Description:

Introduction

The majority of the photographs in this collection have been provided by David Lovelace from his work at Turnastone Court Farm on behalf of the Countryside Restoration Trust. We are indebted to him for making this and other important historical material available to us.

Ewyas Lacy Study Group

Turnastone Court Farm and Estate are in the Golden Valley, bordering on Ewyas Lacy, and are of considerable historical interest on a number of counts. The Manor of Turnastone of which they formed a substantial part dates back to the Norman Conquest and its history is well documented. The Estate gained notoriety as part of the pioneering irrigation experiments of Rowland Vaughan in Elizabethan times, significant remains of which can still be found today because many of the Turnastone meadows have been left largely undisturbed over the centuries. Last but perhaps not least, the farm has been managed and operated along traditional lines for generations until very recent times, and thus provides a wealth of information on local agricultural methods and infrastructure, environmental legacies and the ways of life in the area.

This historical importance is reflected in the variety and depth of the studies that have been undertaken into different aspects of the Estate. A detailed Land Conservation Study, a report on the Water Meadows and a comprehensive Buildings Survey are available on this website, all of which include details of the historical record of the area from the 10^th century onwards. A commentary on Rowland Vaughan and his Waterworks is also on line, together with a contemporary Press report of the background to the acquisition of Turnastone Court Farm by the Countryside Restoration Trust in 2003. Further material can additionally be found through the site search engine.

The photograph collection presented here draws material from these studies and from the Watkins Family who farmed the land for many generations, as well as from other sources. Because of its size, the collection is presented in several sections, as follows:

Observations:

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