Jersey Heritage has restored a meadow at Hamptonne Country Life Museum to its traditional use with the support of two community partnerships.
Sheep have returned to graze in the meadow after it was fenced off to keep the animals safe and secure. This was possible thanks to Jersey Water, who sponsored the large amount of fencing required, and the Probation Service Community Service scheme, whose clients
carried out the work involved.
A flock of nine sheep from farmer Jeremy Hughes has arrived at Hamptonne and will be joined in the meadow by new-born lambs and their mothers in the coming weeks. The sheep add to the calves, piglets and chickens usually seen by visitors to the rural museum in St Lawrence. Wool from the sheep will also be spun by Living History characters as they entertain visitors, helping to recreate what would have happened on the farm in the past.
Tom Kennedy, Jersey Heritage’s Site Garden at Hamptonne, explained that for many years the meadow had been plagued by invasive plants and controlling them was extremely labour-intensive.
He said: ‘Every year, hundreds of hours are spent pulling up the plants by hand. This year, we’ve added a small flock of sheep to the meadow, which provides an environmentally-friendly solution to the problem. As well as keeping the meadow in good order, the sheep also mean a return to the practices that would have been carried out by our rural communities in the past. We are extremely grateful to Jersey Water and the Community Service scheme, as well as Jeremy Hughes, for enabling us to make this lovely addition to our storytelling at Hamptonne. We’re sure our visitors, especially children, are going to thoroughly enjoy seeing the sheep and spring lambs in the meadow.’
