More than one-quarter of the Englefield Estate is woodland. It not only shapes our landscape but also provides a sustainable source of home-grown timber, open space for informal access and habitat for important flora and fauna. As a result, we work hard to ensure that 3,500 acres of woodland in our care will thrive in the years ahead for the benefit of current and future generations.
With a production cycle of a century or more, all of our woodlands are managed under a long-term plan which ensures that a sustainable timber crop is harvested. We’re proud that all our woodland is Forest Stewardship Council® certified and evaluated according to the strict environmental, social and economic principles (Licence code FSC® C112410).
Our timber supplies a range of end users softwood thinnings used for fencing, chipboard and horse bedding to larger timber used for furniture making and quality oak flooring and timber framed construction.
You may even have seen some of our forestry products without even knowing about it – as we’re often asked to furnish film crews with trees and foliage for their blockbuster sets.
We welcome walkers in many of our woodlands on the Estate, a map of the publicly accessible areas around Mortimer and Mortimer West End can be found on the map here.
A map for public access around Englefield and Theale can be found can be found here.
Englefield Home Farms is our in-hand 2,000 acre mixed livestock and arable farm which manages the land around Englefield village.
Through a joint venture with skilled arable contractors HBH (Farming) Ltd, we specialise in producing combinable arable crops such as wheat, barley and oats. These grains are predominantly used for making bread, biscuits and animal feed. We also grow oilseed rape which is used for cooking and biodiesel production. In addition to the core task of food production, we are committed to managing a landscape that is rich in wildlife. Our Home Farms have been entered into a Higher Level Countryside Stewardship scheme for some years as part of our award-winning ground bird nesting project.
The Estate relies on experienced farm tenants to manage the majority of the Estate’s farmland across 23 let farms. These farms are mixed livestock and arable farms but, increasingly, our tenants are choosing to diversify by bringing additional income to the farm from a range of enterprises including B&B, horse livery and commercial storage.
Tenant farmers are also innovating using precision technology to ensure targeted use of inputs and are also working together to make their businesses more efficient. In the case of Foudry Farming, this involves a joint venture between three farming families on the Estate to pool labour and machinery across a larger acreage and to provide services to other farmers.
As part of our commitment to a viable farming community, the Estate encourages enterprises such as these where they do not compromise the core agricultural business. Some examples of successful diversification by tenant farmers can be seen here:
At Englefield, we take a long-term view and strive to combine successful business with good stewardship of the Estate’s landscape and wildlife habitats.
We are a long established, family-owned business managing a diverse range of land and property interests. We take pride in our heritage, including the contribution we make to the local economy, the environment and local communities.
