Our work caring for nature at Brockhampton

Farmer feeding a flock of sheep at Brockhampton, Herefordshire — Farmer feeding a flock of sheep at Brockhampton | © National Trust Images/Arnhel de Serra

It’s not just the medieval manor at Brockhampton that requires year-round conservation, but the 1,700-acre estate too. Wildlife is just as important as heritage here; read on and discover more about recent work the team have undertaken to help care for nature.

Looking after our orchards

A large part of our work at Brockhampton is looking after our many old traditional orchards; pruning the trees to keep them healthy and long lived, ‘gapping up’ with new saplings, removing mistletoe where the tree is in danger of being overloaded, retaining deadwood for the benefit of insects and birds… traditional orchards are really important habitats for many invertebrate, bird and mammal species, so the Brockhampton orchard collection is very precious.

Mistletoe in the boughs of the old orchard trees on the estate at Brockhampton, Herefordshire — Mistletoe in the old orchard trees at Brockhampton, Herefordshire | © National Trust/David Hall

Relocating Brockhampton’s badgers

A family of badgers have resided in a large sett on the Brockhampton estate for many years. Concerns were raised by structural engineers that the sett was expanding rather closely to a large dam, making the surrounding area unstable, as well as the imminent threat of loss of water. So in 2022 we relocated the badgers and to date they have not returned the the old sett near the dam.

A male badger (Meles meles) on farmland managed by the National Trust near Zennor, Cornwall — Badgers have made Brockhampton home over the years | © National Trust Images/Seth Jackson

Brockhampton’s mission to save the bees

The team at Brockhampton have been working hard to help bees thrive on the 1,700-acre estate.

A group of volunteers enrolled on a monitoring course with The Bumblebee Conservation Trust to enable them to confidently identify and record bees throughout the estate and gardens.

Bees in flight around green alkanet flowers at Brockhampton Estate, Herefordshire — Bees in flight around green alkanet flowers at Brockhampton Estate | © National Trust Images/Rob Coleman

Wildflower meadows and garden flowers

Many of the meadows on the Brockhampton estate are left wild. Wildflowers in these meadows are favoured by bees as, unlike many modern hybrids, they are flat and open meaning nectar is in easy reach for the bee. By creating more wildflower meadows, we are increasing habitats for bees.

Bumblebees feed exclusively on pollen and nectar which is why the garden at Brockhampton is also planted in a bee-friendly way with foxgloves, lavender and daisies.