John Hardwick

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Summary

Based on the interview recorded on 31 March 2006. It reflects the interviewee’s life and memories at that time.

John Hardwick has lived at Oldstone Farm all his life. Born in 1952, he represents the sixth generation of the Hardwick family to farm this land since 1794. Today, he and his brother Geoffrey manage nearly 300 acres—a mixture of arable, cattle and sheep farming—utilising the modern farm buildings as well as the Edwardian model farm buildings.

John’s early memories are of helping his father with Sunday lamb sorting, cleaning out pigs by hand, and feeding poultry. He fondly recalls market days in Hereford, especially the farmers’ luncheons at the Victoria Hotel. Farming was hands-on, dusty work back then, with bagging combines and heavy churns of milk bowled across yards—tasks he learned in his youth with local dairy farmer Mervyn Davis.

Through school at the Cathedral School and agricultural college at Walford, John always intended to farm. Though he once dreamed of working abroad, his father insisted he return to the land. Over time, John came to run the farm, enduring hardships including foot and mouth disease, the BSE crisis, and a mountain of increasing bureaucracy.

He speaks passionately about the decline in traditional farming and the government’s shift toward environmental stewardship over food production. Yet he remains deeply involved—still an active member and President of the Young Farmers Club after 40 years.

John’s recollections of village life brim with detail: childhood bonfires, local shops, biking adventures, and friendships that endured. Whether he’s describing skimming eels from the Wye or riding to the Lake District on a pushbike, John’s story is rich with community, resilience, and humour.

His testimony is a tribute to a way of life that’s evolving, but not forgotten. It captures the heart of farming life in Fownhope—hard work, strong ties, and stories well worth preserving.