Situated near Leeds, on the confluence of the Rivers Aire and Calder, Methley Estate is part of Mexborough Estates and has been owned by the Savile family since the fifteenth century. The estate was once home to Methley Hall, which was constructed in 1588. Having been requisitioned by the army during both the first and second world wars, the hall also became subject to significant mining subsidence and extensive dry rot and was sadly demolished in the late 1950s.
As well as the in-hand farming operation at Methley, there are eight tenanted arable farms as well as woodland, commercial and residential lets and a traditional deer park.
The in-hand farming operation based at Home Farm covers approximately 1,000 acres of arable land and includes a Christmas tree enterprise.
The farm grows arable crops including oilseed rape, oats and wheat, as well as growing 18,000 Christmas trees to be sold to the public in the local Leeds area. We also do a land swap with a local produce grower, so you’ll also find cabbages and cauliflowers growing in our fields.
Some of the land isn’t suitable for growing arable crops and these woodland areas and water meadows are farmed to enhance the local environment. In addition, we grow around 20 acres of wild bird seed mixes – grown especially to attract wildlife and pollinators on to the farm. The farm is part of a number of environmental stewardship schemes, which ensure the land is looked after responsibly and in harmony with nature. The estate has also won awards from the Royal Forestry Society and runs a programme of events every year for school children to come and learn about the woodland environment.
A farm wouldn’t be a farm without some livestock and here we ‘employ’ a flock of 45 pedigree Shropshire sheep to graze the Christmas tree plantation to keep the undergrowth under control. In this ancient parkland there is a continual tree planting programme in operation to ensure that there continues to be established trees in the park for centuries to come.