About Us

Little Thorness Farm has been run by the Hayward family for over 120 years. Formerly it was part of a 3200 acre estate administered from Northwood House in the centre of Cowes. At one time this was owned by the architect John Nash and subsequently purchased by the Ward family in the early part of the nineteenth century. In the late 1890s Simeon Hayward secured the tenancy and he bought the farm at auction for £2100 in 1919, when the Ward Estate was broken up. Prior to this his annual rent had been £105.

The farm is approximately 100 acres (40 hectares) in size and a further 30 acres are rented on an annual basis. Until the 1980s it was a dairy farm and bottled and sold the milk locally –  even supplying cream to the Royal Yacht during Cowes Week during the reign of George V. After the dairy closed the farm has been a livestock enterprise rearing cattle of different ages throughout the grazing season and sheep during the late autumn and winter. There are two wetland areas on the holding and these are both designated as areas of special protection(SPAs) because of the very rare flora and fauna – in 2012 the hoverfly (Eumerus sogdianus) was found habitating the east marsh and this was the first recording of it in Britain. Thorness Bay is just a short walk across the field and many coastal & wading birds can be found along the foreshore.

There is also a wealth of archaeology on the beach, with flint blades from the Neolithic (3500-2000 BC) and pottery from the Iron Age & Roman times as well. At low tide the timber posts of what is thought to be a Tudor fish trap (dated between 1580-1620) can still be seen. To the east of the bay the remnants of the PLUTO pipeline can be found. This acronym (PipeLine Under The Ocean) was the name given to a network of pipes and pits that came from the refinery in Southampton Water, under the Solent and through the Island. From here it was laid onto the seabed and across the channel to supply fuel to the Normandy Beaches for the D Day invasion.

With patience fossils can be found in the bay – most common are Emys and Trionyx ,which are types of freshwater turtles, and they lived about 40 million years ago. Other fossils include crocodile scutes, which are bony plates that laid under the skin, and also their teeth which are conical. If you would like to hunt for fossils we can show you some of our finds so that you know what to look for.

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