MANOR FARM - CASE STUDY

Manor Farm is located within the grounds of River Hamble Country Park which runs along the west bank of The River Hamble between the villages of Botley and Bursledon. It is owned and managed by Hampshire County Council.

 

First opened as a farm museum in 1984, Manor Farm is a busy family orientated visitor attraction within a beautiful heritage setting.  Visitors enjoy daily activities which vary throughout the year from bottle feeding lambs to walking the goats. There are plenty of friendly animals to meet including cows, sheep, goats, donkeys, horses, rabbits, guinea pigs and alpacas.

 

There are traditional farm buildings including a blacksmith's forge and wheelwrights. The beautiful farmhouse has a cottage garden where many fruits and vegetables grow. You can also find out what a privy (outside toilet) looks like. Go ’back’ to school in the Victorian schoolroom and tractor fans young and old can pose for photos beside the restored vintage farm vehicles.

 

Furthermore, Manor Farm was the location for the historical documentary TV series ‘Wartime Farm’, broadcast by the BBC in 2012.

 

In 2019 Manor Farm become home to a Roundhouse livestock building. The Roundhouse gets its roots from The Bronze Age where it was used as the “family home” but today, Manor Farm’s 30 metre diameter building, made of galvanised steel and with a high tensile fabric roof, is the very latest in innovation. Visitors can climb the stairs to our bespoke gantry and look down on the animals that are held in eight separate pens.

 

Designed predominantly for housing cattle, the Roundhouse has been used for housing and handling deer, sheep, goats, horses and pigs on farms and has many other uses in the commercial sector. This is the second time we have installed a viewing gantry and the feedback has been excellent.

 

The Roundhouse is the start of an exciting transformation programme at Manor Farm, with all new handwash stations, interactive digital screens, a wonderful Milk Parlour themed play barn with additional toilets and catering facilities. The roundhouse is located a short distance from a specially designed learning zone which will welcome local School children, plus a bespoke interactive poultry unit for all the farms feathered friends.

 

More information on Manor Farm can be found at  https://www.hants.gov.uk/thingstodo/countryparks/manorfarm/visit

 

Manor Farm, Pylands Lane, Bursledon, Southampton, Hampshire, SO31 1BH