GAYTHORNE HALL FARM
LEVENS HALL FARMING PARTNERSHIP
GAYTHORNE HALL, paired with Forest Hall Farm is managed by Stephen Lord, with two full time employees, and is part of Levens Hall Farming Partnership.
HISTORY
Gaythorne Hall once formed part of the extensive lands belonging to the monks of Byland Abbey, Yorkshire. At the time of the dissolution of the monasteries (1538, it was purchased by Alan Bellingham of Levens Hall, along with Forest Hall Farm, Selside.
By 1690 Colonel James Grahme would have lived here part-time. His Coat of Arms and the date are still to be seen on one of the down pipes on the Grade 1 listed farmhouse. When James Graham lived at Levens Hall, Gaythorne Hall was let until the Cleasby family relinquished the tenancy in 1987. It was then decided to farm Gaythorne as an in-hand farm, and Stephen Lord became farm manager.
The parish boundaries of Asby and Crosby Ravensworth follow sections of Gaythorne boundary walls, reflecting historic importance of the farm.
SIZE OF THE FARM
The farm extends to 400.59 ha. of which 352.51 is inbye.
Also see: Forest Hall Farm map
© Copyright 2007
TERRAIN
Upland fell and grassland. Gaythorne Hall has grazing rights for 300 ewes and their followers, and 25 cattle to the fell (Crosby Ravensworth Fell and Bank Moor).
The land rises up to 340 metres and the majority of the land is rough pasture around the south and west, with large fields taken for silage towards the north. There are also three areas of heather and some limestone pavement in the south-west allotment.
LIVESTOCK & NUMBERS
In 1579 Alan Bellingham is recorded as in possession of:
4224 Sheep and lambs; value: £573.11.6
223 cattle; value: £286. 13. 4
35+ horses; value: £67.6.8
Now at Gaythorne Hall there are:
110 suckler cows (Limousin X)
15 heifers
1140 ewes (300 mules to the texel;
200 pure swaledales;
670 swale ewes to blue faced Leicester to produce N.England mules).
GRAZING & CONSERVATION
Traditional grazing system using inbye and fell
More fertilizer is used at Gaythorne Hall (than Forest Hall Farm); more stock per acre.
Two areas of heather have been fenced off, and the areas of land to the west of the road to Great Asby have restrictions to help their status as limestone pavements (BAP habitat adjacent to Great Asby Scar SSSI and Asby Scar National Nature Reserve).
Upland rough grazing managed under CSS for ground nesting birds.
Fell rights include agreement to restrict sheep numbers to 160 between May and November.
The Cumbria Fells and Dales Leader + programme is based at Voluntary Action Cumbria and is part-financed by the European Agriculture Guidance and Guarantee Fund of the European Union and the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs. This project is part of a trans-national project with Gévaudan Leader + Programme, Lozère, France.
© Copyright 2008 Cumbria Hill Farms