Welcome to our Spring Newsletter
The Estate continues to be one of contrasts. During the last few months, for instance, the broadband connection for the Business Centre has been updated to a state of the art specification allowing the Centre to cater for ever more high tech companies, now based in old (but modernised!) cow sheds. Whilst not half a mile away the direct descendant of the Captain of HMS Revenge at the Battle of Trafalgar, Jules Baraclough, planted the first tree of Revenge wood; this tree will not reach maturity for another hundred years. This management of the new and the old, the industrial and the environmental is what makes a modern estate tick.
The Viscount Downe
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Congratulations to . . .
Emma and Phil Welbourn on the safe arrival of Ruby Elizabeth. Born 16/12/05 weighing 7lb 3oz
Obituary . . .
Peter Nicholson - Pete sadly died last month having lived for many years at Ruston. For a time Pete was employed at the Downe Arms and the Caravan Park after having previously worked in the Woodyard when it was on the Farfield site.
He was well known for the variety of produce on offer from his smallholding - ducks, geese, vegetables and eggs. A character who will be sadly missed.
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A Tribute to HMS Revenge
The Estate was inundated with willing young tree planters last November and there is now the beginnings of a new wood, which has been named ‘Revenge’, to commemorate the 200th anniversary since Nelson’s famous victory at the Battle of Trafalgar.
300 children came to the new woodland site to plant oak trees which had been grown from seed collected on the Danby Estate by Danby school children. Heather Todd, of the National Park’s Education Team and The Woodland Trust helped to plan the event. Over the next seventy years, many of the planters will visit Revenge Wood with spouses and children in tow and tell of the saplings that they planted in 2005.
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The event culminated in a public planting with hoards of enthusiastic people, including Scarborough’s Mayor and Mayoress, bearing spades, hats and gloves, who planted the remainder of the trees. In all around two acres of the wood was planted during the week, with the remaining eight acres being planted this month by the Estate’s Forestry Team.
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You will find more in the woods than in books. Trees and stones will teach you that which you can never learn from masters. - St. Bernard of Clarivaux
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To commemorate the planting of Revenge Wood the Estate has published a short (100 page) book on the history of HMS Revenge. Robert Salisbury, the author, has sketched out the history of all nine ships named HMS Revenge. The history starts with the Revenge as Sir Francis Drake’s flagship, which was instrumental in the defeat of the Spanish Armada. The ship was later commanded by Sir Richard Grenville and was immortalised when she took on the entire Spanish fleet off the Island of Flores in the Azores. Sir Richard fought the Spanish for some twelve hours in what is widely considered to be the most heroic single action by any ship in naval history. The fight was later celebrated by Alfred Lord Tennyson in his poem, “The Revenge: A ballad of the fleet”.
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The main section of the book concentrates on the HMS Revenge present at the battle of Trafalgar. The battle itself is brought to life by the first hand reminisces of many of the crew, including famous Jack Nastyface. The later HMS Revenges included a Dreadnought (pictured) launched in 1915 in time for the Battle of Jutland and a Polaris submarine. The Estate is particularly grateful for the help given by the acknowledged expert on HMS Revenge’s Captain Moorsom, Mrs Elaine Drake, and the last commander of HMS Revenge, Captain David Morris who contributed the Foreword. The book is written in a slightly light hearted vain and is available from the Estate office at a cost of £5 (+£1.25 postage) or via the website, www.dawnay.co.uk. Since publishing the above book, the Estate has been offered a number of other manuscripts, including a short volume of feminist poetry!
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Activities on the Estates
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Shooting
Danby – Grouse
The Danby Moors enjoyed a particularly good season with the Low Moors performing very well. A full programme was maintained (despite cancellations in many other parts of the country).
The 2006 season is now in the process of being let and days are available of between 80 and 100 brace at prices of between £120 (inc VAT) and £145 (inc VAT). Please contact Robert Sword for availability of shooting dates.
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Wykeham – Pheasant & Partridge
After nearly 35 years of outstanding service John Nellist retires as Keeper in April of this year. A new keeper is being sought and will be appointed in March/April. An under-keeper is likely to be employed for the 2007/2008 season.
The partridge and pheasant shooting will be changing over the next two years and will incorporate the two existing shoots which will be managed as one. The High Ground Shoot comprises several wooded, steep dales over which pheasant and partridge will be flushed to produce some spectacular high birds. Likewise the undulating topography will improve the presentation of the partridge shooting over an area of approximately 4,000 acres.
