About Us

R M Beaumont (1909-1998) knew the area as he had been sent to boarding school at Riber Castle when he was seven. His parents sometimes motored over from their home and stayed as B&B guests with Mrs Taylor at Castle Top. His rambles and runs took him over the hill at Bilberry Knoll and past Boggarts Cottage and the High Leas fields.

Many years later, sitting in a train to Nottingham, he spotted a newspaper advertisement that High Leas was for sale. He attended the auction, and bought it with a bid of £2,800, paying £60 extra for Boggart’s field afterwards.

In early 2001, on the retirement of the long-standing tenant farmer John Winder, R M Beaumont’s nephew Edward came to High Leas with his wife Caroline and sons Richard and Sam. They knew little about farming, but decided that they would see what could be done.

Back in 1957, besides the farm R.M. Beaumont had also acquired about 30 acres of woodland – the top half of Littlemoor Wood. He went on to make several more purchases:- the fields and barns of Low Leas; the other half of the wood, and Littlemoor Wood Farm. All of this now belongs to Edward and Richard and Sam, with the exception of the barns at Low Leas which were sold in order to finance improvements including the construction of the first fully owned dedicated access road that High Leas Farm has ever had.

Images:
R M Beaumont at High Leas Farm, about 1980
High Leas Farm House in 2004
Yard and barn

Building the New Road in 2004

Dewpond in S of M Nov 2006