Braggs Farm also known as Fatlands and previously Le Vert, has now gone. The land was claimed for building in the early part of the twentieth century. The roads we know today as Eastwood Road and Holmesdale Road are on the line of the old track which is shown on the farm plan of 1831 as ‘road up to the kiln’. This kiln, probably a lime kiln as far as we can tell, would have been situated near the junction with Sutherland Avenue and Collington Avenue.
This old road is marked on the Tithe Map of 1839 as ‘droveway’ as the road also gave access to the fields. It crossed the railway at Collington Halt as a level crossing but in 1920 a footbridge was built known as Braggs Lane Bridge but alas the Braggs Lane has now been forgotten. Eastwood Road was originally called Braggs Lane but was changed to commemorate a farmer of Braggs called Mr Eastwood, in 1911.
The first consignment of frozen meat to come into this country was negotiated by George ‘Gaddy’ Sargent, of Braggs Farm. It was during the First World War and was a shipload of frozen lamb which, under the supervision of George Sargent at the port of Freemantle in Western Australia, was shipped to London.
Regarding the name of the farm:-
In 1567, Florence Cotes was the owner of the farm, which was, then, known as ‘Le Vette’. There is a possibility that this name was Italian in origin, meaning, “heights”.
In 1673, Nicholas Delves passed the farm over to his brother, Thomas Delves, cleric, at which time it was recorded as ‘Vert alias Fatlands’.
In 1841, it was described in a Manor Court as “Messuage Barn and lands 30 acres called Le Vert also Fatlands”