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We are located on Greys, a
conservation-led farm located directly above Therfield Heath, Royston, North
Hertfordshire.
Greys as a farm holds conservation grade status, and has become known for the
work it has done to encourage a variety of bird & animal species to set up home
within its boundaries. The most recent (well, 2004!), and perhaps attractive addition
is the reed bed that we use to process all our liquid waste & sewage.
Amongst the many bird species (including seasonal & migrant - but regular -
visitors) to be seen on the farm (and very often from the brewery) are:
Buntings (Corn & Reed aplenty), Skylarks, Golden Plover, Lapwings, Swifts, Martins (House &
Sand), Sedge Warblers, Flycatchers, Buzzards, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, Hobby,
Merlin, Grey Partridge, Jay, Woodpeckers (Green as well as the Great & Lesser Spotted
brands), Goldfinch
(by the shedload at times), Sandpiper, Snipe, Wheaters, Blackcaps, Whitethroats,
Warblers (Reed, Willow, Grashopper..) and even a regular heron passing by.
And all the old favourites - Tits of all descriptions, Sparrows (both),
Swallows, Yellowhammers, Wagtails (Grey, Yellow, Pied and Pie-Eyed).
We have Marsh Harriers as summer visitors, sightings of
Red Kite, and both Hen & Montagu's Harriers have been seen to pass through
in season, as do Peregrines and the very occasional Osprey.
This is all on top of the usual array of owls, doves, pigeons, robins, wrens,
sparrows, crows etc, although the Barn Owls seem to be suffering at the hands of
some of the other raptors that hang around. We also get the very
occasional visit by one of the bands of of Fallow Deer that roam North
Hertfordshire (a relic of days long ago when it was popular royal hunting
country). And we mustn't forget the many hares, a couple of which have
taken to coming up towards the office door and watch us work.
The RSPB A-Z of
Birds...
Therfield Heath itself is a large
area of chalk grassland, which contains a number of rare plant species, not
least of which is the large colony of Pasque Flowers that show themselves
around the end of April each year. There are also a number of orchid
species to be found. The Heath is dotted with ancient burial mounds, and
is assumed at one point to have been an important location. It was
used by the Romans, was the marshalling point for an army prior to the first
battle in the 'Wars Of The Roses', and has been a focal point for many Royston
activities over the centuries.
Wikipedia
on Therfield Heath...
The market town
Royston has an impressive history, being initially founded (it is believed) by the Knights
Templar around the time they were broken up by the Catholic Church, and may also
therefore have other links with similar organisations which started around the
same time. A cave
under the town centre has a great many odd carvings, and is said to have importance to the
Templar movement, to the point it may even have a shrine. King James I spend most of his reign in a 'palace' in
the town, whiling away his time hunting. Whilst the original palace has
long since been demolished, many other related buildings of that era survive,
and indeed Royston has retained much of architectural interest, some of it even
escaping 'improvement' during the 1960's.
The last (until now of course...)
brewery in the town, J & JE Phillips, closed in 1950, although many references
to the Phillips family still remain. Interestingly, Greys was owned by the
Phillips family until the 1930's when it was sold to the present owning family.
The brewery itself, after a number of years as a sweet factory belonging to
Bassets (of Allsorts fame), was burnt down in the 1970's, and today the site is,
as you would expect, housing, parking & a supermarket.
Wikipedia on
Royston...
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