Church Farm feels like a very personal project. Can you take us back to the beginning, what was the original idea, and when did you first realise it could become something much bigger?
It really is incredibly personal because Church Farm is our home first and everything else has grown around that. The original idea was actually much simpler. We had this beautiful place, land around us and buildings with potential, and we thought perhaps we could create a few really lovely places for people to stay.
There wasn’t a grand masterplan involving retreats, shoots, events, a shop, coffee, animals and me continuously finding new buildings for Nik to convert. Had I presented that business plan at the beginning, he probably would have left.
What happened instead was very organic. People came to stay and started using the farm in ways we hadn’t necessarily anticipated. They wanted to spend time here rather than simply sleep here. Brands wanted to shoot here. Groups wanted to take over the whole estate. People wanted retreats, events and experiences. And we realised what we had wasn’t really just accommodation, the farm itself was the thing people were connecting with. That’s probably when our thinking changed. We stopped asking, “How many places can people stay?” and started asking, “What else could Church Farm be?”
We’re still asking that question, which is both exciting and potentially quite expensive.
The phrase “What if we just did it?” feels very central to the ethos of Church Farm. What was the first slightly crazy idea you had that actually became reality?
That sentence has probably caused more trouble at Church Farm than anything else. Neither of us is particularly good at sitting around talking about something for three years. If an idea feels right, our instinct tends to be: well, why don’t we try it?
Initially that applied to creating the accommodation, but it’s become almost a philosophy for the estate. Why couldn’t we hold a retreat here? Why couldn’t we turn a horsebox into something? Why couldn’t we have an outdoor cinema next to the alpacas? Why couldn’t we create our own events? Why couldn’t somebody take over the entire farm for a weekend?
The danger is that I’ve generally moved from “What if?” to “I’ve ordered it” considerably faster than Nik would prefer. Some things work brilliantly. Some things evolve. Occasionally something arrives on the back of a lorry and Nik discovers we’re apparently starting another project. But I’d rather have a few ridiculous ideas than become frightened of trying anything new.
You come from very different backgrounds; Nik, with your lifelong connection to farming and the countryside, and Elizabeth, with your experience running a modelling agency. How have those different perspectives shaped the estate? And are there ever moments when you completely disagree on an idea?
Elizabeth: Constantly. And I actually think that’s one of the reasons Church Farm works.Nik understands the land in a way I never will. He’s practical, incredibly capable and instinctively understands how things work. He’ll look at something and immediately think about drainage, foundations, machinery and whether it’s physically possible.
I’ll look at exactly the same space and think, God, that would look incredible with a bar in it.
My previous life running a modelling agency gave me a very different eye. I’m interested in imagery, storytelling, fashion, interiors and how something feels. I probably approach Church Farm more like a creative project than a traditional hospitality business.
So yes, we disagree. Frequently. But somewhere between Nik saying, “That’s completely impractical” and me saying, “I’ve already ordered it”, Church Farm tends to happen.
What did you want people to feel when they first arrived at Church Farm? Was there a particular feeling or experience you were trying to create?
We wanted that immediate dropping-of-the-shoulders feeling. Church Farm isn’t somewhere we want people to feel they have to behave differently because they’ve arrived somewhere beautiful. Take your shoes off. Pour a drink. Sit outside. Wander around. Talk to an alpaca. Don’t talk to anybody at all if that’s what you need.
We love beautiful things and we’re obsessive about the details, but we never wanted luxury here to mean formality. For us, luxury is space, privacy, really good bedding, proper coffee, beautiful surroundings and enough freedom to disappear for a while. And possibly being able to drink a martini while looking at a pig.
There’s a lovely balance between things feeling considered and stylish, while still being relaxed and lived-in. How do you approach the design without making it feel too polished or overdone?
Elizabeth: I think the quickest way to remove the soul from an old building is to make everything perfect. We deliberately mix things. Old with new, expensive with inexpensive, pattern with colour. I’m much more interested in a room having personality than everything technically matching. We’ve recently been working on The Cottage and there was briefly a suggestion of magnolia. That conversation didn’t last very long.
I always think a room should reveal itself gradually. There should be something slightly unexpected, something you’ve found rather than simply bought as part of a matching collection. Church Farm is a working home and farm. There are dogs, chickens, muddy boots, children, animals and people actually living here. The interiors have to be able to cope with that.
Considered, yes. Precious, absolutely not.
Church Farm is designed to be many things; a place to stay, celebrate, work, create, retreat and reconnect. What do you think people are ultimately coming here for?
I think they’re coming for permission to stop.
Our lives have become incredibly noisy. Even when we’re supposedly resting, we’re answering emails, checking phones or thinking about what we’re meant to be doing next.
Here, something shifts.
You wake up and hear animals rather than traffic. You can walk outside in your pyjamas. You can spend an hour drinking coffee. Children can disappear into the countryside. Friends who haven’t properly spoken for six months suddenly spend an evening talking.
Whether somebody comes for a shoot, a retreat, an event or a weekend away, ultimately I think they’re looking for the same thing: connection.
To themselves, to each other and perhaps to something a little slower.
What has surprised you most since opening? Has the way people use and enjoy the estate been different from what you originally imagined?
Completely.
We thought people would come here primarily because they needed somewhere beautiful to stay. What we’ve discovered is that people actually want to inhabit the place.
They want to know the animals. They want to wander around the gardens. They want to sit outside. They want to bring their friends back. We’ve had people wanting private takeovers, women’s retreats, family experiences, brand events and location shoots.
That has probably been the biggest revelation: Church Farm isn’t really about the buildings. It’s about what happens between them. It’s also why we’re increasingly developing experiences and events rather than simply adding more accommodation.
