Philip is a local man from a local family. Born in Symondsbury and educated at Symondsbury Primary School, which 3 of his children also attended.

Coming from a local farming family he takes the stewardship of the land in this area of outstanding beauty very seriously and farms it in a way to increase natural biodiversity, preserve landscape for future generations and find ways of getting more people involved in the countryside – “nature needs farmers”.

Symondsbury Estate is in the process of being designated at the highest level of protection as a “heritage landscape” and produce an approved “whole estate management plan” to make this happen.

Philip is very interested in a “whole farm” or “sustainable” view of business – all the materials and labour for building projects should be locally sourced and of a type that will reduce carbon emissions – so he built a new grain store out of cob (traditional mud and straw) instead of concrete, using local digger drivers – perhaps the biggest barn built in of this material in this country, He has been a member of the Bridport and District Tourism Association committee for several years trying to promote sustainable or eco-tourism which will underwrite the economic viability of the landscape and its wildlife and inhabitants for the 3rd Millennium.

Bridport’s entrepreneurs are a centre of excellence for local foods and other high value pioneering projects and it is such people who give life to our communities. Philip works as a volunteer for the European Landowners Organisation (ELO) getting new ideas and making new contacts. He also is involved with ELO’s worldwide charity, the RISE Foundation, promoting the idea that all businesses should twin with a partner in developing countries – this would substantially soften the impact of globalization for all concerned.

He works with Sir John Colfox Language College, named after his father, specialising in exploiting the family heritage for the good of the school – e.g. networking with US philanthropists and promoting the twinning principle with schools named after the US Vice President of a similar name.