The two shoots will be merged over two years and will offer days of either high birds or a mixture of the more traditional lower ground birds and high birds.
The tradition of letting Estate Days on the Abbey Shoot will continue with the object of avoiding the more commercial aspects of many shoots; in other words challenging shooting with a friendly atmosphere.
Further information and prices can be obtained by contacting Robert Sword Tel: (01723) 866600, email: r.sword@dawnay.co.uk
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The Wykeham Business Centre - Only One Office left!
Wykeham Business Centre has become a success story in recent months as increased commercial activity has generated more positive enquiries. This is partly due to wider networking by the Dawnay Estates Management team and also from visits to the site from high profile organisations such as Yorkshire Forward and york-england.com. Both organisations are constantly working to attract new investment to North Yorkshire and in particular to Scarborough and the coastal towns.
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No 3 Langley House was the venue in which the Scarborough Property Forum hosted their December meeting; a perfect location to meet and discuss what’s going on in the commercial property sector market throughout the Borough. Ease of parking, a responsive in-house management service and good communication links including integrated cabling and broadband, makes Wykeham Business Centre the perfect venue for either a meeting or for your future office requirements!
The bad news is that there is only one office left, due to the recent expansion of one international company already based at the Business Centre and the letting of two other offices. One of these offices has gone to an established information technology company from the south of England, and the other to a high profile charitable organisation which will be using the offices as a regional training facility.
Contact Carolyn Jackson Business Centre Manager at the Estate Office, Tel 01723 866600 or email c.jackson@dawnay.co.uk .
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Farmers Market
Shoppers were serenaded with Carols at the Wykeham Christmas Farmers Market on the 16th December by children from Wykeham Voluntary Controlled Church of England Primary School.
Lots of people turned out on the extremely cold, damp day to shop for all those essential ingredients for the Festive Season. Free coffee and delicious mince pies kindly donated by The Cake Box helped keep everyone’s spirits up! A special thank you to the volunteers from St Helens Church who helped with the catering.
There was a wide variety of produce on offer from stall holders who can be found at Wykeham every Friday from 8.30am until 1.00pm (except Christmas Day!)
Contact Carolyn Jackson if you would like a stall. Telephone: 01723 866600 c.jackson@dawnay.co.uk
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Of all the wonders of nature, a tree in summer is perhaps the most remarkable; with the possible exception of a moose singing “Embraceable You” in spats. – Woody Allen
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What a difference a year makes!
“Gosh, I think he’s incredibly ugly” is a comment heard more and more on St Helens Caravan Park. To be honest, I assumed that it must have been referring to Barry, or maybe even myself, as the grey hair sets in, and the lines begin to get heavier.
It was with great relief that we all discovered that the references were to our bruiser of a ram. Born in March last year he has turned from a sweet looking, innocent lamb into an adolescent bully. His horns, all five of them, make him look like something off a tarot card. To say that he rules the roost is an understatement! First to the bucket of food, nobody or no other animal argues. If you’ve got it, flaunt it, is his motto!
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Apart from breeding devil sheep, there have been other activities at St Helens in the Park. A wood has sprung from nowhere, (as described somewhere else in this newsletter), David Bellamy has decided that we are now worthy of a Gold Award for “commitment to conservation and the environment” and generally the sun shone!
The continuing refurbishment gathers pace, with the last of the 1970’s tiles disappearing this winter. Two of the three outer blocks have now been converted from electrically heated water to lpg. In practice, this means the end of running out of hot water whatever the the demand. Fingers crossed!
The tent field has been doubled in size, in order to accommodate the increasing number of families taking advantage of global warming.
We look forward to another sunny summer and winning the ugliest Jacob sheep at the Yorkshire Show! Chris Tedman
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Wykeham Farms
The introduction of the Single Farm Payment system in 2005 has been a major change for the farming community.
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The change in the regulations means that more emphasis will be put on the farm’s benefits to the environment. As such the farm will be doing its bit to reduce the countries dependance of fossil fuels by growing of 60ha (148 acres) of Miscanthus (Elephant Grass). This is a type of grass that grows to about 8ft tall and is used as a biofuel. The crop will be contracted to Drax power station who will mix it with coal for burning. From the second year onwards the crop is harvested in the spring and baled for delivery to Drax. The final decision on whether to go ahead will be dependent upon a ruling from DEFRA.
