Manor Farm is a family farm of 550 acres
(222 hectares). It has been farmed by the May family since 1885, and
comprises an undulating block of ancient chalk downland lying between the 500' and
600' contours. It has some of the highest land in the area, and
consequently the views over the surrounding countryside are spectacular.
 Originally the family farmed a tenanted
farm, Rivar Farm near Shalbourne, about 8 miles away, but they took over
tenancy of the Manor Farm at the end of the nineteenth century. The land
then formed part of the Savernake Estate owned by the Marquis of
Ailesbury. In 1928/29 most of the villages and land that formed the
Savernake Estate and comprising thousands of acres in Wiltshire, were
sold. The May family bought the Manor Farm that they had been renting, and
it has belonged to them ever since. Jackie Macbeth (ne้ May) is the fifth
generation to live in the farmhouse. |
| Today it is run as an arable farm, growing
mainly wheat and barley (with some oil seed rape and linseed). We would
like to be able to say that the farm produces the raw ingredients for two
staple foods - bread and beer - but that is only partly true. The thin
chalky soil makes it impossible to achieve the required quality of wheat
for bread flour, and it is generally sold for animal feed. However, the
naturally low nitrogen in the downland soil makes it particularly good for
growing malting barley, used for brewing beer.
We have a
livery yard, converted from the old dairy, with a sand manege and 36-fence
solid cross country course for the horses and their owners to enjoy. In
conjunction with Manor Farm Livery, paddocks
and stabling may be made available to B&B guests.
We try to keep a balance
between agriculture and conservation and over 20,000 trees have been
planted since the mid 1980s. The farm has joined the Countryside
Stewardship Scheme, and you will see evidence of traditional hedge laying,
coppicing, thatching and downland management.
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