ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL HISTORY.
Until
the second decade of the 20th century Ickenham was
an exclusively agricultural community. Few details
of the economy of the parish have, however, survived. In 1086 there were four ploughs on Earl
Roger's demesne, with room for two more. In addition there was on his estate meadow for four
ploughs, pasture for the cattle of the vill, and sufficient woodland to support 200 pigs. On the Mandeville fee there were two ploughs in demesne,
meadow for two ploughs, pasture for the beasts, and
woodland to support 40 pigs. On Robert Fafiton's
land there had been one plough but it was no longer
there in 1086. There was meadow for one plough,
pasture for the cattle of the vill, and sufficient woodland to support 30 pigs. (fn. 74) Three ploughs on the
demesne are mentioned in 1220, (fn. 75) but nothing further
is known of the medieval economy. Inclosure seems
to have begun about 1453, (fn. 76) but until 1780 most of
the arable was cultivated in open fields. (fn. 77) The use of
these was regulated in the manor court and enactments of 1632, 1670, and 1685 were enforced by
penalties. (fn. 78) In 1801 the main crops grown in
Ickenham were beans (149 a.), wheat (126 a.), and
oats (48 a.), while 313 a. were lying fallow. In all
about 1,200 a. were under cultivation but about
250 a., including some of the best land in the parish,
were said to be in common and used by some
of the farmers instead of being put at the disposal
of all. (fn. 79)
In 1855-6 Swakeleys Farm, owned by the Clarkes,
made a profit of £595 on the sale of grain and £255
on the sale of stock. Crops sold in that year were
mainly wheat and hay. (fn. 80) At the end of 1855 the stock
included 16 horses, 54 cattle, 120 sheep, and 8 pigs.
In addition to the profit made on sales there were
enough animals to supply the Clarkes' table. Thus
in 1865 69 sheep, 9 pigs, and 2 cows were slaughtered
for the household. (fn. 81) Profits had declined by the end
of the 19th century. In 1890 £254 was made on the
sale of animals, £178 on wheat and hay, £31 on dairy
produce, and £17 on root crops. (fn. 82)
At the beginning of the 20th century Ickenham
still conveyed the impression of 'an old-fashioned
country village... with farm houses that look the
very picture of comfort and prosperity'. (fn. 83) Nine
farms survived in 1922. (fn. 84) Between 1923 and 1927,
however, much of the Swakeleys estate was laid out
as a residential suburb (fn. 85) and arable in the northern
part of the old parish was built over. After the Second World War more building took place in the
neighbourhood of Glebe Lane and elsewhere. By
1961 Ickenham had become a residential suburb of
Uxbridge Borough. But although much of the arable
had been covered with houses, some farming continued. There were still two farms in 1961: Long
Lane Farm, near the old Ickenham manor-house,
and Home Farm, adjoining the pond in the centre of
the old village. (fn. 86)
In the 1830s a cattle fair was held at Ickenham on
3 April and one for pleasure on 4 June. (fn. 87) They do
not seem to have been of ancient origin and are not
mentioned after 1839. Little else is known of social
life in the old parish. From the returns of 1834 (fn. 88) it
appears that the overseers were chiefly concerned
with relieving agricultural labourers in times of
seasonal unemployment. In the same year a number
of persons on poor relief came into conflict with the
lord of the manor. William Bunce and eighteen
others inclosed without permission part of the waste
on Ickenham Green for gardens. In 1837 they were
allowed to remain as tenants on sufferance, paying
1s. a rood to the lord of the manor. (fn. 89) In the following
year they were granted leases from year to year and
in 1844 it was decided that they should bear the cost
of preparing their leases at 6s. 8d. a rood. Payment
was to be made by March 1845. The lessees, by
pleading poverty, were able to obtain several postponements, but in March 1847 they were given final
notice to quit. (fn. 90) A settlement seems to have been
reached since in 1859, when Thomas Truesdale
Clarke bought Ickenham manor, (fn. 91) he was informed
that part of Ickenham Green had been turned into
garden allotments and that the occupiers paid £1
a year. (fn. 92) It seems likely that these occupiers were the
lessees of 1837 or their successors.
Little is known about relations between the
parishioners and successive lords of the manor.
Edmund Wright, Sir James Harrington, and Sir
Robert Vyner were probably more often in London
than at Ickenham. (fn. 93) But Thomas Clarke, who became rector in 1747 and obtained Swakeleys four
years later, probably exercised considerable influence
on the life of the parish. The only indication of his
attitude to his flock, however, is the clause in his will
directing that some money should be distributed
among the poor of the parish, but none of it spent on
drink. (fn. 94) Ickenham church school depended largely
on the financial support of the Clarke family during
the 19th century, (fn. 95) and William Capel ClarkeThornhill, who succeeded as lord of the manor in
1890, (fn. 96) maintained some of the traditions of his
predecessors although himself living in Kettering
(Northants.). He continued to support the school,
and donations to the Ickenham poor appear in his
accounts. (fn. 97) An annual dinner for the tenants of the
estate was provided at the rent audit until 1905. (fn. 98)