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News Life of challenges and excitement


THE death of Maidstone farmer Hughie Batchelor, aged 90, pro- vided many with an opportunity to reflect on the life of a contro- versial character who, quite liter- ally, changed the landscape of the North Downs. Once a multi-millionaire farmer


and landowner, he lived for about 20 years at the impressive Thurn- ham Court before moving near Ashford and a quieter life. At the height of his career, he


and his son Richard were farming 5,500 acres fromThurnhamtoHar- rietsham, concentrating on wheat, rape, peas and oats production. At the same time, Mr Batchelor


speculated in about 2,500 acres of land in other parts of Kent, boast- ing, with his signature smile: “I never made a loss on one of these deals”. However, his arable activities at-


tracted keen interest as did his in- sistence to expand the business, no


threemonths in Pentonville Prison. At the time, he responded by


praising the judge for delaying his sentence until after the harvest and vigorously defended his action of “clearing scrub trees


and


hedgerows to economically man- age his farmland”. However, Mr Batchelor’s critics


weremany, not least those thatwit- nessed the clearing of woodland and hedges that had dressed the Downs for centuries in his quest for “horizon to horizon combining”. And after his borrowing rose and


matter what the cost, which led him into brushes with environ- mentalists, local communities – and the law. In the 1980s, when he ignored


tree preservation orders, his court appearances became a regular fea- ture of hisworking life and on local TV, coupled with stiff fines – even


Choral sounds atAll Saints


MAIDSTONE’S All Saints’ Church, will be filled with the sound of harmonious voices on Sunday, November 26, starting at 7pm. Sutton Valence Choral Society will perform Mendelssohn’s glori-


ous Elijah, and will be joined at the Mill Street church by Beresford Sinfonia and five top-class soloists. For tickets, £13, call 01622 861313.


the business experienced financial problems with land investments and nervousness fromhis bank, the farm went


into receivership,


prompting another appearance in themedia when he tried to kidnap a receiver at gunpoint, forwhich he was given a suspended prison sen- tence. The farmer, who wore a grin as well as a flat cloth cap, then took


his leave of the area – losing the title he bought himself of Lord of the Manor of Thurnham – in the sale of his farming empire by the liquidators, heading for life near Ashfordwith hiswife Grace. In an exclusive interviewhe gave


DownsMail at the time, aged 73, he described his retirement as “less ex- citing”, but one with few regrets, blaming the demise of his business empire on his bank and poor tim- ing. He said: “I think the business for-


tune desertedme at two important times; once when I was short of buying 300 acres at Swanley,which would have made me very sound, and again on the problems over the Grove Green deal.” He undoubtedly enjoyed the


challenge of getting the most from his land and confessed to hoping his lottery numberwould come up, offering a fresh chance to invest in land.


Santa set for seasonal bazaar


FATHER Christmas and his elveswill be calling in on theChristmas Bazaar at Cobtree Hall inMaidstone on Saturday, December 2. The fund-raiser for Maidstone Mencap will include face paint-


ing, tombola, cake stall and a raffle. Doors open at the hall, offWillington Street, inMote Park, at 2pm.


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• Top Soil • Turf • Sand & Ballast


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Connecting with local people


30 Maidstone December 2017


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Maidstone December 2017 31


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