The story of Fairoaks Farm is, in many ways, the story of rural Castlemorton itself: hard work, resilience, and a deep-rooted connection to the land. At the heart of that story stands Dave Preece, born in 1909, whose early life on small farms in Bosbury and Dymock shaped the skills and determination that would later define one of the largest and most traditional family-run farms on Castlemorton Common. Raised in a family where children shouldered much of the labour and where self-sufficiency was a necessity rather than a lifestyle choice, Dave grew up immersed in the rhythms of agriculture—from hand-turned cider mills and makeshift livestock care to the resourcefulness required on small rural holdings.

By 1939, the year he took over Fairoaks Farm, Dave had already lived a life steeped in the uncompromising realities of farming. With barely £100 to his name, a team of horses, and a formidable work ethic, he began to build Fairoaks into a thriving dairy and mixed farm that would become a landmark on the common for nearly four decades. What unfolded at Fairoaks—through wartime pressures, the challenges of early mechanisation, the struggles of rural domestic life, and the slow march of modernisation—captures a way of life now largely vanished.

This article  in journal 5 explores the history of Fairoaks Farm and the life of Dave Preece, drawing on the memories of his children, Roger and Norma, and on contemporary records. It traces the evolution of the farm, the community it supported, and the enduring legacy of a man whose life and work embodied the very character of Castlemorton Common.