John Sutcliffe & David Hollingrake

John Sutcliffe – Lived at Hardhippins End in Erringden. He was sixty-seven years old and was a weaver. He had lived in Erringden all his life and was born at Wood Top Farm. His father was a farmer there and John worked on the farm. When his father died, about 1793, John continued farming the land until 1811 when he moved to the cottage at Hardhippins End. This is what he says about life on the farm at Wood Top.

I sometimes grew potatoes for my own family’s use.
I never grew any turnips.
I never grew any seeds except hay seeds.
I sometimes sold eggs, but never carried any to market.
I seldom sold new milk but was in the habit of selling old milk to milk fetchers who were regular customers.
I used to keep sometimes five and sometimes six milch cows.
I used to keep a calf now and then but not frequently and to send it into Craven during the summer for two summers to feed.
I had only a little garden.
I mostly bought a pig at the back end of a year and fed it but never had any litter of pigs.
I only used to buy one or two geese for my own family use at the back end of each year.
I never had a foal.
I kept bees now and then, never more than one in a year. I had what honey they produced as far as I wanted and sold the remainder to any of my neighbours that wanted it but never took honey to market.

As far as I know my father in all the before mentioned circumstances did just as I did as long as he lived.

David Hollingrake lived at The Bottoms in Stansfield. He was sixty-eight years old and was an innkeeper. He had always lived in the township of Stansfield never more than half a mile from where he lived then and had been at Bottoms ‘public house’ and farm for forty-four years.

This is what he says about his farming life
‘I never did anything with my land in Erringden but graze it.

I have now and then grown potatoes in my land in the township of Stansfield, for my own use, and now and them I have sold potatoes – one year I sold 80 loads of them.
Never a sack of turnips in all years put together. I have always kept geese, ducks and fowls and bred all sorts of them and had eggs.
At first I kept only two cows – they were milch cows – I kept increasing the number as my land was improved and now I have four milch cows, two strips (stirks?) and one calf which I am bringing up. Have sold milk and butter all my time.
I have had half a score of sows at different times which have produced me litters of pigs – and I have had three litters in one year.
I have bred five foals, but only one at once.