Sowing the seeds of rock

It’s not often you get to meet a walking-talking encyclopaedia of musical history – and a man who set a very high bar for making diversification work in farming. Kingsley Ward is all those things, and still working to make sure innovation plays a major role in his business as he treads gently through his 80s.

Kingsley is the co-founder of the world-famous Rockfield Studios near Monmouth, close to the Wales-England border and a short drive from the M4 and M5. Anyone who knows a little about music from the 1960s to the current day will appreciate that Rockfield is a marquee brand name in the industry –the first (and, arguably, still the best) residential studio in the world.

The studio was founded in 1961 by Kingsley and his brother Charles, who died in 2022. The Ward family had bought Amberley Court Farm in Rockfield in the early 1950s. The place was originally a Shire horse breeding centre, but the brothers ran it as a livestock farm with 300-plus pigs and a herd of dairy cows.

The brothers loved music and their musical journey took them to London, a meeting with Beatles producer George Martin, and finally a trip home to set up their first recording studio in an attic in Rockfield.

Black Sabbath, Rush, Robert Plant, Queen, Simple Minds, Clannad, Annie Lennox and Paolo Nutini are just a few of the big names to use the two studios at Rockfield (there’s a choice between The Coach House and The Quadrangle). The site also includes 16 apartments.

Today, two Jersey cows, 15 sheep and two horses graze quietly on the 50 acres of Rockfield. Farming may not be what puts the bread and butter on the table for Kingsley, but he still cares about the industry and worries for young people carving out a future in agriculture.

He says: “Is it impossible for young people today to make a go of it? Not quite, I suppose, if you are the son of a farmer who owns the property outright. But if you’ve taken over a farm with debt, then it becomes much harder. That’s where it’s very important to resolve the tax issues.

“Inheritance tax is crippling farmers. And, then, you also have to consider the other thing that’s crippling farmers – that’s the paperwork. Farmers have too many other things to do than to spend all day on a computer filling out forms.”

Asked about advice for other rural entrepreneurs, Kingsley says that if you have an idea, it’s important to put your heart and soul into it.

“Perhaps you want to diversify into the holiday market? Camping and caravanning is popular,” he says. “If you’re a milk producer, perhaps producing ice cream is an opportunity? Other farmers consider running farm shops. Vineyards are now popping up all over the place – and people are working hard at growing different types of vegetables for niche markets.”

While the very big farmers may not need to diversify because of the scale of their operations, the medium and smaller farmers have to diversify to keep their income streams going, he adds.

“The reality is that farming is always difficult. But if you’re clever enough at farming and you are prepared to make the effort and adopt a few good ideas, there’s always a way to diversify.

“In which case, it also pays to care passionately about what you are trying to do – and you’ve got to have the energy to make it work for you. Sometimes, you’ve just got to keep going.”

Kingsley, who received an MBE from The Princess Royal in 2023, says he is proud to be a member of The CLA. “We’ve been in it from the very start and find the advice and help on offer invaluable in these constantly changing times. Obviously, their work in lobbying Parliament in London and the Senedd here in Wales is very important.”