IN DEPTH
Read an illustrated history of Hundred Acre & Joel Street Farms in Northwood, Middlesex, where CM Robarts & Son amalgamated with Express Dairy in 1942
2025 Hundred Acre & Joel Street Farms (Express Dairy Tales publication)
2025 Hundred Acre & Joel Street Farms (Express Dairy Tales publication)
2025 Hundred Acre & Joel Street Farms (Express Dairy Tales publication)
2025 Hundred Acre & Joel Street Farms (Express Dairy Tales publication)
1900''s Hundred Acre Farm, Pinner Road. Richard comments "The farmhouse is before an extension was added to the right hand side". (Courtesy Richard Gaylard)
1900s Hundred Acre Farm, Pinner Road., Bottling plant in operation. (Courtesy Richard Gaylard)
1900s? Tapping Bros. Wheelwright and Shoeing Smiths did work for Robarts Hundred Acre Farm in Northwood (Helen Hoare Collection)
1900's? Hundred Acre Farm, Pinner Road, Northwood. Terry Mason comments "I was born there in 1947, as Dad Arthur Mason was the manager. Lovely childhood times". (Courtesy Richard Gaylard)
2023 Pinner Road, Northwood (Courtesy Google Street View)
1900s C M Robarts enamelled bottle from 100 Acre Farm, Northwood. (Courtesy Richard Gaylard)
1920s Aerial views of 100 acre Farm. Richard Gaylard comments "Hundred Acres Farm gradually being built on in the 1920's. All the green area would vanish by 1990. The on-going building work is a council 'Home for Heroes' development." (Courtesy Richard Gaylard)
1920's Aerial views of 100 acre Farm. Richard Gaylard comments "Hundred Acres Farm gradually being built on in the 1920's. All the green area would vanish by 1990. The on-going building work is a council 'Home for Heroes' development." (Courtesy Richard Gaylard)
1942 Letter confirming CM Robarts & Son amalgamating with Express Dairy during wartime. (Courtesy Richard Gaylard)
1942 August. Letter confirming CM Robarts & Son amalgamating with Express Dairy during wartime. (Courtesy Richard Gaylard)
1944 Letter from H.R. Robarts, Homestead Dairy Farm, Barnet "Thank you for your letter of the 3rd. I too regret that our happy association has to be ended after many years. I shall always be ready to open negotiations with you for the rate of your milk should you at any time feel you can accept the farmers price." Simon Charles Fielder comments "I asked my dad about this farm. My grandad used to manage College Farm and got a bull from Homestead Farm once. My dad said "Robarts was the Express Dairy director who employed grandad. He had his own farm, Homestead, and traded in milk. I believe he sold that business to Express Dairy and took a post with them but retained his farm which was managed by his son. Because grandad's predecessor was a bit lax in his herd management the same bull had been kept for too long, and minor birth defects were becoming apparent. Dad lobbied for a new bull and 'Galley Lane Crown and Anchor' was traded back to the Robarts farm, from whence he took his name, to be replaced with 'Fleming Hill Colonel'. For all I know, 'Colonel' was the bull at the last farm before College Farm, which we left close to 60 years ago". (Courtesy Barnet-A trip down memory lane FB Group)
1950s Northwood Depot. Christine Kempster, Sid Marie's daughter, comments "He started on Robarts' farm in Joel St, then went to Northwood Depot. He had a horse called Rosie who was jealous of my mum! Sadly, Dad died in 2013 but I have many memories of cold winter mornings helping deliver milk!" Joyce Dennis comments "My dad Viv Pinnell worked in the servery, he is in a brown coat on the right. I used to go there as a child and help putting horses in the stables-loved it." Jimmy James remembers "As a young boy I helped on a milk round in Moor Park, probably Express-I got a bottle of 'orange juice' as salary! William Simon Story adds "So did I, lived in Northwood Hills and walked to the depot and serviced the shops and Briarwood Drive." (Courtesy Christine Kempster)
1950's Joel Street Farm, Northwood, Middlesex. The originator of the image, who lived on the farm as a boy, said “Perhaps someone can identify this next machine, which seems to have cone separators. It might have been something to do with oilseed production, Dad did talk about them doing that during the war”. Rural Museum Network members commented "...could be a small seed thresher (flax / clover)-I have a clover thresher by Hunts of Earls Colne that uses a similar drum type separator" (Neil Syrett), "The tractor is a Fordson E27N Major which was introduced in 1945 (and replaced in 1952), so the picture is post 1945" (Thomas Jackson), "The tractor is a Fordson E27N Major, which was in production from 1945-51. This one has electrics so would be post ’46. Best guess on the apparatus is for grass processing, probably for seed." (Stuart Gibbard). (Photo courtesy John Stonehill)
1991 Sid Marie retired after 50 years delivering milk in Northwood Hills and his customers surprised him on his last day with a presentation. John Stonehill remembered a story from his father, also John "The first time Sid Marie went out delivering milk from Robart's farm, by the time he had finished going up and down the many side streets he had lost his bearings and wasn't too sure of the way home again. He tried to remember but the horse fought back and in the end he just let go of the reins and the horse set off at a brisk pace directly back to the farm." (John Stonehill, October 2024)(Courtesy Christine Kempster)
2021 Joel Street Farm in 2021 (Google Maps)
2024 Memories of Joel Street Farm, by John Stonehill Page 1
2024 Memories of Joel Street Farm, by John Stonehill Page 2
2024 Memories of Joel Street Farm, by John Stonehill Page 3
2024 Memories of Joel Street Farm, by John Stonehill Page 4
2024 More Memories of Joel Street Farm, by John Stonehill Page 1
2024 More Memories of Joel Street Farm, by John Stonehill Page 2
