Stourhead Farm Shop

Farm Shop

Stephen Harris at Coldcot Farm raises Charolais x Simmental cattle. Stephen was a dairy farmer by trade, but falling milk prices meant he replaced his dairy cows for a beef herd. Cows are bought at one year old from a suckler herd at the National Trust’s Stonehenge estate and matured slowly in grassy pastures over summer. In winter they are housed in open yards and fed on silage and cracked wheat. Slaughtering takes place at a local abattoir then meat is returned to the farm for hanging for up to three weeks. The resulting beef is deep red and well marbled and the label on the fillet steak begs ‘Not to be overcooked!’

They also make a wide variety of sausages, cured bacon and hams. Sausages are made using pork and lamb from Freedom Food approved farms as well as their own beef. Local favourite, the ‘Stourhead Sizzler’ is a mix of pork and venison from the wild roe deer in the estate woods. Flavoured with port and juniper berries, the recipe is a closely guarded secret.

Stourhead pastrami is cured in a spicy seasoning for 3-5 days before being cooked by a local chef, then returned to the farm for slicing. A converted cattle barn houses the farm shop. It provides an outlet for all the tenant farmers on the Stourhead and Stourhead Western Estate. As well as the meat, they stock local produce including seasonal fruit and vegetables from Stourton House Walled Garden and cheese from surrounding Wiltshire, Somerset and Dorset.

The 22nd-28th September is RSPCA Freedom Food Farm Animal Week. Click here for more details and to find out how you can get involved!