Much of Longstone Downs was turned into tillable ground in the early 1880s by Mr R G Rowe who had a 99-year lease on the higher portion of Prospidnick Hill. Some of the surrounding area was not suitable for crops, Mr Bickford-Smith planted several acres of shrubs ″ ... which, it is hoped, will in a few years tend to relieve the monotony of the present appearance of the long stretch of the Prospidnick Hills.″