1872 – Garden Allotment Rules and Regulations – Sobriety and Godliness

The Allotment Movement in England, 1793-1873
By Jeremy Burchardt, 304 pages, 2002. Link to book here.

Lyddington Garden Allotments.
Rules and Regulations.
From The Times (Britain)
November 23, 1872

1. The land shall be cultivated by the spade only, and proper attention shall be paid to its cultivation.

2. No allotment, or any part thereof, shall be underlet or exchanged.

3. The rent shall be due on the 1st of September in each year, and shall be paid before the crop is taken off the ground.

4. All tenants shall maintain a character for morality and sobriety, and shall not frequent a publichouse on the Sabbath-day. All the tenants are earnestly requested to attend regularly at the House of God during the times of Divine service, with their families, to the best of their abilities.

The Reverend H. Munn addressed a private circular to his tenants, in which he says:

“Sad reports have been brought to me lately of the conduct of some in the parish, and among them, I’m sorry to say, are tenants of the Allotment Gardens. Such conduct is contrary to the rules on which the allotments are held, and also contrary to the intentions of my predecessor in letting them out to the parishioners. They are intended to improve the condition for the labourers and their families, giving them employment in the summer evenings, increasing their supply of food, and withdrawing them from the influence of the publichouse. But when drinking habits are indulged, all these benefits are lost, and the allotments, which were intended to do the labourer good, only increase his means of obtaining intoxicating drinks.”