It’s well known that the Owen family lives on Ravenseat Farm, which is owned by billionaire, Robert Warren Miller. The purchase of High Smithy Farm in Upper Swaledale, otherwise known as Anty Johns, shown in the new series of Our Farm Next Door: Amanda, Clive and Kids is their family’s chance to put down some roots The new Channel 4 show shows Amanda Owen and her former partner Clive take on the challenge of turning the house into a home.
The first episode of the programme, which aired last week, showed the family making a start on the huge renovation project unearthing flagstone floors inside and beginning to take the roof off the old farmhouse. Amanda also began looking at the history of the building with help from a friend.
The 1800s farmhouse, which is close to Ravenseat Farm, was taken over by Amanda and Clive back in March 2020. As Amanda stated in the new series and previously it is something to pass down in the family. Rueben was quick to show his enthusiasm for Anty Johns in the new series saying he could see himself living there.
The farmhouse comes with 30 acres and common grazing rights and will include two bedrooms making it a tight squeeze for the whole family to live there. With it being in the national park as well it will have strict building requirements that ensure the family strike a good balance between preserving the building’s historic character and the need for modern habitation.
Anthony Clarkson, a Georgian-era land surveyor and commissioner who drew all of Swaledale’s maps, used to live here. The National Archives still has copies of his papers. But the place had been empty for decades.
The vision for the Grade II listed building is for it to be a cosy two-bed farmhouse with a living room, kitchen, shower room, and utility space. There will also be around 30 acres of a mixture of meadow, pasture and woodland.
The Owen family have not got much done with the renovation in the first episode of the Channel 4 series, but a year on we know that Amanda and Clive have managed to erect a roof and set their sights on putting in windows next.
So might say that the lack of foundations, a missing roof, and outdated planning permissions might be a reason not to go through with it. But, one thing we know about the Owen family is they love a bit of graft and they’ve taken everything in their stride with this huge project.
Catch up on the first episode of More4’s Our Farm Next Door: Amanda, Clive and Kids here. Catch the next episode via More4 at 9pm on Monday 21st October.
Read More: Everything We Know About Channel 5’s ‘The Hardacres’
Feature Image Credit: The Yorkshire Shepherdess
