A life time in Midhurst

Looking Back: Neil Dallyn’s views in 1995 - and now

First, from a 1995 Midhurst Society publication

‘He is sixteen and content with the life in farming he has chosen for himself when his education has been completed at the Midhurst Grammar School. A member of a family of farmers he is undisturbed by the change being imposed on the farming community. Though his principal interest is in arable crops, he accepts that diversification is necessary and already work, such as tree surgery and garden landscaping, have become part of farm life. Where once the main crops would have been wheat, oats and barley, today they plant flax and linseed. Keyzaston Farm, at the foot of the Downs at Sutton, is a mixed farm of 150acres, rented from Lord Mersey, of which approximately 100 acres is arable, and 50 acres is grazing for cattle and a few sheep. Although Neil Dallyn is not unsympathetic to the idea of small farms following in the traditional pattern, he knows they are no longer viable and it is the family’s intention to add to their acreage as and when other farms become available. It is tempting to think that this remarkably unruffled person has no strong objections to anything, but talk for a while about the countryside and it becomes clear that he is concerned about the way the character of the villages is changing; cottages that once housed integrated communities with a common knowledge of the workings of their locality have become occupied by people who come from far away and are rarely able to contribute to rural life as it has been understood. He is concerned about the conversion of traditional farm buildings. He has no objection to their becoming desirable residences, better that they are used than allowed to decay, it is the manner in which the transition is sometimes that disturbs him. He minds when unsympathetic materials are used with ancient stone-work, too bright bricks or pretentious uncomfortable with its surroundings. (From the

thatch, which result in a building that is

(from the Spectator at the time)

At Keyzaston Farm they cut the hedges late to allow the birds time to build their nests and rear their young. He sometimes feels the footpaths that were established for the practical purpose of communication between farms and villages for those that could only go on foot are nowadays misused for journeys to nowhere, sometimes with undisciplined dogs who can sniff out creatures that live in the hedgerows. It is, or course, in the nature of dogs to sniff things out, many a farm dog has been sent after rabbits, but working dogs can usually be brought to heel when their job is done. Dogs just out to play have a different attitude. He does not care for the mess left behind people who arrive uninvited on farm land, but recognises that travellers are probably an established hazard for farmers. One gets the impression when talking to Neil Dallyn that he hopes to find a path through the apparent disorder of his time which will reconcile the urbanising of the countryside

with its traditions and so strike a new and acceptable balance.

When the time comes, Neil Dallyn expects to take a course at Brinsbury, the agricultural college near Pulborough, and perhaps have a few months in a French farming community before becoming a working member of the farm at Sutton. Until then he will continue his education at the Grammar School and take his leisure fishing for dace on a lake not far from his home, at Burton.’

And Now

That said in 1995, we caught up with Neil Dallyn and asked him how his life had worked out. This is what he said now. ‘Midhurst Grammar School was a great fun place of learning. Although at the time I was felt it was a necessary part of learning and was next steps in life could be determined by your really enjoyed the challenge of maths and could be useful in my chosen career of farming. level 3 plus spraying, telehandler, and AtV

together I feel having some qualifications in your chosen career is important.

From leaving college I continued working on the farm but there was not enough work/income to carry on as it was, my brother Michael and myself used to go and do relief labour on other farms and ended up working winters for a local building firm W & A Baxters where we gained some good skills we could use on the farm and later on in our contracting careers. In 2000 I went out and worked 6 months in Florida USA on a potato farm spraying crops and harvesting with my cousin Lee Dallyn. A great experience that again pushed me and I enjoyed the challenge of living and working in another country and, as it turned out, a great time to be away from the UK as Foot and Mouth hit the UK and UK farming industry.

desperate to get on the farm and start work and ticking off the days. But as you get older you realise what a shaping period in your life it is, the teachers your friends and actually your results. School got far more interesting as the work got harder and options came along and I business studies - finally a class at GCSE I felt

After Midhurst I did 2 years of day release at Brinsbury College gaining NVQ level 2 and On returning home, I had a clear plan of how I

driving qualifications. Another great step and I enjoyed working on the farm whilst carrying on learning and getting formal qualifications. This was important as when putting tenders

wanted to improve the farm and make it viable. I was going to build the contracting business which in turn would give us better machinery to farm our farm more efficiently whilst taking the pressure off the farm to supply incomes for the families involved. The farm has slowly expanded to 1400 acres with 13 different landlords from the original 150 acres with 2 landlords. We grow Wheat, Oats, Beans, Maize and Potatoes and supply hay, haylage and straw. We also have 100 Suckler cows producing 100 finished animals a year and half the farm is organic so get sold as organic or under the Aberdeen Angus scheme.

