Sam married Dora Jennison in 1926 and they had three children, Helen, Richard and Hugh.

Richard joined his father in the farming business in 1946 and in 1948 went to Glasgow on a course to study Agriculture. On his first day in Glasgow he booked into his boarding house to find that he was sharing with another student. Before he even had time to open his suitcase his fellow student said to him, “What is a truly fertile soil?” Richard replied, “A soil capable of growing good crops” but the student responded “No it isn’t, it is a soil rich in humus’. The student lent Richard a book called “Humus and the Farmer” by Friend Sykes. Strangely enough, that moment was to change the direction of Pimhill Farm entirely.

Sam and Richard had been concerned about the direction of the Farm due to a breakdown in fertility in the cows. This coincided with a time when nationally there was a great push for agricultural production as a result of food shortages during the war.

Richard and then Sam were so impressed by Friend Sykes’ book and his emphasis on the importance of soil health that they took the decision not to use artificial fertilisers and chemicals and effectively not to follow the conventional route. In 1949 they went ‘organic’ (though at the time it was not known as such). This was not done with a market in mind, it was a decision taken on the strength of their belief that this was the best way forward for their land and for their livestock.

Sam Mayall then met Lady Eve Balfour and became more and more involved wih the recently formed (1946) Soil Association and became Vice President for a number of years. It was during the 1950’s that they decided to invest in a small hammer mill. They reasoned that if the cereals they were growing were better for their animals it followed that they should be milling flour for the farmhouse. This they did.

Richard at that time went rally driving with a local baker, Alex Williams. Richard told Alex about the flour and he decided to try it in his bakery. This proved to be a great success and as word spread about the flour, mainly via Sam’s Soil Association work, the Pimhill Mill evolved. Sam and Richard added oats and then muesli to the range in the 1950’s.

About this time Sam Mayall wrote an article called “An English Organic Farm” (click here to view) and it still makes extraordinarily relevant reading today. In 1958 Richard Mayall married Anne Crow and they had two children, Ginny and Robert.

During the 1960’s and 70’s Pimhill Mill flourished, supplying the early wholefood shops, bakeries and restaurants across the country. It was at a family picnic in the late 1970’s that Ginny took the picture of her father Richard ‘jumping in the air’ and clicking his heels, which we have used on some of our packaging ... Sadly in 1979, Dora Mayall died followed by Sam in 1980.

By this time Robert had decided that he too wanted to farm and he enrolled at Harper Adams to study agriculture. Tragically in 1982 Robert and a friend were killed in a car accident.

It was some time after this that Ginny decided to return from London where she was helping to set up the first organic fruit and vegetable wholesaling business and to work alongside her father on the farm.

The R Mayall & Daughter partnership was formed in 1988.

It was during the 80’s that supermarkets became the major players in UK retailing. Richard and Ginny felt strongly that they didn’t want to take the Mill down the supermarket route and Ginny, at that stage, wanted to learn more about the Farm. Consequently, the Mill side of the business was downsized supplying mainly local shops and bakeries.

Now, 60 years on from the decision to farm organically, new ways to market have emerged for Pimhill and we feel that we can once again supply the independent trade.

Thank you to the box schemes and to an incredibly loyal core group of customers who have given us the confidence to re-launch Pimhill and to tell our story.