Churchfields has a rich history dating back over 100 years. The farm has been in our family for five generations now, ever since Thomas Davies purchased “Lot 21” in 1913. There are three generations currently living onsite.
Evolution and change have always been a part of our journey, with humble beginnings as a working dairy farm producing award-winning milk, it was always our family’s dream to diversify into ice cream. Our ultimate vision is to create an educational and family friendly destination suitable for all generations. You can read about our journey below.
Churchfields Farm And Cookshill Bought
One hundred years ago, Churchfields Farm in Salwarpe was bought by Thomas Davies as part of the High Park and Salwarpe Court Estate auction held in Worcester on April 16th 1913. He paid £1460. The farm was 45 acres at the time, and was home to a herd of 15 dairy shorthorns. All the milk was delivered by horse and trap to the local town of Droitwich.
Cookshill Sold
Cookshill Cottage and Barns were part of the original farm but were sold off, splitting up the original farm. This was the best way to divide the land at the time, and allowed focus on the dairy and arable side of the business.
Cecil Davies (2nd Generation) And Patricia Joscelyne Married
Cecil and Patricia became the second generation to own and manage Churchfields Farm.
Michael Davies Born (3rd Generation)
Michael Davies was the third generation born here and was the father of Gillian Kerton, who currently runs Churchfields Farm. He was instrumental in kicking off a period of diversification for Churchfields: from a simple dairy farm into an award-winning ice cream manufacturer, a visitor attraction, and beyond.
Land At Porters Mill
This land was purchased by Patricia Davies for the grazing of her dairy cows, also extending the arable enterprises of the farm.
Michael And Felicity Married
In 1973, Michael and Felicity were married, having become engaged the year before. She’s known as “Fizz” to us and is still an active part of the farm’s partnership today.
Gillian Davies Born (4th Generation)
Gillian Davies was born in Worcester and is part of the generation who runs Churchfields Farm today. She met Will Kerton when she was only 4, but it was many years until they married.
Fiona Davies Born (4th Generation)
Fiona and her family currently live in New Zealand.
Land At Chawson And Copcut Lanes
This additional land was bought by Michael Davies to extend the arable enterprises of Churchfields Farm.
Salwarpe Valley Meadows
Four fields of arable land to the west of the village bought by Michael Davies, further expanding the arable enterprises on the farm.
Erica Davies Born (4th Generation)
Erica and her family currently live in Bournemouth.
Gillian & Will Kerton Married
Gillian Davies married Will Kerton in June of 2003. The ceremony was held at our local Salwarpe Church, and then there was a big party at the farm!
Edward Kerton Born (5th Generation)
Edward Kerton was born in November 2004, and is eldest of our farm’s fifth generation. Having been born just a few months after Churchfields Farmhouse Ice Cream was created, he enjoys going to shows and events in the summer selling the ice cream he has grown up with.
Churchfields Farmhouse Ice Cream
We made the very first scoop of Churchfields Farmhouse Ice Cream in June of 2005. The decision to diversify into ice cream took a lot of discussion, touring around looking at equipment, and number crunching – but a decade and a half on and with numerous Great Taste Awards having been awarded to our products, we’re delighted that we made the leap!
Louisa Kerton Born (5th Generation)
Louisa Kerton is our eldest daughter and was born in April 2006. She loves the farm and our animals, and looks after Sparky the pony and Missy the pig.
Coney Meadow Nature Reserve
Land was sold to help the re-opening of Droitwich to Salwarpe Canal. It was purchased by Wychavon District Council to be used by The Canal and Rivers Trust for a reed bed, and has now been turned into a nature reserve.
Jennifer Kerton Born (5th Generation)
Our youngest, Jennifer, was born in March 2009. Jen was in charge of the farm’s egg production unit (12 hens!) until recently and now enjoys creating themes for our family events.
Cookshill Returns
Cookshill Cottage and barns were acquired by Will and Gillian to allow the development of Churchfields new Barn & Kitchen and Fun Barn.
Solar Panels Installed
Having seen what energy savings we could achieve from solar panels on two of the farm buildings, we invested in a 120kW solar panel system, which covers an acre and a half of our land. This helps us realise our goals to work with our land as sustainably as possible.
Churchfields Barn & Kitchen
After two years of restoration work, the Grade II listed Churchfields Barn Cafe served its first ice cream and coffee.
Biomass Burner Installed
To heat the houses on the farm, along with our offices and the Barn & Kitchen, we installed a renewable biomass burner. It’s fuelled by sustainable, locally sourced wood chip, and now also heats our salt pans and Fun Barn.
First Maize Maze
Our very first Maize Maze was opened in the summer of 2017 and featured our signature cow’s face logo and an ice cream cone. We love seeing the joy that children and adults alike have exploring, and make sure to build a “mini-maze” into each year’s designs so you can always pick the option that’s right for your family.
Droitwich Salt Launched
We launched Droitwich Salt at Ludlow Food Festival and Droitwich Salt Festival in September 2017. Since then we’ve been overwhelmed by the amount of support and fascination from our local community. We met Michelin Starred Chef Brad Carter at Ludlow, who has since become our Salt Ambassador. He has been instrumental in Droitwich Salt becoming available on the shelves at Harvey Nichols.
Land At Hill End
Grassland that has been occupied by Churchfields since the 1960’s was purchased by Felicity Davies to secure the milking cows’ grazing land.
Droitwich Salt Becomes Award-Winning
Droitwich Salt won a Great Taste Award and 4 more awards at Ludlow Food Festival.
Fun Barn Opens
Following great demand from families with children enjoying the farm, our indoor Fun Barn was converted with support from LEADER. Having three kids living on-site, we know how important it is to have a place to keep the little ones entertained, as well as cosy and dry in the winter.
Coronavirus And The New Normal
We launched a contact-free click and collect service, followed by a takeaway food offering, to help support the local community during lockdown. We also designed and introduced our woodland Fairy Trail that gave local families somewhere to explore outside during the various lockdowns.
New facilities - The Fun Farm arrives
During 2022 we reconfigured the barns to house a giant sandpit, pedal tractor zone and even built a little street that was used as Trick or Treat Street at Halloween and Candy Cane Lane at Christmas. Outside we added a new go kart area and some giant inflatable pillows.
Adventure Playground & Zip Wire
The icing on the cake - our giant Tractor themed adventure playground launched in May 2023 and was an instant hit for local families and visitors.
The Story continues…
A devastating fire at the end of 2023 means that our barns have to be replaced - watch this space to see how we rebuild!
