Edward & Sally JonesThe Farm
The estate came in to the present owners family in 1717. It had already had a long and rich history, which you may read about in more detail from documents we have. There is some evidence that the two princes murdered in the Tower of London (Edward V and his brother Richard Duke of York) may have stayed here when they were taken from Ludlow Castle back to London.
It is not known exactly when the present stone castle was built. Some parts of the courtyard are believed to date from the 13th Century. The first written record of the house is in 1395 when King Richard II gave Roger de Cheney a licence to crenellate the building and add a moat as a reward of his loyalty to the crown. Parts of the moat and the crenellation can still be seen today.
The Jones' first moved to Castle Farm in 1963. Edward and Sally Jones are the second generation to farm the 375 acres.
We are a mixed livestock (cattle and sheep) and arable farm. With a herd of home reared single suckler cows with their followers and a flock of 300 ewes, that are lambed in March and are finished at home. The arable side of the farm is split between growing wheat, barley and oats or peas, with permanent pasture for the animals.
We rear the more traditional breeds of cattle such as Longhorn and British White Cattle, alongside the more usually seen breeds of beef cattle.
Our aim is to be sympathetic to both our farm environment and to the age and history of our property. Our ethos is to provide food with local provenance to reduce food-miles, and to ensure the finest quality .
Farm news
Winter - 2011
As the nights draw in so we get ready to house the cattle over winter. Shorter days mean time spent on feeding and making them comfortable.
December is here and we look forward to Christmas on the farm, no holidays for the farmer he has to work every day. But beautiful wintery scenery help the jobs along.
Winter jobs on the farm .
With the cattle in for the winter the outside jobs continue. We are already preparing for the spring with hedging and fencing being done so the fields are ready for the turn out.
The weather having been particularly kind during November means that we have plenty of grass. The sheep are out on the hills still and there they will stay until lambing. With Ed taking extra rations out to them every day.
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