PROFILE OF THE ESTATES
Halifax Estates extend to over 20,000 acres spread across five estates in Yorkshire. The largest is Garrowby, the core of which has been owned by the Halifax family for over 200 years.
Garrowby is a mixed agricultural and residential estate of 13,500 acres located on the edge of the Yorkshire Wolds escarpment, 13 miles east of York. The estate is home to the Earl and Countess of Halifax who reside at Garrowby Hall and all the family property interests are managed from the Estate Office, which is in the village of Bugthorpe.
Over successive generations the Halifax family and their Agents have taken great care to ensure that the beauty of Garrowby is conserved and enhanced, by planting approximately 500 acres of new native broadleaved woodland, several miles of mixed species hedgerow and preserving the integrity and quality of the buildings on the estate by using traditional design, building techniques and materials. These efforts have combined with the solid custodianship of tenant farmers to ensure that, although the estate has progressed and adapted to maintain financial viability, it remains an extremely attractive place to live and work, as well as being a haven for wildlife.
Great care is also taken to find new residential tenants for the Garrowby properties who appreciate the rural environment in which they are living, are prepared to make an effort to get involved in community activities and regard the estate their home, rather than purely a base from where to commute.
Heslington Estate was purchased from Lord Deramore in 1964. It extends to approximately 2,300 acres and comprises agricultural, commercial and residential property. The commercial element is of increasing importance due to the new University of York Heslington East Campus which is being built on 225 acres of estate land. Fulford Golf Course is also on the Heslington Estate.
Haywold Estate is located on the Yorkshire Wolds near Driffield and is dominated by one farm of 2,000 acres, let to Tim Rymer, who is Chairman of the JSR Farming Group. Cereals, oilseeds and potatoes are grown on the estate which benefit from the fertile Grade 2 land. Several pig units are located on the estate which house part of the JSR Group's herd of 6,000 sows, as well as youngstock.
The main block of South Yorkshire Estate is located at Hickleton, between Barnsley and Doncaster. Hickleton Hall was the home of the Halifax family until the death of the Second Viscount Halifax in 1934. His son, who later became the First Earl of Halifax, preferred Garrowby and made it his main residence, between enforced absences when fulfilling his roles as Viceroy of India and Foreign Secretary. Hickleton Hall is now owned by Sue Ryder Care. Apart from the parkland around the Hall, the estate comprises large arable farms with a few retained residential properties in the village.
Farms at East Cowick, near Goole and Ulley, near Sheffield make up the balance of the South Yorkshire Estate.
Ainsty Estate is a collection of farms, scattered around the perimeter of York and Malton.