{"id":1538,"date":"2020-05-15T08:30:46","date_gmt":"2020-05-15T08:30:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/?p=1538"},"modified":"2020-12-18T14:26:49","modified_gmt":"2020-12-18T14:26:49","slug":"1538","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/2020\/05\/15\/1538\/","title":{"rendered":"The Diary of John Foss: May 1851"},"content":{"rendered":"

We are sharing a monthly look at the farm diary of John Foss, written from his dairy farm in Kingston Russell in 1851.<\/p>\n

May 1851<\/strong><\/h2>\n

May of 1851 starts cold with a snowstorm on Monday the 5th<\/sup>, but soon improves. John describing many of the days in a similar manner:<\/p>\n

\u201cFine morning, continued so all day. Very warm<\/em>.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Much of the farm work this month revolves around the potatoes and the calves, and John spends many mornings churning butter. In fact, one morning he gets up at 3.30am to churn butter for the landowner Robert Williams \u2013 he gets the job done by 6.30am!<\/p>\n

\"\"
D-DPA\/1\/BBK\/122<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

An update on Brother Samuel<\/u><\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

If you remember<\/a>, John\u2019s brother Samuel had a nasty fall in March and badly hurt his leg. Since then, he had been bedbound and unable to work. The family heard on the 4th<\/sup> May that Samuel was up and had his clothes on \u2013 a first since the accident. Unfortunately, John visited on the 16th<\/sup> and found his brother bedbound again:<\/p>\n

\u201che fell down yesterday and sprain his well leg so that he is not able to be up again. Very unfortunate for him poor fellow, hope he will soon get strong again<\/em>\u201d.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Towards the end of the month, John\u2019s sister Fanny and sister-in-law Mary decide to visit Samuel. They all travel over on the 29th<\/sup> and find \u201cBrother Samuel rather better<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n

John also meets up with the master again, who we now learn is called Richard Symes. He writes that Richard had not spoken to him \u201csince the Blowing up he gave me<\/em>\u201d. John asks him about it:<\/p>\n

\u201che said he had not thought of it since I told him I was very much hurt about it & also told him I wish he would bring the person that told him that I said he wish to Inger me<\/em>\u201d.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Parish Amusements<\/u><\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Pitcombe Dairy is a busy place with visitors coming and going every day. Among the usual family and neighbours, John received a visit from \u201cThe Plumbers & Carpenters & Masons<\/em>\u201d. They had been sent by Mr Williams, to repair a broken pump on the farm. Later in the month, John wrote: \u201cMr Williams gave all the Parish a treat at The School Room. Magic work change of saws & electricity very amusing<\/em>\u201d. This is one of the few social events John recorded in his diary, but it gives us a peek at entertainment in rural Dorset in 1851!<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

Interested in learning more about John Foss? Explore the other months of his 1851 from the list below:<\/p>\n

January 1851<\/a><\/p>\n

February 1851<\/a><\/p>\n

March 1851<\/a><\/p>\n

April 1851<\/a><\/p>\n

May 1851<\/a><\/p>\n

June 1851<\/a><\/p>\n

July 1851<\/a><\/p>\n

August 1851<\/a><\/p>\n

September 1851<\/a><\/p>\n

October 1851<\/a><\/p>\n

November 1851<\/a><\/p>\n

December 1851<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We are sharing a monthly look at the farm diary of John Foss, written from his dairy farm in Kingston Russell in 1851. May 1851 May of 1851 starts cold with a snowstorm on Monday the 5th, but soon improves. John describing many of the days in a similar manner: \u201cFine morning, continued so all… Read more The Diary of John Foss: May 1851<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1892,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[10],"tags":[82,124,123,109],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1538"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1892"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1538"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1538\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2117,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1538\/revisions\/2117"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1538"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1538"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1538"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}