Clearwell Farm History

Clearwell Farm was established by David Phillips' grandparents 110 years ago, his ancestors can be traced to farms in the area from the 1600’s.

Originally a tenanted farm it was derelict, abandoned  by the previous tenants whose children had emigrated. Most of the land was growing Gorse and Bracken. Great effort was made to bring the land back into production during the First World War. Slowly, with solely men and horses the land was cleared and improved. Crops were grown on the farm to feed the growing populations of Cardiff, Newport and the surrounding mining Valleys, providing much appreciated fresh fresh vegetables. At this time importing from the rest of the world was unthinkable and logistically impossible.

The farm flourished providing local people jobs and producing fresh produce and meat to local shops.

In the early 1990s fortunes quickly changed , the world globalised, traditional farms producing and selling locally had to compete with shipments of grain from around the world, often produced to lower standards. At this time the supermarkets came to dominate the retail of food in the UK and transport around the world became possible. Clearwell quickly became unprofitable and David the third generation now in charge, made the decision to diversify.