Saved by  the current owner, the Countryside Restoration Trust,  from  being ploughed up  for  potatoes,  Turnastone Court Farm is tenanted by Frasers of Turnastone. It is a working farm and its traditionally reared lamb, pork and beef is available direct from the farm shop. Frasers will be exhibiting at the Abergavenny Food Festival in September.

 

There is also a visitor centre - see the web site http://www.livingcountryside.org.uk/turnastone.htm

SECTIONS:

The archaeology of Turnastone Court Farm

The changing landscape at Turnastone

Survey of the farm buildings at Turnastone Court Farm

The Watkins family archive photographs

Herefordshire agriculture in the 1790s

Rowland Vaughan

The project examined the history, archaeology, fauna and flora of this farm, and was carried out in co-operation with the Golden Valley Study Group, Greenmark International and others. The farm is being  taken  into  the  Countryside  Stewardship  scheme.

Turnastone Court Farm is a 247 hectare livestock farm which had been managed, using traditional methods, by the Watkins family for a over a century. 

Only a few minor changes to field boundaries have been made and these were between 1840 and 1886 in the north part of the farm. Turnastone Court is well known locally for a long tradition of having local breeds of cattle (Herefords) and sheep (Clun). So conservative was the owner Mr. Watkins that legend has it that during World War II he stood at the entrance of his main floodplain meadow and told the War Agricultural Executive that the field would be ploughed only over his dead body. It apparently never was.

Since the death of Mr. Watkins in the 1960’s his two daughters continued with the same management until the death of the last of the Miss Watkins in late 2000.

The old photographs on these pages are from the Watkins family archives. Scanned and processed by David Lovelace on behalf of the Countryside Restoration Trust with the kind permission of Gabbs & Co Solicitors, Abergavenny.

John Probert farmed 'Turnastone Farm' in the 1850s and 60s. At the end of the century the Watkins family were farming it an would do so for the whole of the 20th century.

In May 2004 Steve Coney conducted a bird study on the estate. Over 40 species of birds were recorded including blackcaps, chiffchaffs, goldcrests, kingfishers, linnets, swallows and yellowhammers.

Orchid at Turnastone Court Farm - June 2004

The botanical element of the project is being carried out by Ian and Dilys Hart

Burnett Moth

Wildflowers on the meadows

Turnastone Court is a working farm. These are some of the piglets.