TAW HOUSE FARM
BOOT, ESKDALE
TAW HOUSE FARM is at the head of the Eskdale Valley with land running from the south-eastern slopes of Bull How down to the River Esk. This is a high fell farm with common grazings that extend up Scafell and Scafell Pike – England’s highest mountains.
Mark and his wife Gillian work full time on the farm helped out part time by Mark’s father. There is one casual worker.
The farm runs hill sheep, mostly herdwicks with some Swaledales at Paddock Wray which is further down the valley.HISTORY
Taw House appears in the 1578 "Percy Survey" of the estate Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland, when it was farmed by the Vicars family. Historically, Taw House has also been known as “Toes”, “Teathes” and “Taythes”.
The farmhouse dates from around 1806 but is on a site of an earlier dwelling with a press cupboard in the kitchen dating from 1723.
Taw House was acquired by the National Trust in 1942 from a Mrs Tyson. Mark Fox took on the tenancy five years ago and runs the farm together with his own land at Paddock Wray which he has farmed since 1991.LOCATION
© Copyright 2008
TERRAIN
Taw House is a mixture of a small area of productive inbye land, a large area of steeply sloping and craggy intakes, with fell land rising steeply to Scafell Pike, Great End and Esk Hause. Rainfall is between 2,000 and 3,200 mm a year.
SIZE OF THE FARM
Taw House Farm extends to 89 ha of enclosed land; Paddock Wray is 20 ha and an additional 24 ha of temporary grazing is taken each year. In total Mark Fox has rights for 2,400 sheep on Eskdale common which amounts to an equivalent grazing area of around 790ha.
LIVESTOCK & NUMBERS
The farm runs 1000 pure bred hill ewes – of which 700 are herdwick and 300 are Swaledale.
Sufficient of the hill ewes are bred pure for flock replacements. Older ewes are put to a Texel ram to produce cross bred lambs with around 400 sold from August onwards for both the store and fat market depending on the trade. The male herdwick lambs are away wintered and are fattened for sale at Cockermouth auction mart in March and April.GRAZING & CONSERVATION
Taw House Farm is considered of high nature conservation value especially for its woodland, river, meadows, wetlands and open fell.
The farm is extensively grazed. Since 2001 the fell stock has been reduced by a Sheep Wildlife Enhancement Scheme agreement with English Nature and sheep are off wintered.
Taw House is in the Lake District ESA with Paddock Wray in the new Entry Level Stewardship scheme.
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