Description:Inventories of West Hill indicate that the Duke of Sutherland’s estate in Wandsworth had a working farm and working gardens providing produce to the mansion house. The image above shows a tabulated document which tells us about the ‘Produce, & Supplies from the Farm & Garden’ in 1837.
In 1837 the gardens at West Hill provided ‘Fruit’ and ‘Vegetables’ to the house which amounted to two hundred and seventy four pounds, seventeen shillings and fourpence. The farm at West Hill supplied the house with ‘Butter & Eggs’, ‘Milk & Cream’, poultry, wood and ‘Mutton & Pork’. In 1837, over eighty three pounds worth of butter and eggs were supplied to the mansion house. Milk and cream amounted to seventy seven pounds, fifteen shillings and fivepence, whereas mutton and pork was supplied costing over three hundred and seventy nine pounds. The house seems to have been supplied with only a small amount of poultry, amounting to ten pounds, five shillings and sixpence. Wood provisions came to thirteen pounds and twelve pence.
In addition to the supplies which the gardens and farm provided to the mansion house, hay, straw and oats were also supplied ‘to the stables’, aswell as beans and bran. Provisions were also made by the garden and farm ‘to the Watchman’s House’.
This document shows that necessities like milk, wood, meat and vegetables were provided to the mansion house by its own farm and garden. The farm and garden also sold produce to make money. An entry reading ‘Produce sold’ states that straw and oats were sold from the farm, making almost two hundred and fifty pounds for the West Hill estate in 1837.
Click on the images on the left to learn more. To learn about West Hill’s expenditure in 1837, click on the image on the left hand side of the page. To see more about the produce supplied by the Farm and Garden at West Hill, click on the image of the left hand side of the page.