Haynes Family

The Haynes family have lived in Marston for many generations and can be traced back to the 11^th century. My father, Charles Richard Haynes and his three brothers -Oliver Arthur Haynes, Ivan Ralph Haynes and Gerald Malcolm Haynes were all born in the thatched farmhouse then known as Home Farm, now known as Alan Court. The rear ground, garden and farmyard went right up to the boundary of the Churchyard.

Mr Lewis Field of 27 Iffley Road, Oxford purchased the Farm and fields and rny Grandfather, Charles Henry Haynes was the quitting tenant of Home Farm due to leave the property on 29 September 1922 (Michaelmas) but my Uncle Gerald was born which put a spanner in the works, so the family had an extension to the lease and did not leave until the end of October as the document for compensation says “remaining in possession of the whole of the house” notice to quit was extended to 1 November 1922.

Arbitration followed and carried out by Thomas Bowan under the Agricultural Act 1908 and 1921 and poor old Mr Field was awarded £14.04.00 as he was the Landlord and it was impossible for him to let the Farm owing to inadequate accommodation as the house was not available.

Upon leaving Home Farm the family moved to Bishops Farm where they shared the Farmhouse with Walter and Maggie Haynes and their three children Stanley, Babs and Eric. I was always told by Oliver that the time the families all lived there together were very happy days for all concerned.

It was there that Oliver had a mysterious illness. The local Doctor, Dr Dickinson had been treating him and it was not until Oliver’s mother mentioned to the Doctor “Don’t you think he looks a bit yellow?” that the penny dropped and the diagnosis was made.

It was at Bishops Farmhouse that Stanley Haynes bought his first motorbike, dismantled it, cleaned and renovated it and sold it for a profit. This sent Stanley along the career path of Engineering. Later, he set up a Garage and petrol pump at Cross Farm.

The family stayed at Bishops Farm for about 12 months. It was there that Auntie Maggie taught Oliver to propogate Geraniums and grow many other plants. Oliver was always a keen gardener and I’m sure the time spent at Cross Farm with Auntie Maggie was the beginning of his love for gardening.

The family next moved to Cross Farm where they moved in with Uncle Raymond Haynes who was a batchelor at the time. The boys had much fun with Raymond when most nights when he went upstairs to change, they followed him and he would extinguish candles and make noises as they hid under the bed as he searched for them growling and scratching like a mouse. It was dark in the large rooms with sloping ceilings but they enjoyed this frightening atmosphere.

The family finally left Cross Farm and moved to Boults Farm where my Grandfather had a new house built. The house was finished in 1936 at a cost of £785.

The Farm remained in the family owned by the four brothers until the last field was sold to George Wimpey who built 118 houses. The Roads on the estate were named by the brothers – Horseman Close named after my Great Grandmother’s maiden name, Clays Close named after one of the Fields sold to J A Pye, Jessops Close named after one of the fields sold to A C Carter and Dents Close named after Oliver’s Wife’s maiden name.

I have many documents and photographs which show my family’s life in the village. My late Uncle Oliver who was a very meticulous person and did not believe in throwing anything away accumulated these documents over the years. I have spent many hours looking through these papers which hold so much family history.

I feel very lucky to belong to a family with such strong roots in such a wonderful village like Old Marston. One of my many regrets is not having documented the many hours of conversation I had with my Mother and Oliver over the years as I cared for them in the winter of their years.

Charlie Haynes