Otterton History - Mullins or Mollands
Farm
MULLINS OR
MOLLANDS FARM FORE STREET, OTTERTON
(“FLINTSTONES” now on site.)
Housterns
Farm with yard of Mullins to left. Village to
right 1968
Tithe No 1126
Rent No. 22,23 & 24
First named in Auction
Prospectus 1779 but farmed by George Molland
earlier in 18th. century. He died 5th. March
1785. His son Samuel, in 1779 was holding
messuage & tenement in Otterton Fore Street,
33 ½ acres, 3 fields of 9 acres and two fields
called Cleales or Clayles of 6 acres. late
Bayleis . The rental of £2 plus a “pullet” and
providing a “ horse and man at harvest-time” and
“Man to clear the leat”. This suggests that his
99 year conventionary lease had been running
since about 1710, The Mollands may have held the
lease since that time. Samuel was Churchwarden 3
times, in 1783, 1787 & 1794. In 1784/5 he is
buying a “slate Register Book and other things
for Church use £5.7/1d”. 3 years later he is
supplying a “barel(sic) of cyder” 11/-.to the
Church. (see below re Cyder Mill)
Samuel Molland
died 28th. October 1806 age 75 as reported by
the Exeter Flying Post. The Rolle Estates took
over the Lease and put Mullins (corruption of
Mollands!) on a Rack Rent annual basis also
dividing up the land. Part went to the Bishop
family living in the farm to the east, which
later became part of Watering Farm. Thomas
Bridle was renting “part Baileys, ½ Clayles” in
1814 (Land Tax) and by the Tithe Award 1843
James Bridle is holding Mullins of 38 acres 3
rood, on Rack Rent Nos.7, 23 & 47. The house
and courtlage (ie.barns), Home Orchard and about
9 acres No.23 were in and south of the village,
but the remaining 16 fields were all at Ladram
Bay. All were arable except 4 acres 3 rood of
Orchards. The farmhouse faced onto Fore Street
and the Home Orchard stretched south to Behind
Hayes and was filled with appletrees.
In 1852 Bridle
had left Mullins. The Estate then divided
Mullins by merging 1) the farmhouse, barns, Home
Orchard and the fields near the village into
Isaac Halse’s Farm next door and 2) all the land
at Ladram to John Skinner of Elliotts Farm in
Ottery Street. By 1861 Halse had changed his
farm name to Mullins – of 73 acres. It is not
known when his farm later became known as
Housetern, but probably early 20th.century and
is named after a field “Houseteren” south of the
village and part of the farm since 18th.century.
In 1865 the
Estate built Sea View Farm at Ladram leasing it
with all the fields, including Mullins fields to
John Skinner. They then closed down Elliotts,
leasing the farmhouse to the Gosling family, the
village blacksmiths. Today it is now renamed
“The Barn”.
From the evidence
it seems that the Mollands built up a lucrative
cider producing business at Mullins during the
18th. and early 19th. centuries. They had a fair
acreage of apple orchards and they probably had
supplies of apples from other farmer/growers.
Their cider mill was housed in a round house
with a donkey/pony walking a wheel powering the
press. A substantial machine compared to the
other mills known in the village. By 1888 the
O/S map marks the round house as joined to a
barn and Halse’s farmhouse.
The Round House had been pulled
down by 1968.
A Cider
Press in Round House with horse drawn wheel 1930’s
There were two separate Halse
families known to be living at “Housterns” and
it is probable that one of the families moved
into Mullins farmhouse after 1852. By 1881
William Beer was the tenant farmer and Mullins
farmhouse had been demolished. It is not marked
on the 1888 O/S map.
The yard remained as part of
Housterns until 1977 when the last tenant
farmer, John Dowell, died. Housterns was then
occupied by John Bain, the Estate Asst. Land
Agent, and family, and “Mullins” was sold off
for housing development in the 1980’s and is now
“Flintstones”, which includes a replica of Round
House built on the west end.
© Gerald
Millington 2013
SOURCES
Clinton Devon Estates Archives
Devon Records Office; Land Tax Returns
National Census
Exeter Flying Post
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