X886/1/13/5

Letter to trustees of W.A.Hartop Settlement from W.A.Hartop: - rental from North Bedfordshire farms was considered entirely on a family basis; - his cousin Frank Hartop, as tenant undertook repairs and paid pensions to old servants they inherited from their fathers and grandfather and helped wit hemployment of their mutual cousin Jack Hartop; - Frank had paid for bringing three phase power to Keysoe Farm amd Rutters Farm, replacing a third of 33 acres of wood to improve future forestation and putting in a 600 ton drying plant (costing 4,000); - Frank Hartop had installed a manager to run the farms more profitably; - Frank Hartop realised that on death of W.A.Hartop he would need to pay an economic rental for the farms to pass on to the beneficisries as income to live from; - in interest of family to retain North Bedfordshire farms even if uneconomic due to sur tax; - 7/8,000 was needed to repair Waterfall Farm house "an old house of great character" and it was probably better to spend this than 10/12,000 on a new, larger house

9 Aug 1968

From: 1968 To: 1968

item

Hartop, F W,
Hartop, William Arthur,
Hartop, Jack

Thurleigh Waterfall Farm, agricultural correspondence, woods, Keysoe Park Farm, Thurleigh Rutters Farm, general taxation