Chancellor's Farm

Why is Chancellor's Farm so special? 

Chancellor’s Farm is more than a nature reserve – it’s a remarkable place where every meadow, wildflower and drystone wall tells a story, shaped by centuries of low-intensity, traditional farming and careful management.  

Somerset Wildlife Trust has managed the site for over 30 years, and this 18^th century working farm is now one of the few places in the UK where thriving wildflower-rich hay meadows can be seen. This rare and declining habitat is essential for biodiversity and increasingly important given that 97% of meadows in the UK have been lost since 1930s.   

The story so far 

Designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in 1983, the farm’s association with nature-friendly practices goes back generations. Prior to the Trust, the farm was previously managed by the Watts family, who worked the land without chemicals or artificial fertilisers. Their low-intensity approach preserved the rich diversity of the meadows - still cut and stacked by hand well into the 1980s.  

Since 1991, Kate Lawrence has overseen its careful management, later introducing ruby red Devon cows, Welsh black mountain sheep and Exmoor ponies to help maintain the delicate balance of the grassland. Before managing the farm, Kate was the Mendip Hills Officer for Somerset Wildlife Trust.  

Nature on the site 

A flagship Coronation Meadow – one of only 60 across the UK – Chancellor’s is an outstanding example of how land can be productive and be managed in a nature-positive way.  

Chancellor’s Farm is particularly special, with an unusual mix of lime-rich, neutral, and acidic soils. This diversity allows a remarkable range of plant species to thrive, from fragrant orchids and meadow saffron, to betony and devil’s-bit scabious.  

Important too is Chancellor’s connection to the wider Mendip Hills National Landscape through its neighbouring grasslands sites. This connection not only provides the pathways for other county sites to receive its donor seed, but links the site into the ‘Big Chalk’ network - a network of significant chalk and limestone landscapes covering over 25,900km2 across the south of England. This provides added resilience in the face of a changing climate, as well as protecting valuable historic heritage and water supplies, storing carbon, enhancing natural beauty and helping to improve health and wellbeing.