Norfolk England
A History of
Are You A Special ?
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Brookville
Brookville
Brookville
Brookville
Brookville
The origins of Brookville date back to 1889 when Robert Goodrich, a 48 year old London businessman decided to realise his ambition of gettting "back to the land" to escape the tedium of Victorian life.
Goodrich believed that it could be possible to live comfortably on 2-3 Acres of land whilst selling on the surplus produce.
In preparation for this venture, Goodrich studied the subject of fruit farming, poultry rearing and bee keeping.
After an intensive search he found a suitable site, bounded by a small brook, close to the South West Norfolk village of Methwold.
Here Goodrich built a new house which was given the name of "Brook Glen" and set about planning the site for fruit, poultry and vegetable production.
As the venture expanded, further land was acquired and within 10 years a total of 160 acres was established. This was subsequently divided up into 2 acre plots and the pattern of a whole new self-sufficient co-operative community had been established.
The newcomers were mostly from the commercial world of London and to set themselves up needed around £500. For this the land could be bought and planted, a house erected and a well sunk leaving enough to live on until the produce was available for sale.
Fruit was the main product of the small farms, but there was also a wide range of other produce including vegetables, poultry, pigs and honey. On some there were even efforts to grow tobacco. Commercial ventures soon began to emerge and it was not long before four colonists pooled capital for a jam factory to process the surplus fruit.
In May 1896, the colony's own newspaper "The Methwold Express" was launched with a special edition circulating in London. This was seen as an essential step forward to improve the product marketing for it was on this aspect that the success and self-sufficiency of the colony depended.
Predictably enough, it was the marketing that was the colony's Achilles heel and it was difficulties in this area that led to it's ultimate failure as a "back to the land" experiment.
In the decade preceeding World War 1, the dream faded. Robert Goodrich claimed to live exclusively off his holding, but many of the colonists were forced to rely on private income to suppliment their ventures. They could not sustain the necessary drive to maintain sufficient customers for their produce and income dwindled to little more than pocket money.
In 1912 a Post Office was set up and for simplicity's sake the colony's name was changed to Brookville.
Robert Goodrich died in 1917 and with him went the last vestigeof the colony's idealistic days. Since then Brookville has evolved into a residental villiage scarcely related to the soil. New development has erroded it's fruit farm characteristics but it remains an interesting addition th Norfolk's varied settlement pattern and a monument to it's founder, Robert Goodrich.
Information kindly supplied by John Younge.
Goodrich believed that it could be possible to live comfortably on 2-3 Acres of land whilst selling on the surplus produce.
In preparation for this venture, Goodrich studied the subject of fruit farming, poultry rearing and bee keeping.
After an intensive search he found a suitable site, bounded by a small brook, close to the South West Norfolk village of Methwold.
Here Goodrich built a new house which was given the name of "Brook Glen" and set about planning the site for fruit, poultry and vegetable production.
As the venture expanded, further land was acquired and within 10 years a total of 160 acres was established. This was subsequently divided up into 2 acre plots and the pattern of a whole new self-sufficient co-operative community had been established.
The newcomers were mostly from the commercial world of London and to set themselves up needed around £500. For this the land could be bought and planted, a house erected and a well sunk leaving enough to live on until the produce was available for sale.
Fruit was the main product of the small farms, but there was also a wide range of other produce including vegetables, poultry, pigs and honey. On some there were even efforts to grow tobacco. Commercial ventures soon began to emerge and it was not long before four colonists pooled capital for a jam factory to process the surplus fruit.
In May 1896, the colony's own newspaper "The Methwold Express" was launched with a special edition circulating in London. This was seen as an essential step forward to improve the product marketing for it was on this aspect that the success and self-sufficiency of the colony depended.
Predictably enough, it was the marketing that was the colony's Achilles heel and it was difficulties in this area that led to it's ultimate failure as a "back to the land" experiment.
In the decade preceeding World War 1, the dream faded. Robert Goodrich claimed to live exclusively off his holding, but many of the colonists were forced to rely on private income to suppliment their ventures. They could not sustain the necessary drive to maintain sufficient customers for their produce and income dwindled to little more than pocket money.
In 1912 a Post Office was set up and for simplicity's sake the colony's name was changed to Brookville.
Robert Goodrich died in 1917 and with him went the last vestigeof the colony's idealistic days. Since then Brookville has evolved into a residental villiage scarcely related to the soil. New development has erroded it's fruit farm characteristics but it remains an interesting addition th Norfolk's varied settlement pattern and a monument to it's founder, Robert Goodrich.
Information kindly supplied by John Younge.
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