Mary Ann Gilbert was born in 1776 in Lewes into a wealthy family.  The death of her father, Thomas Gilbert when she was 6 plunged the family into poverty and when Mary Ann’s mother died in 1805 Mary Ann went to live with her uncle, Charles Gilbert, a wealthy Eastbourne landowner.  In 1808 Mary Ann married Davies Giddy a Cornish MP, landowner, and chairman of the Board of Agriculture.  Upon her uncle’s death in 1814 Gilbert inherited her uncle’s legacy on the understanding that she and her husband kept the Gilbert name.

​

The enclosures act removed 6 million acres of common land from use by ordinary people where once they had grazed their animals and grown food.  This, coupled with the introduction of farming machinery cause many to fall into poverty.   1830 saw increasing levels of poverty, low employment and starvation, and brought about the Swing Riots where rural agricultural workers in southern and eastern England destroyed machinery, set fire to hayricks and barns in a bid for higher pay.

​

Although Gilbert could have live a comfortable life she decided to embark upon a moral mission to deal with poverty.  At that time the poor were seen to be feckless and idle, and were to blame for their own predicament, but Gilbert did not buy into this.  She believed, given the opportunity and education, they could become independent and self-sufficient.

​

Gilbert embarked upon a plan to cultivate land at Whitbread Hollow (between Eastbourne and Beachy Head) and create allotments.  She hired 27 local paupers to transport soil from the nearby marshland to improve conditions, bringing what was once waste land into cultivation.  Gilbert taught people how to cultivate the land, showing them how to use seaweed and liquid manure to feed their crops.  She showed them how to store and filter water.  By 1832 around 200 families rented plots to grow their vegetables and raise animals.  Within 10 years that number doubled with plot holders growing mangelwurzels, turnips and potatoes alongside cows and pigs. 

​

By 1840 Gilbert had opened two agricultural schools with more to follow.  The schools were paid for by the allotment tenants and taught reading, writing, bible studies and husbandry.  She became a member of the Labourer’s Friend Society whose philosophy was that helping labourers to help themselves would create a more stable and content countryside.  The Society commented that Gilbert’s scheme allowed a poor man to ‘give to his country, by thus giving to his family, a considerable income, he saves to his country, by not being a burden to his parish, another considerable increase.’

​

 An iron gateway was erected by Gilbert at the entrance to the allotments bearing the words ‘Here waste not time and you’ll not want food’ and impressed her morality upon people reminding them that for the price of two glasses of gin a day they could clothe themselves.

Gilbert’s scheme improved the lives of the poor but not only allowing them to feed themselves and their families, they grew enough to sell, kept them out of trouble and too busy to spend time in the beer shops.

​

A headstrong woman, Gilbert worked tirelessly writing articles and pamphlets to forward her work and distributed them around the county until her death in 1845.  Her ethos lives on in allotments today.  The rent is kept a reasonable price, allowing tenants grow for themselves and their families although can’t keep cows and pigs.