Elston Mapping Project – Darwin Land Auction 1945

The Darwin family left Elston Hall and moved to a new house in Oxton in1934.   In September 1945, Vivien Kindesley, who had inherited the Darwin estate in 1928, decided to auction most of the estate. The auction comprised 22 lots covering 455 acres of farms, isolated fields, cottages, and woodland. The sales, largely to the sitting tenants, raised just short of £15,400 (around £442,500 at 2005 values) and considered at the time to have been an undervalue. The Hall and 42 acres of surrounding land remained in the Darwin family until 1954 when their tenant, Sydney Shepard, died. The Hall was then sold and became a Catholic boarding school.

Purchasers at the Darwin Estate auction

The following notes were dictated by Mary Peatfield to Dave Sankey in 2007 to add to the information provided in her copy of the auction catalogue.

The colours in brackets correspond to the colour coded maps.

Lot 1 (mauve) Tudor Farm   

Tenanted by Walter Kirkland, bought by Alfred Wright, who put his son, Len, to work the farm.

Lot 2 (green) Manor Farm and land on the south side of Brecks Lane, south side of Carrgate Lane, and south side of Lodge Lane 

Bought by Christopher Rose, the sitting tenant. In 1959 and 1960 it was a mink farm.

Lot 3 (pink)  Hall Farm and Hall Farm cottages next to The Old Post Office 

Bought by Reg Merrin, the sitting tenant.

Lot 4 (blue)  Lineham House Farm  

William Marshall, a timber merchant from Lenton, was interested only in the timber so he sold the balance of the land to William Poucher, whom he had outbid at the auction. William put his son Stanley to farm the land. Stanley was killed in a motor accident and the farm was then occupied by his brother, John, who later sold it to Michael Lockwood. 

Lots 5 (yellow) Rectory (Glebe) Farm, including land on Pinfold Lane, the lodge on the A46, and land on the other side of the A46 down to the Trent       

Bought by Dennis Lee, the sitting tenant.

Lot 6 (yellow) Small parcel just to the south of Elston Towers on the A46

Bought by Dennis Lee

Lot 7 (mauve) Small field to the south of Brecks Lane 

Bought by Walter Kirkland, the sitting tenant.

Lots 8 (pink) & 9 (brown)     Small fields adjacent to the above

Bought by Fred Mann Sr, the sitting tenant.

Lot 10 (hatched black)         Small field on the south side of the A46 beyond East Stoke

Bought by Fred Mann Sr, the sitting tenant.

Lot 11 (pink)  Small fields to the east of Cross Lane on Meadow Farm

Bought by Alfred Wright.

Lot 12  (yellow) 

Buyer unknown.

Lot 13  (pink)  Bridge Cottages at right angles to Elston Lane

Tenanted in part by Mr Liversage, bought by Brownlow Horner.

Lot 14  (blue)  Field on the south east corner of the junction of Pinfold Lane and Low Street

Bought by William Kirkland

Lot 15 (pink)  Chestnut, Walnut, Elm Cottages in Low Street

Bought by Brownlow Horner

Lot 16  (yellow) Baileys, Cob, Willow, Rhizome Cottages in Low Street

Bought by George Gash of Cotham, brother of William the coach owner.

Lot 17  (green) The Old Forge in Low Street

Bought by Fred Mann Sr.

Lot 18  (pink)  Kindersley in Mill Road

Bought by Fred Mann Jr, the sitting tenant.

Lot 19 (green) A cottage standing at right angles to Mill Road

Bought by Alfred Martin, the sitting tenant. The cottage was later bought by William Gash who demolished it in 1969 and built The Pantiles on the site but parallel to the road.

Lot 20  (mauve) Orchard House, Top Street

Tenanted by George Wilkinson, bought by Ron Drury.

Lot 21  (yellow) Narrow strip of land to the west of Pinfold Lane, formerly the site of poor cottages

Bought by George Hopkinson, and later sold to Ivor Walker.

Lot 22  (yellow) Land adjacent and behind the Mill

Bought by William Gash.