Thorpe Farm was purchased by Percy Barkes in 1936, Great Grandfather to the youngest generation of Barkes’ today.
Deryk Barkes, Percy’s son, farmed at the farm thereafter. It was a mixed farm consisting of suckler cows and sheep with an arable operation as well. He later expanded into dairy cows, one of only a few farmers in the area to have, at the time, a state-of-the-art milking parlour.
In 1982 Paul Barkes, Deryk’s son, returned from agricultural college. He slowly moved away from cows and into pig production, expanding the arable area and kept the sheep flock. He later added a commercial grain drying operation and a small contracting business.
