Farming at Rookery Park

The Farm on our Suffolk Country Estate is home to pedigree cattle, native Suffolk sheep, 4 breeds of chicken, goats and bees.

Cattle

Sir Herbert Hambling kept a herd of Red Poll Cattle at Rookery Park. Exhibiting them at the leading Agricultural Shows of the time from 1927. The most famous of these was Royal Mavis, bred by The King and purchased by Sir Herbert at two years old, this cow gained the award of being First and Champion at the Royal Show on three occasions.

Today, Rookery Park has a breeding herd of around thirty pedigree shorthorn. Originating from the North of England, this native breed has evolved over the past two centuries and is renowned for its dual-purpose as both a beef and dairy cattle. As a result, it has become one of the most popular breeds in England.

The herd at Rookery Park spend all year out on the estate, seeking shade from the Summer sun and shelter during the colder Winter months amongst the many available spinneys. Their diet is supplemented over late Autumn into Winter by hay harvested from the front park. Our approach to farming is non intensive, allowing the herd access to graze and roam around all the fields at the back of the estate.

Sheep

Sir Peter’s passion for native species has in recent times led to the purchase of a flock of Suffolk Sheep. A popular breed, well-known for its rapid growth and high-quality meat, our flock is growing and when available the meat can be brought locally. Lambing is generally around the end of February; Suffolk sheep produce pure black lambs which eventually turn to white wool. 2024 was an exciting lambing year here at Rookery Park, with one of our ewes producing quads!

Chickens & Goats

Marble, Bailey, Trixie and Lu Lu are relatively new to Rookery Park. These mischievous female pygmy goats have wonderful and unique personalities. We have provided them with a high quality of life, foraging in one of Rookery Parks woods. They are approachable and friendly, especially Trixie, who always comes for a stroke and attention at feeding time.We keep four different breeds of chicken. White sussex, Bluebell and then lavender and golden partridge pekings. They are all layers, supplying us with a great diversity of eggs in size and shell colour. Due to the threat from badgers and foxes on the estate, they are kept in a run rather than running free to ensure their safety. All the girls are friendly and enjoy a hug, except for Freeda, the golden partridge peking.

Bees

Our rural setting and parkland, alongside a two-and-a-half-acre native fruit orchard and wildflower meadow led us in the direction of beekeeping in the Summer of 2021. We now have three hives and enjoy producing our own raw honey for sale. We harvest two to three times a year, the first in the latter part of Spring, this is generally rapeseed honey, due to the abundance of rapeseed grown in the fields surrounding the estate. When available Rookery Park honey can be purchased from us directly by the jar or can be found in Earsham Street Deli at Snape Maltings.