Aroundtown MEETS
Grandad Charlie
‘‘the brothers are still firmly in the ock of staff tasked with carin for both animals and payin isitors muckin in ust as they had done as kids to help the farm ourish’’
new challenge. He took his life savings to auction – with a limit of £7,000 – and came away the new owner of the 126-acre farm at the foot of the Pennine Hills, having bid £100 over his budget to secure the family’s new home at the sound of the gavel.
The new farm had great potential with lots of space to grow. But sadly, Charlie never lived to see his punt pay off. He died suddenly within 12 months of the family moving in and Roger, being the only son, had to step up as head of the family and business.
Roger was still at school and had such big boots to fill. But he was born to do it. His future had already been laid while he was still in the womb.
Charlie and his wife Irenie had three daughters and lost their first son in infancy, so they longed for another boy to secure their future. As a toddler, Roger would bottle feed the lambs and by eight- years-old was milking cows by hand after school. Even today aged 77, the smell of fresh milk still transports him back to those simpler times. While his schoolmates could leave their education firmly in the classroom, Roger was learning the complicated business of farming – not just shearing sheep and rearing calves but the ins and outs of stock and trade. But his father’s mentoring paid off. Two years after taking over the business, Roger had ensured it was self-sustaining and had a viable future. However, by the 1980s things had begun to wither. Despite their work ethic, the industry was hit hard and Cannon Hall Farm was losing money every year. In 30 years the most profit they had ever made was £700.
Roger now had three teenage sons’ stomachs to fill and his wife Cynthia to support. She had also come from an agricultural background, her family having a poultry farm in Halifax, and the pair met at a Young Farmers’ dance.
The three boys came within four years and Roger was hopeful at least one of them would carry on the Nicholson legacy. But even that didn’t look possible unless a miracle happened.
David
Roger’s vision was to sell off some land and buildings and redevelop the site to allow visitors. However, the bank refused to lend Roger any more money and bluntly said he’d never been able to support his family so he should quit while he still had equity in the business.
But Roger had inherited his father’s pride and stubbornness. You will do well to try and change a Nicholson’s mind.
He finally found a bank that shared his prophecy and Cannon Hall Farm opened to the public on Good Friday 1989. Balancing the till at the close of that first day, they’d taken £100 and have never looked back since. Tourism was their future.
That’s not to say those early years were plain sailing. Money was tight but Roger was fearless, transporting the business through many stormy waters.
“Dad set a great example to us lads. He is the driving force behind Cannon Hall Farm’s success. He was, and still is, very stoic and if he hadn’t kept going we wouldn’t be where we are today. We’d like him to slow down a bit now but he won’t have any of it,” says eldest son, Richard.
Over the last 30 years there has been considerable and continued reinvestment into the site to make it Yorkshire’s best large visitor attraction. The ramshackle old farm buildings are long gone, replaced with large purpose-built barns each with their own elevated viewing platform so visitors can see life on the farm first-hand, such as the new litter of piglets born each week. The early days also saw Cynthia open a small tearoom where she would sell homemade scones. Again, demand quickly outgrew capacity and they built a larger café which recently was transformed for a second time into the White Bull restaurant, named after Grandad Charlie’s prize-winning, stout drinking white shorthorn bull, Sam, from the 1950s. A farm shop and adventure playground were also added to improve the visitor offer, as was the iconic roundhouse and indoor soft play area. Visitors can ride tractors, bet on sheep or ferret races, and watch demos with the many farmers. The site may look somewhat different from its initial launch but the job hasn’t changed much in the last three decades. Farmer Roger is still involved in every aspect of the business, joined at the helm by his three adult sons.
Robert
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