Unlike their other farms in Middlesex, which had all been either rented or leased, the Muddles owned Wellbury outright. How much was paid for the farm is not known. Using the sale in 1918 as a guide, it is likely that the purchase price was somewhere between £4000 and £6000. The adverisement below appeared in several regional newspapers in January, 1924. The description fits Wellbury, the wording is typical of Alfred Bullard's style and he may very well have been considering selling the farm just two years after buying it. Regardless, it gives a good indication of land values at that time.

Where the money came from to buy Wellbury is also not known, but there were several possible sources:

• • Henry George Muddle Sr had written his will in January, 1926. The 'Provision' for Henry George mentioned in that document may have been assistance in buying Wellbury.*

  • An inheritance from Isaac Taylor or Mary Jane's brothers and sister.

  • Money that Mary Jane and Henry George had saved during their time at Devonshire Farm.

Joseph Taylor died in March,1920 and Mary Jane had inherited almost half of his estate of £4167. She was also named as one of the trustees for the estate of her younger brother, Thomas who had died just months after his older brother, leaving £4114. It is possible that some of that money was invested in Wellbury as a means of providing an income for Thomas' widow and two children. It is known that Mary Jane made regular visits to Hawkins & Co, the solicitors in Hitchin, in order to transfer money to a relative. In addition, Mary Jane was also a major beneficiary under the will of her sister, Elizabeth who left an estate of almost £2500.

However the money was raised, the outright purchase of Wellbury was a considerable achievement for Mary Jane, and regardless of whether her father-in-law had helped to buy the farm, it is known that her husband's name was not on the deeds.

According to Eric Muddle, one of Mary Jane's principal reasons for buying Wellbury Farm was its three and a half mile distance from the nearest town ~ and the public houses and taverns which had been such a problem in Edgware. She may not have been able to stop Henry George from drinking entirely, but by restricting his access to drink, and the money he had to buy it, Mary Jane could at least reduce the financial impact which her husband's problem had on his family.

However, there was little that Mary Jane could do to stop her husband indulging his habit on the occasions when he did go into town. It has often been said that on Market Day, his horse and trap would be seen outside each of the pubs that lined 'Bucklersbury' in Hitchin and that it was only the horse's sense of direction which got Henry George back to Wellbury. On one occasion, he arrived home with a monkey, which he had taken in exchange for his gold pocket watch ~ possibly the same watch which had been presented by the Hay Society to his Uncle Charles. Mary Jane had little choice but to go back into Hitchin, return the monkey to it's owner and retrieve her husband's watch.**

In 2015, Henry George's great-granddaughter, Kay Clarkson recalled:

'One story I remember Eric telling is that when they were living at Wellbury, Gran tried to keep Pa 'off the booze' by not letting him have any money. So, he stole the chickens' eggs to sell, got on his horse and rode into town for a two or three day drinking session.'

For all the amusing stories, it is a sad fact that during the last twenty-nine years of his life, Henry George's official role diminished to little more than that of an employee on his wife's farm. Entries in the Coates Herd Book and Telephone Directories list 'Mrs. M J Muddle & Sons' and Henry George's name was also omitted from trade directories ~ where only his wife was listed.***

The farmhouse was divided into two: Henry George, Mary Jane and her sister Elizabeth, occupied one half, and their eldest son, Henry George III and his family, occupied the other. In September 1926, shortly after arriving at Wellbury, Charles Muddle married. He and his bride, Gertrude are seen with their wedding party in a photograph taken at the bride's home. Charles and Gertrude had two children and lived in Hitchin. Their youngest daughter, Jennifer ~ my mother, was a frequent visitor to Wellbury, especially during the school holidays. She has many happy memories of her visits there, and of her Grandparents ~ a good indication that in each other, Henry George and Mary Jane had found a mutual understanding and contentment.

One of their neighbours was the prominent politician Lord Lloyd, who was a member of Churchill's war cabinet, serving as Secretary of State for the Colonies. He and Lady Lloyd lived at a house known as 'Clouds Hill' in the nearby village of Offley. Mary Jane, despite the difference in their social status, used to visit Lady Lloyd occasionally to have tea. Though he does not appear to have accompanied his wife, Henry George did cut the extensive hedges that surrounded the Lloyd's gardens. He was also skilled at creating hedgerows, so skilled in fact that an article about him was published in 'The Farmer and Stockbreeder' magazine.

Mary Jane and Henry George spent almost twenty-three years at Wellbury. During that time, they seem to have found the stability that had eluded them in the early years of their marriage. Not only do they appear to have made the farm a financial success, but they also bred prize-winning cattle and Greyhounds. Mary Jane was listed in the 1926-1931 International Directory of Pedigree Stock Breeders, and in 1947, 'Wellbury Hermione' and 'Wellbury Lady Waterloo' were listed in that year's edition of the Shorthorn Society Grading Register for pedigree shorthorn beef cattle.

'Wellbury Rooster', was one of the Muddle greyhounds and is found in several racing schedules from the 1930s.

In 1948, Henry George's grandson, Roy Muddle, was married, and after the church service a reception was held at Wellbury. In the photograph taken for the occasion, Henry George (A) is seen standing in the back row, along with his younger son, Charles (C), while his eldest son, Henry George III, sits in the front row (B). This appears to be the only surviving photograph showing Henry George, his sons and all his grandchildren. Unfortunately, for reasons which are not known, neither Mary Jane or Dorothy Muddle, wife of Charles Muddle, appear in the photograph.****

By the late 1940s, both Henry George and Mary Jane were approaching seventy years of age. For reasons which are not known, their two sons did not wish to continue farming at Wellbury, so in 1948 the farm was sold. Their eldest son, Henry, presumably used part of the proceeds to buy Church Farm at Ridge, Hertfordshire to which he and his family moved around this time. When Charles Muddle died in 1956, aged just fifty, he left £4200 ~ which suggests that he had also benefited from the Wellbury sale.

The purchaser of the Farm, Con Crowley, stayed there for only two years. In September 1950, an impressive sale-list of livestock and farm equipment appeared in the local press.**** It's probable that most of what was on the list had originally belonged to Mary Jane and Henry George and it gives some idea of the extent of their operation at Wellbury.

Henry George and Mary Jane moved from the farm in 1948 to a small house that Charles Muddle had purchased for them at Temple Close, Charlton, a village close to Wellbury.