The Memoirs of the Pitcher family of Overs Farm

Becky Field

Memoirs of Mr & Mrs George Pitcher - 1975
Cherry pickers at work
Beaconsfield & District Historical Society

Something which is frequently forgotten when looking at local history is the need to preserve the memories of those people living today. Anyone who has begun researching their family tree will have started by talking to their older relatives to find out things from their past. They are then able to build up, not just the black and white facts about when and where relatives were born and died, but the colour and the detail about their lives and how they lived. Listening to an older person reminisce about their past may seem difficult to a youngster but their anecdotes and tales are what livens up history, and they need to be recorded for future historians.

The story of one family, the Pitchers of Overs Farm, written by the family in 1975 and drawing on 60 years of living in Beaconsfield, is interesting as it includes some precious memories that are not found elsewhere. For example, according to the Memoirs, the 18 acres of cherry tree orchards of Seeleys Farm were planted in 1892 by Job Wooster and produced a small black cherry known as a “caroon” which was extremely popular. These were used to make the Buckinghamshire Cherry Pies which were very famous as they stained the mouth and teeth!

The cherry crop from this area, between 1910 and 1957 was measured in tons, and was sent by rail direct to market in Leicester, Derby, Nottingham and Sheffield. In fact a special wagon was kept in the sidings at the station during the cherry picking harvest. However when the direct route was withdrawn it became impossible to serve these markets as the new routing involved a transfer at Marylebone which was impracticable for such a soft fruit.

By 1957 the trees in the orchards were getting old and becoming uneconomic to manage and the land, which had been earmarked for housing development during the 1930’s was sold and became the Seeleys housing estate.

Just worthy of a thought or two is how the ripening fruit was protected by bird scarers with shot guns to protect the cherries from becoming a breakfast delicacy for local birds. Imagine how this would be received nowadays– a chorus of shot guns at dawn inflicted on the gently sleeping residents of our favourite town, it would make church bells positively soothing in comparison!

A shorter version of this article will be published soon by the Local Directory

Comments about this page

  • My 14th and 15th great grandfathers were both named John Pitcher of Kingston Blount, and I am wondering if they may be connected to yours. The 1st John Pitcher was married to Catherine Hamilton and their son John Pitcher II b.1426 at Kingston Blount had a daughter Alice 1451 who married John Belson of Aston Rowant, Oxfordshire, and my line goes down from there.

    By Patricia Salter (17/09/2023)
  • Is this Pitcher family related to George Pitcher of Nunnery Farm, Worcester? He was my Great Grandfather, and died in 1940. I am writing up the memoirs of his youngest daughter Marita, or Rita as she was known, who is my late grandmother. She married Harry Beck, (much to her father’s dismay) a widower with four children 21 years her senior who lived in Fernhill Heath, Worcester at the time. He was a horse dealer.

    Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

    By Charlotte Bateman (11/07/2023)
  • We are not aware of any connection with George Pitcher of Nunnery Farm. If we do come across any information, we will let you know.

    By Clare Bull (19/07/2023)
  • My Grandparents worked for the Pitchers at Seeleys farm in the early 70’s. My Grandmother was cook and housekeeper and my grandfather was gardener and handyman with occasional driving jobs, as a young lad we used to visit them occasionally for Sunday lunch and i recall eating my first roast pheasant there and have loved it ever since. Sadly My Grandfather was taken ill there in 1973 and passed away shortly afterwards, I remember talking to Mr and Mrs Pitcher during some of our visits, they were lovely people.

    By Andrew (06/05/2021)
  • I first knew Mr and Mrs George Pitcher when they stayed at my parent’s hotel in Gloucestershire during the Second World War.
    Many years later in the 1970s, the hotel closed and around the same time, Mr Pitcher was looking for a manager for his caravan site at Rodborough Fort, near Stroud.
    I was fortunate enough to get an interview and he gave me the job. It was a very happy and enjoyable job, and the Pitchers were always delightful to see when they came to visit the Fort. Also on a couple of occasions my wife and I visited the Pitchers at their home, Seeleys Farm in Beaconsfield.

    By John ENGLAND (27/12/2019)

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