Courteenhall Estate

The Wake family are proud to have farmed at Courteenhall in Northamptonshire since 1672.

Historically, the parkland and pasture was grazed by our own Traditional Hereford cattle for many generations until the 1960s.

Over the past few decades it was grazed only by sheep.

Today, we are farming in different ways. In 2022, we were enormously excited to work with the Rare Breeds Survival Trust and to reintroduce a new herd of Traditional Herefords to Courteenhall.

They are hardy native breeds, designed to live a life of low input, and they thrive in a system in which we ensure their welfare and water, but otherwise they live happily outside all year round with no supplementary feed.

This system is hugely beneficial for biodiversity, particularly the fact that they are out all year so that they can support insects, including pollinators such as bees, throughout.

Since reintroducing the cattle, we have seen the return of dung beetles, which bring an array of benefits, and even types of orchid that we have not seen here before. We’re also seeing more wildflower species which are a good source of pollen and nectar for pollinators.

We started out with 30 Traditional Herefords, are working up to a herd of 50, and were delighted to welcome our first calves in 2023.

At Courteenhall, a large part of our climate-friendly farming is Countryside Stewardship and we have moved into a higher tier scheme. We have ambitious plans for the whole farm, including being carbon neutral by 2030, to ensure that the estate is in the best possible shape for future generations too.

Contact Details

Address: The Estate Office, Courteenhall, Northampton, Northamptonshire, NN7 2QD England

Telephone: 01604 659222

Mobile: 07908 098519

Email: rd@courteenhall.co.uk