Do you have a favourite corner, room or spot at Church Farm, somewhere you find yourselves escaping to when you have a little time to yourselves?
Elizabeth: Anywhere the animals are, really.
I love sitting with the chickens, although I appreciate that it doesn’t sound particularly glamorous. There’s something incredibly grounding about it. Animals don’t care what’s happening with work, what’s on Instagram or what needs doing tomorrow. Although the chickens do mainly care whether I have food.
The gardens are also very special early in the morning or towards the end of the day when everything becomes quiet. The irony is that we created all these lovely places for other people to switch off and we’re still learning how to do it ourselves.
And what does a perfect day at Church Farm look like for you both, from morning to evening?
It would begin slowly, proper coffee from our workshop and preferably outside, and no immediate catastrophe involving an animal. Then, we’d probably wander around the farm, feed everybody and inevitably discover three jobs that weren’t on the list.
If we’re being aspirational, there would be something freshly picked from the garden for breakfast. In reality, Elizabeth will pick it, photograph it beautifully and then admit she has absolutely no idea what to cook with it.
Lunch outside. A swim. A few hours where nobody feels particularly compelled to achieve anything. Then friends arrive, drinks somewhere in the garden, something good to eat and a very long table with everyone still sitting around it long after dinner should technically have finished.
That’s Church Farm at its best, when nobody is looking at the time.
Wellness is increasingly becoming part of the Church Farm experience. What does “wellness” mean to you personally, and what do you think people most need when they escape to the countryside?
We’ve deliberately tried not to make wellness at Church Farm intimidating. Wellness doesn’t have to mean waking at 5am, drinking something green and being exceptionally good at yoga. Sometimes wellness is movement and nourishing food. Sometimes it’s Pilates, stretching or swimming. Sometimes it’s walking through a field and not looking at your phone for an hour. And sometimes it’s having a glass of wine with your best friend and laughing until your face hurts.
Our women’s and Parent & Child retreats reflect that. There can be structure, expert-led sessions and genuinely restorative experiences, but there also needs to be space around them. People are exhausted by constantly being expected to optimise themselves. Sometimes what they actually need is permission to do absolutely nothing.
For someone visiting Church Farm for the first time, where would you send them for the best coffee and breakfast nearby?
We’d obviously say start at Church Farm because we’ve got our own coffee shop and deli and we’re extremely biased.
It’s become an important part of the estate because we wanted somewhere guests could wander into without having to get in the car: really good coffee, something lovely to eat and the sort of things you suddenly convince yourself are essential while drinking your second flat white.
After that, we’d send people out to explore. Bath is close enough for a brilliant breakfast-and-wander morning, but there’s also something lovely about staying local and discovering the smaller Wiltshire villages.
Where is your favourite place to buy really good local produce, whether that’s bread, cheese, fruit and vegetables, meat or something for a special dinner?
We’re incredibly lucky around here because good food doesn’t feel like a luxury product; it’s part of living in the countryside. There are brilliant farm shops, butchers and independent producers all around us. We’re much happier buying something wonderful made ten minutes away than something that’s travelled halfway around the world simply because it has beautiful packaging. Allington farm shop is a short drive away and has every vegetable under the sun, cheeses you can’t pronounce but you know you need and Pano Bakery is an absolute must for our daily baked sourdough and baguettes , terrific guys who own it
Where do you go when you want to browse beautiful things — interiors, antiques, fashion, vintage or independent shops?
Elizabeth: This is considerably more dangerous territory for me. I can go out supposedly looking for a loaf of bread and return with an antique chair. Whilst running the risk of being repetitive , our lifestyle store on site is pretty fabulous, we only stock independent makers. We have jewellery from brands such as Nordic Muse, stylish homeware and just gorgeous “bits “ that make the perfect present for a friend and most importantly, yourself!
Bath is brilliant for independent shops, interiors and fashion, and we also love exploring the antique shops and smaller independents scattered through the villages around us and Tetbury
I’m particularly drawn to anything that wasn’t actually on the shopping list. Which, coincidentally, is how quite a lot of Church Farm has been furnished.
What’s your favourite place for lunch or dinner in the area and what should we order?
Lunch we love to pop for Tetbury, the Cotswold farm shop on the high street is our new go-to, Nik goes for the summer berry granola and I repeatedly have avocado, feta and poached egg and and a very strong coffee to wash it down with
Dinner, we are super lucky to have some incredible Cotswold pubs. The Langley Tap and Wellesley Arms are owned by the gorgeous Mark & Mark . Think roaring fires , muddy boots and then three courses of delightfulness. Nik always goes for the scallops ( ten of them !) followed by their sharing homemade pies ( but I get very little of it and end up ordering again as Nik wolfs it down ).
If you wanted to get out into nature for a beautiful walk, where would you go?
We’re spoilt because you can walk out at Church Farm and immediately be in the countryside, so sometimes the answer is simply: don’t go anywhere. We have over 10 acres of woodland and fields that we adore. But if we were heading out, Westonbirt, The National Arboretum is beautiful and changes completely with the seasons.
We also love Lacock. It’s ridiculously picturesque and has that wonderful sense of having stepped backwards in time with the added bonus for families that parts of Harry Potter were filmed there.
And then there’s the wider countryside around the Cotswolds and Wiltshire. We’re surrounded by places where you can walk for hours, find a pub and decide the walk back can probably wait.
We don’t really want Church Farm to become bigger for the sake of being bigger. We want it to become richer, more reasons to come, more things to experience and more opportunities to bring interesting people together. But whatever we add, it still has to feel like Church Farm. If it ever becomes too polished, too predictable or too serious, we’ve probably gone wrong.