The contracting business has grown hugely. We now have myself running farm and farm contracting business and my brother Michael

running the fencing, landscaping and estate maintenance side of the business. We employ 6 full time employees with 4 part time employees and other self-employed tractor and drivers come in as required. The work has also changed hugely. Our main customer contracting is vineyards helping install and harvest support which helps spread the season of all our kit and although we do a large amount of traditional contracting like ploughing, drilling and combining we also could be found flail collecting the wildflower meadow around the folly in Petworth Park or harvesting and spreading Heather seed. You can certainly say we have diversified! This wide range of skills and work base and support we have given our customers has resulted in us winning Contractor Innovator of the year award last year at the British farming awards - a testament to all the operators in the company of their high standard and commitment to the work they do and when needed to extremely long hours. [The judges considered Neil to be a really versatile local specialist with a business which they felt was very much under control. Ed.]

Even though we have grown, small family farms can survive and have a huge role in the farming patchwork in the UK. But I still feel you need to have other streams of income as commodity prices are not always kind! The environmental schemes are very important and deliver fantastic results for the environment and community and are creating a fabulous patchwork of outstanding habitats - a real credit to all the farmers and land owners. Although the paper work and red tape is huge, even when these schemes ends farmers generally carry on with the options voluntarily

as it creates positive attributes to the farm.

All this has only happened with the fabulous support from all my family especially my wife Rachael and my two girls Phoebe and Amelia. Now the business is in a good stable position I can start spending more family time supporting them in their hobbies - riding and competing on their ponies at The Lord Leconfield Pony Club, and for their schools or local competitions. They in turn come and support me at local ploughing matches as my hobby is match ploughing and do 9 matches a year including the Sussex championship and the National which is in Lincoln this year.

At the moment the girls are happy to come and help on the farm, but don’t see it as a career which is absolutely fine as you really need to believe and have a strong passion for farming as it is a way of life and does require some long hours, but it is very rewarding and we possibly work in the best office view of any industry at the foot of the south Downs.

(Thank you to the Dallyn Family for this article and congratulations for your win. ����)

Grandma's House:A Memory of Midhurst

By David Percy

‘This is the view I remember as I went up to bed when I stayed at my grandparents' house as a child. There was a window on the turn of the stairs that overlooked South Pond. At night the street lamp outside the white house on the right, then an antiques shop, threw a silvery light over it which was reflected in the dancing waters of the pond. Quite magical! Granddad drove a train on the Midhurst branch line. He always told us to be wary of the pond's pair of swans, because "they could break a man's arm" with their wings. Each morning and afternoon we would cross the road directly opposite their house to take Snowy, their golden and white crossbred collie, into the Close Walks where, beside a less-used path off to the right, there was an ancient, headless statue of a woman. Grandma knew the names of all the wildflowers we encountered, pointing to them with her walking stick, and whenever I smell bluebells, I instantly recall her and the happy times I spent with them.

My dad who was born in 1917, used to tell a story of how as a boy he and his friends used to climb into an old forbidden garden in the Ruins, and if discovered hide in lead

statues of figures which were designed to look solid, but in fact had fronts but no backs. Would this be what is now known as the Walled Garden?

Some of the drivers competing in sports car races at Goodwood in the 50’s used to stay at the Spread Eagle, and as children my brothers, sister and I would hear the deep, throaty growls and snarls of them warming up their cars behind the brick wall in the car park, and spill out onto Chichester Road to watch the procession of Allards, Aston Martins, Jaguars and Frazer-Nash’s being driven to the circuit. Stirring stuff for a small boy!

I live a long way away in Chester, but still have a great affection for the town.