WHO WE ARE

Our story begins in 1872 with David Bingham. David and his wife Margaret Smilie raised their family in the town land of Cluntagh outside Hillsborough. David farmed the land they owned round their cottage. After his death his eldest son Joseph moved to a farm outside Newcastle while his brother John and sister Maggie continued to work on the farm. John kept different livestock but seems to have focuses on poultry and potatoes. To supplement this income John ran a small shop which stocked the daily essentials of tea and sugar.

When John passed away the land passed to Maggie Bingham who drew upon her talents and gifts as a weaver to produce custom made textiles on home made looms. When Maggie passed away, her nephew Sammy Bingham, inherited the farm and he, like his forefathers shared a love for the land. While the land at Cluntagh was primarily used for grazing beef cattle the farm at Newcastle was used for cattle, as well as barley and potatoes.

Sammy sadly passed away in 2017 and now the farm in Cluntagh belongs to husband and wife team of Neil and Jill Bingham. This has enabled Neil to establish a business that looks very different from all previous manifestations of the past. Neil is depending upon his skill as a joiner to make chicken coops, beehives, and garden furniture as well as selling chickens and eggs. The interest which Neil has in bees is also something which has been passed down through the generations with Neil and his cousin Joseph both being the third generation of bee keepers in the Bingham family. These are the beginnings that we look to the past for the inspiration of hard work and determination, as well as looking at the contemporary situation and growing or making which the public want.