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In 2005 DEFRA also introduced new Environmental Stewardship Schemes. The Entry Level Stewardship scheme is open to all farmers and is designed to deliver environmental benefits over a wide area. Wykeham Farms entered into the Scheme in December 2005. Some of the initiatives include taking 24 ha (59 acres) of land out of crop production in order to provide new areas of natural habitat for wildlife, by having grassy strips around field margins and areas of wild bird cover and pollen and nectar mix. All this is in addition to the 20 ha (49 acres) of grass field margins that have already been established under the Countryside Stewardship scheme.
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Farmers can also apply to join the Higher Level Stewardship scheme which aims to deliver much more targeted environmental benefits based on the character of the local area. Acceptance into this scheme is not guaranteed and applicants are in competition with each other for the available funding.
Management of the Farm is undertaken by Farmcare (a division of the Co-op) under a management agreement. Matthew Noble takes care of the Countryside Stewardship Scheme which is coming to an end of its first phase in establishing and gapping up of hedges (19kms / 12 miles), stone walls and fencing.
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Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree. – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
The great French Marshall Lyautey once asked his gardener to plant a tree. The gardener objected that the tree was slow growing and would not reach maturity for 100 years. The Marshall replied, ‘In that case, there is no time to lose; plant it this afternoon!’
– John F. Kennedy
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Danby Angling Club
Approximately seven miles of the upper River Esk flows through the Danby Estate, a large part of which is let to the Danby Angling Club who have managed the river since 1949. The upper reaches are renowned for Sea Trout and Salmon.
The Esk is the only salmon river in Yorkshire and the lower beats (Egton) are well known for their autumn runs of salmon. Numbers are being enhanced by the River Esk Action Committee which seeks to encourage the production of indigenous salmon parr by stripping the salmons eggs, hatching them at Kielder then re-introducing them back into the Esk River system.
Much of the river at Danby is used as spawning ground by salmon, so it was quite a surprise for one angler to catch a 24lb salmon in the old cricket field pool last year.
Day Tickets for fishing on the river can be purchased from Danby Post Office or Tel: 01287 660220
The Estate has a one mile beat (The Danby Lodge Beat) available for a five year lease. If this is of interest, contact Robert Sword, Tel: (01723) 866600, email address: r.sword@dawnay.co.uk
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BBC Countryfile Filming at Danby
The Danby Moors hosted John Craven and the Countryfile Team when they came to film a piece on the effects of the strongylosis worm on the grouse population which has had a devastating effect on many of the UK Moors. Danby was chosen for its good population of grouse, thanks to the efforts and hard work of Head Keeper Peter Snaith and underkeepers Dave Wilson and Geoff Simpson. The crew filmed the beaters and guns and even Matthew Noble’s spaniel Murphy picking up! The programme went out on the following Sunday, with the star attraction being John Craven’s interview with Alan Snaith, Peter’s father, the best quote being , “Aye it’s been bug breeding weather!”
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River Esk Valley – Danby & Mulgrave Estates Support their Farmers
A producer group has been established by Andrew Kelly, (Stonebeck Gate Farm, Little Fryup) with the support of Pat Lane (Direct Farming and Rural Solutions Ltd.) and the Red Meat Industry Forum, ably led by Mike Keeble. The Group, which now comprises 14 farmers in the Esk Valley, many of whom are tenants on the Danby and Mulgrave Estates, has been formed to record and analyse their production systems so that financial comparisons can be made within the group. Hopefully a system of benchmarking will be created which will assist in increasing profitability.
One of the principle objectives of the farmers will be to improve the quality of their livestockand add value through improved marketing. The creation of a food hub is also a possibility.
The Danby Estate has acted as a catalyst in bringing together the farmers and the Red Meat Industry Forum in the hope that a way forward can be found to sustain livestock farming on the hill farms within the Esk Valley.
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He who plants a Tree loves others besides himself. – English proverb
To exist as a nation, to prosper as a state, and to live as a people, we must have trees – Theodore Roosevelt
Give me a land of boughs in leaf, a land of trees that stand; where trees are fallen there is grief; I love no leafless land.
– A.E. Housman
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