from the 1500s. The handsome plaque, donated by the Yetminster Hundred History Society in 1994, is on  the wall of the house opposite the farm.

Downshay, or Dunshay, is Benjamin's second farm, to which the family moved in the 1790s. It is a beautiful manor house, from the 1640s. It was the home of Mary Spencer Watson, a well-known English sculptor for more than 50 years, who was kind enough to talk with us about the house and its history. She died in 2005, well into her nineties, and still sculpting. Benjamin and his wife Elizabeth died here, and are buried in Worth Matravers churchyard, about 2 miles south. Downshay is about 1 mile south of Harman's Cross, between Corfe Castle and Swanage.

Druce Farm was farmed in the 1800s by Benjamin's son, George (1782-1845). The farm,which is still very substantial, is about 1 mile NE of Puddletown on the Piddletrenthide road. George died in 1845, and Thomas farmed it until 1852, when the business was sold up. We don't know where Thomas went, but Geroge may earlier have emigrated to Newfoundland (see sheet B). The youngest, John (1832), moved to Crondall, Hants. This farm was Thomas Hardy's model for the farm of Mr Boldwood, Bathsheba's suitor in Far From the Madding Crowd.

Philliols Farm was farmed later by Old Charles's his youngest son, Henry Robert (1856-1933). The farm is about 3 miles south of Bere on the Hyde road, near where Bere stream runs into the Piddle. The rather odd house was built by the Drax estate about 1900, probably after Robert's time.

Roke Farm had three generations of Jesty tenants: Old Charles and Amelia, his son Henry Robert, and grandson Harry Robert (1888-1971), until the 1950s. The farmhouse is now occupied separate from the farm. Roke Farm is about 1 mile NW of Bere on the Milborne road, beside the outlet of Bere Stream from Roke Pond, and there was a mill here for many years. The undershot wheel, a fairly modern steel one, and the driving gear are still there--but no longer in working order--beside the stream.

Almshouse Farm, Hermitage, was farmed by William Ainsworth Jesty (1850-1917) and his son Robert (1880-1964) from ca. 1880-1950. It is now farmed by the Mayos.

Clinger Farm, Buckland Newton, is 2-3 miles south of Almshouse, west off the "high" road from Middlemarsh to Charminster. It was farmed by Robert's son William Albert (1906-1989) until the 1970s. A spring on the farm is a main source of the Caundle Brook (see pond in photo). After more than 600 recorded years (see A.D. Mills' Dorset Place Names), Clinger's name was recently changed to Lyons Head by a new owner.
Doddings (or Dodding's) Farm, Bere Regis. William Bedford moved from Hertfordshire to Doddings in the 1880s to grow watercress, and this new house was built in 1904, using bricks made at the Doddings brick kiln. (The house includes bricks signed by his three daughters before firing.) His second daughter, Rebecca (Reca), married Henry Robert Jesty's son, Frederick Thomas of Roke Farm (1889-1934), and the company Bedford & Jesty was formed to both farm and grow watercress at Doddings. This business was sold in the 1980s, ending the 140-year farming history of Jestys around Bere Regis.

Holywell Tunnel. Charles Jesty (1800-1897), "Old Charles", was a surveyor and major road and rail contractor before he retired to farm. A major early piece of work was a part of the Dorchester-Yeovil railway line, including the 1/2-mile tunnel at Holywell. The line (part of the old Somerset & Dorset Railway, sometime known as the Slow & Dirty) runs right through the early Jesty territory, from Holywell to Yetminster (past Winterhays, Chetnole, Melbury Bubb), and is still in operation. Here is the south entrance of the tunnel.

Blackmore Vale and the Wriggle Valley. The early Jesty territory, from the time of John Justy in the 1600s, is at the west end of the Blackmore Vale (some say it should be Blackmoor Vale), bounded on the south by the high downs of Batcombe Hill and Telegraph Hill. This is a view from Batcombe, looking north towards Leigh,Yetminster, and Longburton. The Wriggle River rises below Batcombe and flows north through Chetnole, Yetminster, and Beer Hackett before joining the River Yeo.