Alan M Wadsworth
When England declared war on France in January 1793, the staff and students at the English College at Douai needed to leave the country, eventually reaching Calais en-route to England in March 1795. With little likelihood of an early return, consideration was given to the provision of seminary facilities in England, during which time temporary arrangements were made for the education of students. After much debate, it was agreed that a seminary in the north of England was necessary, and a farm at Ushaw in County Durham, extending to around 200 acres, was purchased in 1799. Building work commenced, and in 1808 Ushaw College opened for the training of Catholic priests.At the time of purchase, it was noted that the farm ’would nearly give us Beef and Mutton the whole year, besides a great quantity of Butter and Milk’. However, the size of the student body increased significantly between 1850 and 1860, as a result of which the need for a small agricultural estate arose. It is this subject which this book addresses. Arranged in two parts, Part I provides an overall description of the college’s agricultural estate and its management, whilst Part II presents information for readers wishing to know more about the history of individual estate farms.
