Demonstration Farm
From 1960 until 1982, Lower Farm and Bumpers were a demonstration farm owned by oil company Shell
Purchased in October 1960 by the Shell Chemical Company, Lower Farm was a location for evaluating modern farming techniques, demonstrating fertilisers and pesticides, training distributors and carrying out field demonstrations. The facility covered 360 acres included a dairy unit, pig unit, beef and cereals. At Lower Farm, a demonstration and training centre was built (the 'T' shaped building in the aerial photo), since demolished.
The Autumn 1965 issue of Shellstar's journal featured an article on Lower Farm, Ilmer.
A keen fisherman, Roger Pierce later authored the Puffin Book of Freshwater Fishing. In 1970, he departed Ilmer to establish the new Shellstar Tech Support and PR department. By that point, he wore an eye patch — possibly acquired during his time at the farm.
Adam S Wallace briefly took the role of farm manager, followed by the suitably named John Farmer until 1975 [1] and finally Peter Alsford, pictured left [2].
The aerial photo from Land magazine was taken in 1965 by Aerofilms and shows the double-tracked railway line. The Halt was decommissioned in 1963 and the line single-tracked in Autumn 1968.
Field plan, 1980
Shell Chemicals published "A Guide to Lower Farm, Ilmer" in 1980[3] giving a background to the farm, it's activities, policy, training centre and crop management. At this time, the pamphlet listed the following members of staff:
| Role | Incumbent |
|---|---|
| Farm Manager | P. D. Alsford, BSc. (Agric.) |
| Assistant Farm Manager | G. W. E. Harper |
| Secretary | Miss J. M. Deacon |
| Farm Staff | L. G. Harper, J. H. Shurrock, P. R. Spittles |
In addition to a cropping plan for 1980, it included a stylised field map with field names, redrawn and reinterpreted below to better represent actual topography. Some of the field names hark back centuries - for example the fields known as Lakes 1 and Lakes 2 in 1980 were known as The Lake on the 1778 Plan of the Parish of Illmer.
* Top image shows the inside of the Lower Farm training centre. Angood & Pugh Photographers.