About us

Our History

We are Rob and Caitlin Dean and we moved to Cornwall in 2006 just after we got married and Alfie came along in 2008 followed by Patrick in 2010 and number 3 is due in May 2012. Rob spent the first year working for the Cornwall Wildlife Trust after gaining a degree in Conservation and Countryside Management and went on to work for Cornwall Habitat Management Services where he qualified as a tree surgeon. Caitlin is a qualified nurse and works as a self employed locum Practice Nurse, which provides the flexibility to run the farm also. In 2009 we bought Gilbury and by the end of the year we had also bought the field adjoining the property, which had originally been part of the land but was sold separately in the 1980's. Since then we have been renovating the house, rebuilding the extension and setting up the smallholding. Rob is now juggling both the smallholding and his tree surgery business and we have recently completed on a new 10.5 acre field just a short distance from the house, bringing our total acreage to nearly 15.

Since June 2011 we have also had a long term wwoof volunteer, Jo Ballard and her daughter Rosa, living with us at Gilbury. Jo helps with the day to day running of the farm now that Rob's tree surgery business is taking off and while Caitlin is pregnant. She is also a creative interpreter at the Eden Project and is an experience course leader with a varitey of crafty skills. Rosa is a tom boy and loves animals. In January she is going to start training one of our new sheep in order to show it next year in the young handlers classes and hopefully win a prize for Gilbury Farm!

Kelly is our nanny at Gilbury Farm and is a crucial part of family life. Her son Aiden comes most days too and enjoys helping out with the animals.

The House

Our aim is to run Gilbury as an eco friendly, ethically grounded smallholding, to the best of our abilities. The extension we are building has been designed using as much recycled, reclaimed and low impact materials as possible and we are incorporating many wildlife enhancing features into the new build such as attic space dedicated for bats, bird boxes and so on. We also hope to reduce our environmental impact and dependence on non-renewable resources by installing solar panels, a wood burning heating and cooking system, sourcing our own water and dealing with our own waste. For more information or advice on the sort of building products we have used, from insulation and solar panels to wall structures and paints please do not hesitate to contact us as we have largely learned through trial and error and have had to balance the budget carefully, making compromises along the way; we are more than happy to pass on any knowledge/experience we have gained to help others. (We also had an 'eco friendly' wedding and are always delighted to discuss how we did this with people who are trying to do the same)

Gilbury Farm

The smallholding is still in its infancy but is expanding rapidly. We currently have Gloucester Old Spot pigs and various rare breed chickens to breed from as well as Dexter Cattle and Jacob's Sheep. By 2012 we hope to have our veg patch and orchard in full production. You can read more about our livestock on their respective pages; pigs, cattle, chickens, Sheep.

Our mission is:

To provide delicious, natural and free range eggs, chicken, pork, beef and lamb to people in our local community and beyond.

To help in the preservation of rare and traditional breeds of farm animals and give them as happy, natural and comfortable lives as possible.
To manage our land and buildings to enhance local wildlife and birds as much as possible.
To be self-sufficient as a family for our meat and vegetables, heat and water.
To provide information and education to our customers about the rare breeds animals that we keep and our husbandry methods and lifestyle

We are members of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust, The British Pig Association, Gloucester Old Spot Pig Breeders Club, The Cornish Guild of Smallholders, The Dexter Cattle Society and The Jacob Sheep Society