Nestled in the countryside of the Isle of Wight, Briddlesford Lodge Farm has been a working farm at least as far back as the first Doomsday records where it formed part of the Manor of Briddlesford. Excavations have also revealed domestic activity on the site stretching back as far as the Late Iron Age.
Modern day Briddlesford Lodge Farm has been in the hands of the Griffin family since 1923, when Great-Grandfather Charles Griffin left Grove Farm in Adgestone and walked over the Downs with his family, animals and all of their possessions to start a new life at Briddlesford.
Under Charles it was a mixed farm with sheep, dairy, pigs, poultry and cereal crops. Over the years the farm has become more and more specialised, the sheep went in 1935, the pigs in 1956 and poultry and cereals in the 1990s. However the herd of Guernsey cows has remained constant, with all of the current 140-strong herd descending from the 15 cows Charles walked over the Downs in 1923. The herd received pedigree status in 2000.
2005 saw the first major addition to the farm operation with opening of Briddlesford Farm Shop, this was followed by the café in 2009 and heritage centre in 2015. A new state-of-the-art dairy facility has recently opened making a welcome return to large scale on-farm dairy processing.
Today the farm is managed by Charles’ great-grandson Paul Griffin, who took over the day-to-day running of the farm from his father Richard in recent years. Paul’s sister Louise manages the farm shop and his wife Chris runs the farm café and organises educational visits. Richard and his wife Judi still remain involved on the farm, caring for the calves, managing the paperwork and running the farm’s B&B.
