Here, in 1894 on four acres of farmland, he built a fine residence which he called 'Dhoolie'. He took a keen interest in church and parish matters and was church warden and school manager for many years. He was also a member of Liskeard Rural District Council and Board of Governors (the workhouse) for over 30 years where his opinions on matters of finance were highly esteemed. In due course he became regarded as 'Father of the Council'. He was also a member of the District Education Committee, Parish Council and no doubt others as well. And all this time he was still managing his tea estates in Assam.
He had a fine personality and a commanding physique but was reserved and unobtrusive in manner. In the early 1900's when farming was going through a depression, Albert purchased at auction several of the farms and properties belonging to the Rashleigh Estate of St Keyne, ensuring his friends, the tenants, who could not afford to purchase them, were not thrown out of their homes.
Albert died in September 1925 aged 82 years. His funeral service in the little church of St Keyne was filled to capacity with many standing outside. The Dhoolie Tea Company in Assam was still trading as at 2000 although then part of the Lawrie Group.
'Dhoolie' the fine manor house built by Albert was auctioned and purchased by Rear Admiral Wickes-Sneyd. It eventually became a select Country manor hotel - The Well House - named after the renowned holy well of St Keyne, which borders the land.
It is well to know that someone who made a fortune on the other side of the world was happy to return to his roots and to help his family and the community.
The Tea Connection
Albert Congdon
A Man of Cornwall
Born in 1843, the son of a local; butcher, Albert Congdon lived at the small farm, Badham, near Duloe in Southeast Cornwall. By 1851 his father had become a full time farmer there although it was not a good time for farming. It was quite usual for children as young as five or six years to work in the fields. Albert was lucky that his mother's cousin, a Captain Rogers of the Royal Navy, helped with his education in Devon where he lived. In 1861 Albert, then aged 18, set sail with Captain Rogers on the long and arduous voyage to Calcutta, a journey that lasted six months. In the 1830's tea estates had started to be developed and Captain Rogers already had tea estates in Assam. The tea plant - Camellia Sinensis - was indigenous to Assam where the rainfall was between 100 and 150 inches per year. It was here that commercial tea growing outside of China began in 1836.
Albert Congdon's first appointment was with the Assam Tea Company at Burdwar in the Ganhati district. Two years later he started with the tea estate at Dhoolie, a district that was then in its infancy. Within a short time a great slump took place and many tea gardens were abandoned, including Dhoolie. Captain Rogers withdrew from tea production but Albert stayed with the derelict garden, eventually securing the Dhoolie Estate from the government.
Acquiring further property at the foot of the Naga Hills, Albert now controlled 800 acres with a workforce of 2000 natives.
As a planter's life was often very lonely he invited two of his brothers and a cousin to join him. Albert stayed in Assam for 14 years on his first trip and visited them two or three times more before retiring to be near his family near where he was born in Cornwall at St Keyne.
