Black Horse Drove, Littleport

History of Black Horse Drove

1891 Black Horse Drove

Michael Kerridge, 30, farmer, b Littleport

Eliza, 28, b Littleport

James E, 6, b Littleport

Frederick, 4, b Littleport

Horace, 2, b Littleport

Hannah, 4 mos, b Littleport

In 1901 Michael Kerridge was at Willow Row Farm

In 2022 The Littleport Society published ‘J H Martin & Sons Littleport – The Changing Face of Agriculture.‘ Much of the content of this booklet is based on an interview with John Martin from 2022 in which he describes the life of his family in the Black Horse Drove area from the 19th and into the 20th centuries.

His father was Harry Wilding.  The Wilding family had bought Willow Row farm from the Kerridge family during the First World War.

Points to note are that mains water did not arrive at The Drove until about 1930, and electricity not until about 1956. there was one shop run by the Gotobeds. The butcher and baker in Littleport sent a pony and trap with orders. To go to Ely was an adventure; most people only ever went to Cambridge once in their lives, and London, never. Sugar beet was sent to Ely on barges. Wheat and potatoes were taken to the railway siding.

During World War Two one house was damaged by a bomb which was probably aime at the bridge over the Little Ouse but missed.