Local History: The Cambridgeshire Sand Pits in Family Matters on Blackberry Farm
Along the Mepal to Chatteris Road in Cambridgeshire there have been sand and gravel pits, which at certain times, when building is at full capacity and in great demand, means the contents of that land are worth a lot of money. Once just farming land they were developed and are now a lake where locals can fish and sail. The land in Family Matters is not that land, but a fictional piece of land in the same area but closer to Chatteris, which for the sake of this book and future books is said to contain sand and gravel. During the war, the period in which this book is set, a few acres of farming land might have been worth between forty and fifty pounds an acre so ten acres would sell for at most five hundred pounds. A discovery that those ten acres held sand and gravel would mean the land became worth many times that amount. Ten thousand pounds is the price Tom achieved for his brother – but in years to come, if the new owner of the land choses his time right, the contents could be worth huge amounts. So, although it was a lot of money when it was sold in the forties, what would it be worth in the eighties and nineties when the building boom started?
Tom advised his brother to sell for what was a small fortune then, but one day Artie may look back and think he was cheated out of a fortune. Who can tell? As the years progress, the tensions between the two brothers will only grow. Working together on land that was promised to them but which belongs to their mother while she lives, will rub both brothers against the grain. While Tom may diversify and make a comfortable living for himself in other ways, Artie wants and believes he deserves more. Can two brothers work together for their family’s sake and not come to blows?
That is to be discovered in future books, as the series unfolds. In the meantime, we have to get through the war and bring Tom home – and George is growing up, encouraged to feel one of the family. Will John ever come home? How will the factions divide and who cares more about family than money? It is going to take quite a few books to discover all these secrets. Fun for me to write and the readers to discover. It could turn out to be quite a lengthy series if we all continue to enjoy it.
😊 Rosie Clarke
Start reading Family Matters on Blackberry Farm here: https://mybook.to/familymatters