Broadgate Farm Before and After: From Farm Buildings to Holiday Cottages

Becoming Broadgate Farm Cottages

The Broadgate Farm before and after story is not really a story about buildings. It’s the story of a family falling in love with a derelict farmstead in the Yorkshire countryside and spending the next twenty years bringing it back to life.

In 2006, Steve and Elaine discovered Broadgate Farm: nineteen acres of land on the edge of the Yorkshire Wolds, just two miles from the historic market town of Beverley. They made the decision to move there with their daughter Lauren, then just six years old, who grew up watching the farm transform around her.

brick cottages at dusk with a fireball in front

Before: A Neglected Farmstead

When we first arrived, the farmhouse was uninhabitable and the outbuildings had been left to decay. A massive three storey grain dryer and a large pole barn dominated the yard, crowding out the space between the buildings and the surrounding fields.

Steve was a builder by trade, and Elaine brought a background in marketing and a clear vision for what the farm could become. Between them, they had the skills and determination to invest their own time, energy and savings into making it happen.

aerial view of broadgate farm 2003

First We Needed a Home

Before any holiday cottage opened its doors, our family needed somewhere to live. Steve's first job was making the run down farmhouse into the family home.

Then came the holiday cottages, and it was Elaine who set the direction: luxury self-catering accommodation that kept the original character of the farm buildings while offering every modern comfort. Steve and Elaine combined their expertise to undertake the conversions.

broadgate farmhouse after development 2023

After: Developing the Cottages

After securing planning permission in 2008, the transformation began in earnest. The grain dryer and pole barn were removed, opening up the space between the cottages and the fields.

The cottages opened in stages, each one converted with care:

  • September 2009 Forge and Stables, the first two cottages welcomed their first guests.
  • May 2010 Barn House and Granary followed.
  • September 2011 Foldyard cottage was added.
  • Summer 2015 Cart House welcomed its first guests.
barn house cottage before development

20 Years Later: A Family Business & Family Home

The farm's before and after journey does not end with the last cottage opening its doors, because Broadgate Farm has never stopped being a work in progress, or a home.

Lauren, who moved here as a six-year-old, has now joined the business full time, moving back to and working in the place she grew up and helping shape its future. Steve has retired from building and now keeps a flock of around sixty sheep. Elaine runs the office, looking after bookings and guests as she has done from the very beginning.

lauren in a derelict cottage before development

Why Before and After Matters to Us

We have before and after photographs of the farmhouse and the outbuildings, and looking at them side by side, the change is remarkable. But the pictures only tell half the story.

The other half is what the farm means to us: the place Lauren grew up, the place Steve and Elaine built with their own hands, and the place we now share with the families, couples and groups who come to stay.

When you book a cottage at Broadgate Farm you are staying on the farm we call home. We feel so lucky to live in this beautiful corner of paradise, and we look forward to sharing it with you.

elaine and steve in stables cottage garden after development
stables cottage before development broadgate farm cottages
granary barn and foldyard before development
cart house foundations during development
cart house before development
old grain dryer on broadgate farm
forge cottage before development broadgate farm cottages
steve and his dogs outside forge cottage after development
broadgate farm house before development

Ready to book your Yorkshire getaway?

Visit Broadgate Farm Cottages, holiday cottages near Beverley in East Yorkshire. Cottages of varying sizes can be booked all year round.

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