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The
Gaddesden Estate occupies approximately
1,800 acres in the Borough
of Dacorum, in the Chiltern Hills Area
of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The underlying rock is chalk, with a clay
cap.
The area is a well known site for Hertfordshire
Pudding Stones, a glacial conglomerate.
Recent research has established that the
field pattern still retains the skeletal
outline of Iron
Age and Roman farming. Though much altered
in the intervening centuries, many of the
boundaries may be more that 2000 years old.
In 1544 the Halsey family, who had been
established in the village for a century
or more, purchased the Rectory of Great
Gaddesden from the Crown, which had appropriated
it following the dissolution of the Monasteries.
In the 1630s Thomas Halsey travelled to
America and founded a large family. He settled
in Southampton, Long Island NY, where his
house still stands, as the oldest “soap
box” house in New York State. Many of his
descendents still live in New England, and
among their number was the famous Fleet
Admiral William F. “Bull” Halsey, of World
War II fame.
The agriculture is mixed, with arable farming
being undertaken on contract by PR
Farming and the single suckler Beef
Shorthorn herd being established in-house.
Both conventional husbandry methods are
used (ploughing, harrowing, drilling etc.)
and integrated cultivations with a Simba
“Free-flow” drill.
The Home Farm is accredited under the Assured
Combinable Crops Scheme (ACCS)
No. 9475.S.
There is provision for drying and storage
of 1,800 tons of produce. |
There are 240 acres of typical north Chiltern
Woodland, which has been managed commercially
for generations. The earliest written record
of marking trees for sale is 1717.
Conservation is given high priority and
measures include: amenity tree planting,
cutting and laying hedges, coppicing hazel
and hornbeam, opening glades and encouragement
of the edge effect of woodland, to provide
different sizes of tree and shrub species,
for birds and insects and the singling of
tellers (hedgerow trees) to replace the
ravages of Dutch Elm disease.
All woodland management is governed by
the need for protection from deer, rabbits
and the alien Grey Squirrel. Without control
measures in place the damage to the young
trees, especially Beech and Sycamore, would
be devastating.
The woodlands are managed under the 20
year Forestry Plan, agreed with the Forestry
Commission, and are registered under the
UK Woodland Assurance Standard (UKWAS).
The principal tree species are oak, ash,
wild cherry, beech and hornbeam, while there
are also larch, pine, spruce and fir plantations.
Cricket Bat Willows are grown in the Gade
Valley for home bat production and export
to Australia and Pakistan. |
We welcome
walkers on the extensive network of public
footpaths, bridleways and the Chiltern
Way which are well signed.
There is full public access to the Water
End Meadows, (map),
under the Countryside
Stewardship Scheme and to High Park
Wood. Stiles have been erected with the
help of the Chiltern
Society and a close liaison is maintained
with the local Rights
of Way Officer.
With aid from Dacorum Borough Council stiles
are being replaced by kissing gates to aid
access for all. High
Park Wood, though retaining timber production
as an object of management, is actively
managed for public access and nature conservation.
Forestry and Conservation
Awards
- 1984 ~ Champion Mixed Farm Hertfordshire
Agricultural Society (www.hertsshow.com)
- 1988 ~ 2nd Prize (Silver Medal) “Duke
of Cornwall’s Award for Forestry & Conservation”
Royal Forestry Society (www.rfs.org.uk)
- 1991 ~ Highly Commended Hertfordshire
Farming & Wildlife Group (FWAG) “Wildlife
Conservation Award” (www.fwag.org.uk)
- 1994 Special Award for Conservation
Hertfordshire Agricultural Society
- 1996 Highly Commended Royal Show Woodlands
& Plantations Competition (www.rase.org.uk)
- 2000 ~ Best Farmed Arable Farm Hertfordshire
Agricultural Competitions Association
- 2005 ~ Champion 'Other Native Breeds Heifer' - Herts Show
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