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| More about Warren Farm |
So, what's the story behind Warren Farm?
Warren Farm used to be part of the Stackpole Estate, which was owned by the Cawdor family of Macbeth fame. The National Trust took ownership of the Stackpole grounds, the Home Farm & the Lilyponds at Bosherston. Warren Farm, like many other farms, was sold off although the National Trust still retain an interest in the site through a Covenant.
Most recently the farm was owned by the Davies family who farmed it for many years and who still live nearby. In 2002-3 the farm was split into two parts. We bought the house, the stone outbuildings and approximately 10 acres of land in March 2003.
What's here?
The main house is stone built and spread across two floors. The building itself has evolved over the years; the scullery is the oldest part visible (exact date unknown), the dining room is early eighteenth century, the parlour is late eighteenth century and the kitchen is nineteenth century.
Outside, there are seven stone barns, most of which still have their original slate roofs:
- the Dairy
- two two-storey barns
- an Implement Shed with 3 brick & dressed stone arches
- three former stock barns
The house & outbuildings are Grade II listed: there's a Flemish Chimney (Inglenook Fireplace) with perfect bread oven & two Victorian washing coppers; one of the barns was used as a Sunday School in the eighteenth century and it's one of the few farms that hasn't either been over-renovated or knocked down & replaced with more efficient but less picturesque farm buildings.
What are the plans for the farm?
The big plan is to open up an open-plan studio workshop in the two back-to-back cattle barns. There will be dedicated areas for silversmithing, fabric work, working with wax and so on, where we can make goods for Morris Nash and you can try your hand at new techniques. There will also be an area where we can run courses from time to time.
Alongside that, there will be some B&B rooms, our accommodation, and a coffee bar. We're still considering what to do with the remaining space, which will probably be converted into a shop/deli specialising in local food, holiday homes & possibly a bunkhouse unless we get any better ideas.
The conversions will be phased, with the studio workshop & coffee bar coming first.
What have we done so far?
Since we took over the farm, we've done a lot of work on the house, doing things like fixing damp problems, fighting with powdery distempered walls and giving the house a lot of TLC.
In 2006, we
- put in new water mains, replacing the old rusty iron pipes that kept bursting
- levelled the lawns, so that you don't fall over if you try to sit out & enjoy the weather
- put in beds & a watering system in the vegetable plot
- taken down the partition wall across the scullery
- had a bat survey done (we're too close to the main roost at Stackpole to be of much interest to bats, unfortunately)
- started updating the bathroom in the Dairy so it could be used as a bunkhouse (though currently home to Morris Nash)
In 2007, we
- mostly put things on hold, as Hannah was working away from home for much of the year
- did some further work on the Dairy, like having a new door & washstand lovingly constructed by Gambo from a selection of local woods
- tried to work with our first architect, unfortunately without much success but a significant amount of cost
In 2008, we have, so far,
- welcomed Julie back, who is our Project Manager
- set up an outdoor swimming pool
- had a new front gate built
- repaired several existing windows
- started working with a new architect, Kinver Kreations
- finally completed most of the plumbing & electrics in the Dairy
- made some improvements to the Courtyard, including repointing the wall around the Courtyard, repainting the Dairy & Courtyard wall, moving an enormous dressed stone, putting gravel down & planting up some pots. See the photos, including Julie showing off her muscles after she & Hannah moved the stone.
We just need to plant the remaining trough & put the awning up & we're all done
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