100 years on, Brooklands Farm goes on sale
AFTER more than a century of the Dorey family living and working at Brooklands Farm, the property has gone on the market.
It is currently home to Graham and Linda Dorey.
Mr Dorey, 67, grew up on the farm and has lived there his entire life. But he said he had been thinking for a few years about selling the large King’s Mills property and the family stopped farming there last year.
‘I just feel that it is just the two us and it’s quite a large property to look after,’ he said.
‘We feel we would like somewhere smaller. I think it will be difficult to leave, as it is somewhere I have enjoyed being. It’s taken a few years to come to terms with it and get used to the idea. It will be quite a wrench when we leave.’
He said his two daughters have both gone in their own direction for careers, so there was no one to pass the farm on to.
The farm was built by William Cohu in 1873.
It first came into the Dorey family when Graham’s grandfather Emile rented it in 1910. He went on to buy it in 1921.
‘Emile kept cows, grew early potatoes, fodder for the animals, wheat, daffodils, tulips and also had some glasshouses, probably for tomatoes,’ said Mr Dorey.
The family has long links with the King’s Mills area, with Emile originally living 100 yards from Brooklands.
Emile had four sons, including Graham’s father Leonard. During the Occupation, most of the family stayed, growing food for the island.
Mr Dorey grew up on the farm and as soon as he left school he joined the family business. He was still a small child when royalty came to the farm. In 1959 Princess Margaret visited the island. With a wish to show her a traditional Guernsey farmstead, she was given a tour of Brooklands.
During Graham Dorey’s time farming he sold wheat and a wide range of vegetables, including parsnips, cauliflowers and cabbages. But he is probably best known for his 20 years growing pumpkins on the site.
The farm has about seven vergees of farmland – around three acres – but also has yards and gardens. The total area is listed as 4.6 acres.
It is believed the property’s name derives from the stream that runs down from King’s Mills towards the coast.
The four-storey Victorian villa has five bedrooms, as well as a two-bedroom wing. The site also has numerous agricultural buildings. The property is being sold by informal tender through estate agents Livingroom, with a closing date of 18 June.
