About Jones Farm

History of the farm

George Rhone took on the tenancy of Home Farm in Ledsham Village in 1916. He had 7 children, Daisy, my grandmother, was the youngest. They were market gardeners growing fruit and veg for sale in the surrounding areas and would go out on the horse and lorry selling directly to customers and supplied local shops.

During the 1920s George won the prestigious Wirral Farmers cup outright with his horse. He won best in show 3 years consecutively which meant he was able to to keep the Wirral cup in perpetuity

When Daisy left school in 1935 at 14 she went to work on the farm along with her two sisters and one of her brothers John. Tragically her father died of peritonitis the following year 1937. The farm continued and was run by her mother Annie and managed by her brother John. They continued growing fruits and vegetables and suppling local customers and they all continued to live at home and work on the family farm. During the war the emphasis was on home production and growers were encouraged to grow as much as possible to feed the nation and not to rely on imports resulting in increased production throughout.

Annie died during the war and John Rhone bought a farm freeing up the tenancy of home farm.

Just after the war my grandfather also John who had been working on a local farm throughout the war met with Daisy and they got married. They set about looking for council holdings of their own all across Cheshire and eventually in 1947 they were fortunate to get the tenancy of home farm in Ledsham Vllage where Daisy was born.

We moved to our current location in 1957 with the purchase of 40 acres and operated it from Home Farm and in 1965 the opportunity came to buy an adjoining 20 acres which is now the site where we now operate.

Fresh produce was in high demand and they stopped doing local deliveries they bought a motor wagon and supplied the wholesale market. During the 50s with government encouragement they increased production and continued to do so up to the 70s selling mainly to wholesale market secondary wholesalers and shops.

My Dad, yet another John, along with other members of the family worked on the farm during summer holiday from the early 70s. He worked since he could drive a tractor, becoming a key role until he went to agricultural college in 1978. Here he worked on other farms during his practical years in Surrey and Yorkshire before coming back to work full time in 1981 where he helped to continue production of a wide range of fruits and vegetables at that time produce was still sold through the wholesale markets and local shops however it was clear supermarkets where becoming the way forward and during the 1990s we provided the major supermarkets with a wide range of produce including strawberries, asparagus, spring cabbage, iceberg lettuce and rhubarb.

We’ve had our own shop where people could buy direct from the farm for over 40 years.

At the start of the 2000s came the start of farmers markets we were very much a part of the birth of farmers market and have played a prominent role in a large number of local markets across Wirral, Liverpool, North Wales and Cheshire. Whilst suppling wholesalers and the supermarkets we were creating links with customers through retail markets, our shop and pick your own. Very much like the old days.

We continued to supply the supermarket until 2006 as the farmers market popularity increased. As time went on supplying the supermarket become more difficult with their demands and costs of plastic packaging, transport, distribution and lower margins for the producers. We realised that if we grew a smaller quantities but a wider range the demand from the farmers markets meant that the business could remain viable.

I started helping my Dad with farmers markets when I was 11 and have been all over the north west and Wales with him, spending weekends in the ‘character building’ rain. In 2020 along with everything else, all markets were closed due to the pandemic which resulted in us thinking on our feet and developing a home delivery box scheme very quickly in a very simple format which proved very popular. As everything was locked down the farm shop remained open with plenty of space on the yard customers were able to maintain their distance and safety.

As orders increase so did footfall to the shop and it became apparent that people’s awareness of local produce was at the forefront of peoples mind. And that’s where you join us in our history, which we will continue to write for the next 100 years 

Home delivery

To order our fruit and veg boxes along with other specially selected locally sourced produce, simply click below.

Pop in & pickup the freshest produce

We would love to see you at our farm shop, come visit us for the freshest fruit and veg.

Location

Heath lane, Ellesmere Port, CH66 7NS

Phone: 0151 339 3169

Email: jonesfarmshop@gmail.com

Farm Shop Opening Times

Thursday: 9:00 to 17:00

Friday: 9:00 to 17:00

Saturday: 9:00 to 13:00