The Farm

How it all began

Broughton Hall Farm has been owned by the Tydeman family since 1923. It was bought by Charles Edward Tydeman when the Shrublands Estate sold off some of its tenanted land.

The family moved all the way… from the neighbouring farm! Charles’ son Alec (Sam’s grandfather) and then Alec’s boys, David (Sam’s father) and Charles, have farmed the land over the intervening years, with pig rearing taking a large amount of the work.

Farming generations


David returned from university in 1972 to work on the farm. At a time when higher welfare meat was not a countrywide priority, David prioritised the care and health of the animals above all.

In 2013, Sam (David’s son), returned home with a career as a Land Agent in full flow, and started working on the farm part time with his father. He and Emily settled in Suffolk as their daughter, Martha, was born and Emily’s career as a Land Agent in the National Trust took her to the Suffolk Coast.

The last pigs went through the farm in 2017, when the stockman, who had been working on the farm since a young boy, finally retired, aged 70.

New beginnings

When the decision to create Broughton Hall Dairy was taken in 2023, it tied in well with Sam’s ideal of a mixed farm, less reliant on intensive, commercial arable output, and his passion for regenerative farming, with low inputs and minimum tillage.

A chance discussion led to an introduction to local sheep farmers who were at the very start of their dairying career. They were keen to send their milk locally to make a premium product.

So now, the older lambs graze on herbal pasture at Broughton Hall Farm whilst the milk is made at Salter’s Farm in Buxhall, just some ten minutes from Broughton Hall Farm.

Scroll to Top