Great Chalfield

Major R.F Fuller gave Great Chalfield Manor, Garden and part of the estate to the NT in 1943. It has been home to the family for generations, including one of WWT's founding Chairman, Charles Floyd FLS (Fellow Linnean Society), father of current family tenant Robert Floyd. Robert has also been the Chair of WWT in the past and is our current Patron. This partnership is not only positive for the future of Great Chalfield it also celebrates the connection between the two charities through the Floyd family. In partnership we will demonstrate farming with nature in the future and explain that story in relation to Great Chalfield, the wider landscapes and county of Wiltshire.

The Wiltshire Wildlife Trust actively welcomes volunteers to participate in various projects. As the project evolves, we have more volunteering opportunities becoming available. You can find out more and register here. 

If you don’t want to volunteer but still want to contribute you can support our work through donating or becoming a member. Vital funds from our donors and members help us deliver crucial projects to protect nature just like this one.

As The Wildlife Trust's Farming Vision makes clear, farming has the potential to be a driver of nature and climate recovery. Many farmers are already proving this in practice — Great Chalfield will accelerate that shift, providing the support structures, skills, and evidence needed to move from isolated examples to systemic change.

The case for action is clear. With agroforestry, climate resilience, and nature-based markets rising fast on the national agenda, now is the moment for the Great Chalfield Learning Hub. It is uniquely placed to remove barriers, provide farmers with the skills, confidence, and networks they need, while also shaping a national conversation about the future of farming.

The partnership will provide much-needed ‘green infrastructure’ for the expanding communities of Melksham and Trowbridge – with existing footpaths around the site – and raise awareness of how people can take meaningful action for nature. This will sit alongside the Great Chalfield Manor and Garden visitor experience led by the NT.

The work of WWT is diverse, and working alongside the farming community is essential to nature’s recovery in Wiltshire. The Consensus on Food, Farming and Nature, to which The Wildlife Trusts and the National Trust are signatories, builds on a robust evidence base that demonstrates we can achieve our Nature Recovery, Net Zero and Food Security goals through a regenerative farming and land use transition. To achieve this vision, farmers and land managers need support to find a resilient and profitable pathway to more nature-friendly farming and agroforestry. New income streams from environmental services markets have an important role to play, alongside public money from the emerging Environmental Land Management Scheme; cost savings from reduced input reliance; access to new markets, including for tree products; and diversification for eco-tourism.

Farmers, landowners, and advisors can come to learn, share, and be inspired. The next generation of environmental farm advisors and conservationists will be trained, supported, and connected. The Hub will not only support local farmers but become a flagship site influencing practice and policy across the UK.

Great Chalfield is situated in a priority area for nature’s recovery, both for Wiltshire and the Bristol Avon Catchment. It has excellent connectivity to the wider nature recovery network via ancient hedgerows and the Lenton and Chalfield Brooks. It has strong potential for:

• Increasing populations of many of Wiltshire’s critical species, notably 9 species of bats, including rare Greater Horseshoe Bats, helping to mitigate the impact of Trowbridge’s urban expansion.
• A whole farm tree plan, integrating agroforestry and extending hedgerows and farm woodland alongside existing hedgerows and specimen trees.
• Green infrastructure in a part of Wiltshire earmarked for significant urban extension in the Local Plan.

Great Chalfield Manor and Garden will continue to open as a National Trust visitor attraction under the stewardship of Robert and Patsy Floyd, supported by the NT operational team at Lacock. The Manor and Garden are not part of the lease to WWT. WWT will take over management of the land surrounding Great Chalfield – the land recently acquired in addition to the land already owned by the National Trust. For more information visit the Great Chalfield webpage.