William Fisher b 1845 Cookham Dean, 1911 Bridge Farm, Northolt

[David Posnett]

We are restoring a tiny bit of woodland called Bridge Farm next to the Grand Union Canal on the border of Greenford and Northolt.  I have checked some maps, the farm seems to be on the Northolt (North) side of the canal but called Bridge Cottage Farm.   A kind lady called Joan Gale said her g grandfather (called Fisher) owned it, and her mother was born there.  I have found the 1911 census (free) but I can't see anything else as I have not paid to view. 

Is there anything any of you can add to the puzzle, without being able to view records, I cant really say much more about the farm.  It's the farm I am most interested in, if that makes sense, how old is it, were the Fishers the only family etc?

[softly softly]

In 1901 William Fisher and his family are living at "Fisher's Farm" , Ealing.

Piece:   1191
Folio:   38
Page Number:   35
Household Schedule Number:   215

John

[softly softly]

Middlesex & Surrey Express 27.3.1903

William Fisher of Bridge Farm fined £5 for failing to notify local authority of having pigs infected with Swine Fever.

John

[softly softly]

Owing to the continued ill health of William Fisher, Sale of all livestock and various goods atBridge Farm by Public Auction at 12o'clock 18th March 1920. Several articles dated around that time.

John

[David Posnett]

Wow John, that was fast and so interesting - thank you so much

[softly softly]

Probate record, William Fisher of Bridge Farm Northolt, died 2nd January 1933 effects £2386.10s 8d.

William and sons appear on electoral registers c1907-1919

John

[CaroleW]

Don’t know if you have this 1911 entry from Family Search.  It’s badly transcribed but the address is the one you are looking at

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XWWG-DX4

[David Posnett]

Hi Carole, I completely forgot about Family Search so I'd not seen the transcription.  Thank you, I'll also see what else I can find to add to what John has found too.

It is really exciting to have all this come together so quickly

[ValJJJ]

David Posnett - I saw this thread when Googling Fisher's Farm, Northolt and would be interested to know more of any local memories of the place.

My interest is family connections in Northolt generally (from the 30s-50s) and also a friend of the family who they said lived at Fisher's Farm in a shed there in the 30s.  I've found newspaper articles of court cases of various people with this address during this period - fights, drunkeness, dealers, caravan dwellers,  a court judge asking if he (Mr Fletcher) was a gypsy, with the answer that no, he was a showman. One person was accumulating a stack of stolen bricks there to sell on.

I'm wondering if some of the land was no longer farmed and an ad hoc settlement developed there?  I found a newspaper article from 1939 to say the farm had been might purchased for the site for a new hospital. Edit: can't find this article now. Typical!

In a history of Northolt (http://www.northoltvillageresidents.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Northolt.pdf) it says that 'Before 1865 the soil of East Field was also dug for brickearth, adjacent to Kensington Road and the canal, at the Bridge Farm, and there were kilns and an engine house there. After the field was worked out, it was called Fisher's Farm, and used for breeding pigs and geese.'  So perhaps this one part of Bridge Farm gained its own name?

I also found a very murky photo of gulls 'descending on Fisher's Farm' in a 1928 newspaper - you can just about see a stretch of water (not the canal, I don't think) by a house.

And theft of two geese from 2,000 in a field adjoining Vicarage Rd, opposite Fisher's Farm.  William Fisher also featured with hay ricks on fire and summonses for transporting offensive matter (pig muck?) through Ealing, along with the swine fever fines as mentioned by johnhood.