Please contact the estate directly for more information, questions or requests.
Barnston Estate
Cheshire, United Kingdom
Our ambition is to enhance and protect our land, the jobs and skills it encourages and the community it serves.
History
The Barnston Estate traces its lineage back to the era of the Norman Conquest. The lands were initially registered by Hugh de Berneston who established formal records in the modern-day Wirral. From about 1280 amalgamations of land through marriage enhanced the estate by incorporating the Gregge Estate at Hapsford, the Trafford Estate at Bridge Trafford with existing Barnston lands at Churton and Farndon. William Barnston, a staunch Royalist, was imprisoned by Cromwell and he had to pay £580 to regain the Estate in 1650. He also suffered the loss of numerous cottages razed to the ground as further punishment. Successive Barnston stewards managed the Estate over the years, with many simultaneously serving their country – in support of Wellington, in the Crimean Campaign, the Indian Mutiny and in both World Wars.
Today the Estate has a more balanced portfolio comprising dairy farms, forestry, renewable energy, residential housing and a growing range of commercial properties.
The present owner is Ed Barnston who was a Commando officer and then an investment manager before taking over from his father in 2015. Since then Ed was awarded a Nuffield Farming Scholarship (‘Rural Estates – Benchmarking Success’), and won the Royal Agricultural Society for England Gold Medal Award for Landowners in 2019. Ed’s philosophy for Barnston Estate is to enhance the total contribution of sustainable stewardship across the Triple Bottom Line of people, planet and profit. He is leading an initiative to create a natural capital project across 28,000 acres with his neighbours to boost biodiversity and enhance the environment. For more information on this as well as the use of renewable energy, commitment to supporting the community and agricultural excellence as well as awards, please check the Barnston website. Ed Barnston is a regular speaker at national events.
Wildlife and gardens on the estate -
special tours
On the estates’ farmland, there are badgers, fox, hedgehog, and rabbits.
Barnston comprises 100 hectares of agricultural land along the River Dee which regularly floods in winter for long periods. This attracts Canada geese, greylag, heron, mallard, teal, widgeon, snipe and woodcock sometimes over 2,000 at a time. The river banks in summer have sand martins, moorhen, cormorant, kingfisher and dragonflies. On higher grounds and in the woods live cuckoos, woodpeckers, pheasants, wood pigeons, barn owls, buzzards, starlings and numerous song birds. Around the main house and walled garden are the resident peacocks.
A woodland fell and replant is underway with broadleaf native varieties to complement the park field. There are five acres of garden, divided into the formal and informal. The formal includes a walled garden with extensive fruit tree varieties, avenues, pond, pergola and patio with surrounding lawns. There is also a tropical area with bananas, rose garden, a Chinese bridge over a pond, and historic avenue leading to the informal wooded walkway resplendent in spring with daffodils, bluebells, ponds, and sculptures. You will find five beehives in operation. Please join the special garden tours. The area is great for hiking and cycling.
Natural Burial ground
Monument Meadow natural burial ground is kept as natural as possible with its timber framed pavilion, circular layout and views stretching across the Clywdian Range, it has been designed to be a peaceful and beautiful place to visit. It will also provide a safe haven for birds and wildlife enabling wild flowers and trees to thrive.
The site is anchored with a Grade II* listed monument – a sandstone obelisk flanked by four stone lions – commemorating Roger Barnston, a military officer who died in 1857 of wounds sustained at the Siege of Lucknow in India.
Local business community
The Estate offers a variety of 2, 3 and 4 bedroom cottages in the villages of Farndon and Churton for residential lets.
There is also a business park, with commercial lets nearby, and barn conversions.
The former dairy farm is a mid-17th century Grade II listed building with outbuildings, situated in the heart of Farndon village is today a small yet thriving business community supporting local residents. Its numerous independent businesses include a restaurant, bridal wear shop, photographer and an art gallery.
Barnston recommends two country pubs:
Grosvenor Arms (5 minutes drive)
Cholmondelet Arms (20 minutes drive)
The Carde Park Hotel & Spa is a 5 minute drive from the Barnston Estate. For more information please click here.
The Chester Grosvenor Hotel is a 20 minute drive. For more information about this accomodation please click here.
Conferences, Private garden venues
The estate is very suitable for conferences, limited to 20 people.
Barnston is also great for private garden venues, limited to 100 people. No weddings
Chester
Chester’s bewitching beauty and unique atmosphere make it one of Britain’s most popular places for an unforgettable short break. Each chapter of Chester’s ancient history is etched into the fabric of the city. Here, Roman Legionnaires marched to war, Viking raiders wreaked havoc and Norman invaders conquered Anglo Saxons. Chester has the most complete city walls, the oldest racecourse and the largest Roman Amphitheatre in Britain, plus a 1000 year old Cathedral with Europe’s finest example of medieval carvings – and of course the one and only 700 year old Rows galleries where shopping is a double delight.
“The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time is now” – ancient proverb
