Farm Auction - Possible Reasons?

[GrahamSimons]

If there was a bankruptcy, it would be reported in the London Gazette, searchable online (although the indexing has been automated and is a bit unreliable where the optical character recognition hasn't worked).

If you are very lucky the case might have ended up in the Court of Chancery. The paperwork isn't the easiest to follow - there is guidance on the National Archives website - but can be a real goldmine.
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/research-guides/chancery-equity-from-1558.htm
Try searching for the names under department code C for Chancery.
http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/SearchUI/search/advanced-search