Cherry Tree Cottage stands at the junction of Baulk Lane with Truggist Lane (to the E) and Dockers Lane / Station Road (to the W). Its history can be traced to the mid-18th century when Henry Watson, who lived up the road at what is now the Brickmaker’s Arms, bought a freehold house, with the orchard, garden and croft from his neighbour John Savage.¹ Henry left the house to his son William, who sold it to Thomas Farmer in around 1766;² it would remain in the Farmer family until 1834, when it was sold and absorbed into the neighbouring Smith estate.

In terms of land, Henry Watson expanded the estate he bought from John Savage with a freehold close which adjoyneth to the house and to the Common Lane leading toward Coventry and to the Brook (probably at least nos. 1154 and 1159 on the tithe map above). At the time of the Enclosure Act in 1802, the Farmers’ estate was roughly rectangular in shape, bounded to the south by Truggist Hill Lane, to the west by Bayley’s Brook, to the north by a tributary stream, and to the east by Baulk Lane.

The estate and its natural boundaries were unchanged between 1802 and the 1839 Tithe Apportionment, when it comprised the house and garden (1156 on the Tithe map above), the Meadow (1154), Home Close (1155), Far Close (1157), Little Pleck (1158), Parrotts Meadow (1159) and Parrotts Piece (1160). The name ‘Parrott’ is curious and may be connected with Roger Perrott, who held a tenancy in Oldnall End in 1554, or with Humphrey Perrott, who was steward of Berkswell Manor in the early 17th century.³

We don’t know whether any of the Savage or Watson families lived in the house. The Farmers initially let the house to John Adams, but after his death in 1784, Richard and Mary Hall moved in. The Hall family would retain the tenancy until Mary’s death in 1842. They were well established on the lane: their son John settled at Moat Cottage and their daughter Mary Sophia at Truggist Hill.

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Cherry Tree Cottage Timeline

Date	Details	Source
c.1727	Henry WATSON purchased house, orchard, garden and croft from John SAVAGE	Will
23 Jan 1766	Henry WATSON leaves son William: all that my freehold house, with the orchard, garden, and croft, which I purchased of John SAVAGE, and also all that freehold close which adjoyneth to the said house and to the Comon [sic] Lane leading toward Coventry and to the Brook… Chargeable and charged with £40 unto my daughter Mary WATSON	Will
aft 1766	Thomas FARMER purchases house and land from William WATSON	Will
1773	Thos FARMER or SAVAGES, 2s 6d	Manor of Berkswell Rent Roll
13 Nov 1779	Thomas FARMER, yeoman, leaves to son Joseph and daughter Mary: all that freehold messuage … and also several pieces or parcells of arabole [sic] meadow or pasture land to the same belonging situate … in Oldnal End in Barkswell … now in the tenure … of John ADDAMS and sometime since purchased of and from William WATSON	Will
3 Dec. 1779	Thomas FARMER buried at Berkswell
1781-1783	Owner: Thomas FARMER (heirs) / occupier: John ADAMS	Land tax
1785	Owner: Thomas FARMER (heirs) / occupier: Ann ADAMS3	Land tax
1795-1830	Owner: Joseph FARMER / occupier: Richard HALL	Land tax
1802	Land of Jos & M[ary] FARMER	Enclosure Act
4 Feb 1833	Mary FARMER, age 71, bur. Berkswell
26 Feb 1834	Joseph FARMER, farmer, leaves his estate to three Trustees to be sold	Will
10 Mar 1834	Joseph FARMER, age 71, bur. Berkswell
2 Aug 1834	Sale by Auction by order of Devisees in Trust under the Will fo Mr Joseph Farmer, deceased, at the Bear Inn on 2 Aug 1834 at 3pm: Convenient Freehold Dwelling-house, with the Outbuildings, Yard, Garden, Closes and Meadow thereto belonging (5A 11P) near Truggist Hill, occ. Richard HALL	Coventry Herald, 25 Jul. 1834: 1
1839	Owner: John SMITH / occupier: Richard HALL	Tithe Apportionment
13 May 1841	Richard HALL, age 89, buried at Berkswell
6 Jun. 1841	Dockers Lane: Mary HALL, 75, farmer [not born in county] James HALL, 15 [born in county]	Census
31 Aug. 1842	Mary HALL, age 80, buried at Berkswell

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1. This could be John SAVAGE who d. 1727 or his son and heir, also John. John junior’s sister Elizabeth was married to Henry Watson’s brother William – perhaps the family connection facilitated the sale. ↩︎
2. Henry Watson’s will is dated 23 January 1766 and probate was 5 April 1766. My assumption is that William sold the property to Thomas Farmer soon after he inherited. ↩︎
3. Humphrey Perrott is mentioned in Tucker, Berkswell 1550-1660: 40-41 as a lawyer and distant relative of the Lords of Berkswell Manor, but like other manorial stewards he doesn’t seem to have lived in Berkswell. ↩︎
4. Unclear whether Ann ADAMS was John’s sister or wife. On 17 Oct. 1785, she married Michael ADAMS of Coventry at Berkswell, witnessed by Mary DOCKER and her landlord Joseph FARMER. ↩︎