Kirtlington Allotment Association

Allotments Annual Report – March 2025

Kirtlington Allotments suffered the horrible event of our communal shed being broken into and the lawnmowers and strimmers being stolen. The culprits then went on to break into all the sheds on the allotment and steal power tools from personal sheds as well. The police attended and advised us on security – which we have followed up on with a camera, obvious signage and better quality padlocks. We are grateful to the Fete committee who allowed for a late application for funds to help with increased security and enabled us to service some donated replacement machines.

We have an orchard area, rainwater harvesting facilities and wildflower margins. We held sales of surplus produce and the money from this funded some allotment projects plus supported the reaching out community with funds towards their Christmas Lunch and a large donation to Macmillan Cancer Care.

We currently have a couple of spare plots and are advertising these on the village Facebook page and through the Village News.

History of the Kirtlington allotments

The site of the allotments, to the west of the Crowcastle Lane bridleway, has probably been home to allotments for more than 200 years.  It is likely that the allotments here date back to the reign of George III when much of the land in Great Britain was enclosed following the Inclosure Act of 1773.  We know for certain that in 1811 an Act of Parliament was passed specifically relating to Kirtlington; ‘An Act for inclosing lands in the manor and parish of Kirtlington in the county of Oxford.  This Act allocated the parish lands and former common land to named local people.  We also know from early maps (including those found elsewhere on the Kirtlington website) that the total area of the allotments was at one time considerably larger than it is today.  These early maps show the allotments stretching northwards as far as St Peter’s Cross, where the Crowcastle bridleway meets the course of the former Roman road of Akeman Street. Roman coins are said to have been dug up there in earlier times, but none have been found on the allotments recently unfortunately!

The present-day allotments

The plots cultivated now tend to be smaller than they were in the past when full plots, measuring 10 pole in imperial units (around 25 square metres), were rented.  Currently, the overall allotment area of 32 full plots is divided in to smaller units. Most of the plots are let at half this size and some are let as quarters.  In this way, when plots become available, even people with busy lives elsewhere can still enjoy the benefits of cultivating their own produce, but on a smaller plot. 

An Allotment Committee manages the allotment site with the environment in mind and individual plot holders are encouraged to do this too. For their part, all tenants sign a formal Tenancy Agreement that details the rent to be paid and the terms and conditions of their tenancy on the maintenance of plots, the use of equipment, the responsible disposal of allotment waste, e.g., by composting, and on being good neighbours with other plot holders.  The Committee holds an Annual General Meeting in Spring every year to which all the allotment tenants, and any prospective plot holders are invited.  During the year, the Committee also meets on an ad hoc basis to check plot maintenance and to address issues that arise, such as necessary repairs to the equipment supplied for tenants’ use or to the allotment infrastructure.

Each year, the Committee aims to hold a produce sale in August, September and October with any surplus produce.  These sales raise funds and villagers can purchase fresh, locally grown vegetables, fruit and flowers, and home-made preserves.  Plot holders donate their surplus produce and the proceeds are divided between village charities and funds to purchase and maintain equipment for the allotments.  Tenants are also encouraged to share their surpluses with each other and the ‘Help yourself’ area has proved very popular.  (There is also a seed exchange box when the mice haven’t eaten them all!)

Areas around the periphery of the cultivated allotment plots are managed as wildflower meadow, and the Committee is very grateful to Kirtlington’s Wildlife and Conservation Society for their assistance with this, and to the committed team of volunteers who scythe these areas in the Autumn each year.