Established in 1939, Spring Lane Farm has been run by four generations of the Spencer family, growing from humble origins into a successful family-run enterprise. We sat down with Jessica Spencer and her grandfather Cyril to discuss the farm’s journey and learn more about its onsite cafe-restaurant, The Old Parlour.
Spring Lane Farm began life as a traditional dairy farm and remains a working farm to this day, but over the last eight decades the business has been transformed into something much broader. Its owners, the Spencer family rear cattle and sheep and grow their own potatoes, grass and cereal crops, but most of that work now fuels a thriving farm shop and the cafe they opened in December.
“It’s been crazy every day since opening,” Jessica says. “It’s brilliant from a business point of view because the farm shop has been busier too and obviously that’s snowballed to demand on the farm. All three businesses stack up with each other really.”
It’s in the cafe (packed and alive with chatter) that I meet Jessica and Cyril. The large, open plan space is full of natural light; it has rustic character, while feeling distinctly modern. Cattle tags branded with numbers stand on tables and milk clusters repurposed into light fixtures hang overhead. “This building was the dairy cow unit,” Jessica – who Cyril credits as the creative force behind the cafe – explains. “We wanted a rustic look that felt in touch with its agricultural roots, so it’s the same building. All the steel is original, we just put a new roof and windows in.”
The farm shop’s bakery, deli counter and in-house butchery all feed into the cafe’s menu. “Our team shares the same ethos. The home-produced food served has been sourced from our farm and local villages. It’s great when people compliment the sausage and ask where it’s from and we can say ‘the butchery counter, about ten yards away’. People like to know where their food comes from – customers deserve transparency in the food chain.”
The Old Parlour’s popular ‘Farmers’ Breakfast’ is a classic example of quality local ingredients coming together: potatoes grown in the fields behind the cafe, bread baked in the farm’s bakery, Nottinghamshire-bred pork in the sausages, free-range eggs from Leicestershire and bacon cured onsite. The lunch offering continues the theme, with hearty British comfort food and lighter options, alongside a ‘Little Farmers’ menu for children.
The cafe’s magnificent cake display is courtesy of the farm’s resident pastry chef, Jan, who spends her days creating edible masterpieces from sponge, cream and biscuit. In Jessica’s words, the cakes are “to die for” and, after a life-changing Victoria Sponge, I have to agree.
This commitment to provenance isn’t new, in fact it’s been part of the farm’s identity since the beginning. Cyril explains: “My mother used to sell eggs at the farmhouse door, then potatoes and other bits and bobs. During the war, she would deliver milk with an old seventeen-gallon milk churn on a trolley.” What started out as sales on the doorstep gradually became the foundations of the farm shop, which was purpose-built in 1992 and has undergone multiple refurbishments since.
In 1998, the farm started selling raw meat and 2006 saw the arrival of the bakery. “The business today has evolved from finding solutions to problems,” Jessica says. “We’ve always done farm retail, it’s second nature because we wanted an outlet to sell our own produce. People said, ‘It would be lovely if you had a cafe here…’ and we thought what a great idea. We’re making our own food, why not create a venue to serve it?”
The farm has evolved steadily, with each generation contributing something new. “Me and Mum take care of the business side of things. Dad and Charlie run the farm, rearing cattle and planting crops,” Jessica explains. Although no longer at the helm, 81-year-old Cyril still lives onsite and lends a hand where he can. “Granddad helped a lot with the cafe. He’s handy with bricks – he did the porch and the blockwork behind the walls. My husband’s a plumber, he’s done lots of building and decor work. We’re quite a practical family!”
It’s great when people compliment the sausage and ask where it’s from and we can say ‘the butchery counter, about ten yards away’. People like to know where their food comes from, customers deserve transparency in the food chain
Working with family has its challenges, but the Spencers have made it a success. “If there’s a problem, we don’t fall out, we sort it out together,” Cyril says. Jessica adds, “We might have a spat at the kitchen table, but we all shake hands after! In farming families, you’re running a business but there’s an emotive side that can be hard to separate. If there’s a difficult decision to make, you remove your family hat for the benefit of the business.” This ability to detach emotion proved instrumental in 2001, when Spring Lane chose to cease dairy farming activity and focus on farm retail instead.
Jessica and her brother joined the business officially in 2020, although they have been involved their entire lives. “We now employ 57 people, we’ve got a fantastic team. Stan, our head butcher, has been with us over twenty years and came to my wedding. The growth in the past two decades has been massive,” Jessica says.
The fourth generation of Spencers have also brought new knowledge and perspectives. “My parents said ‘the world’s your oyster, do what you want to do’, so I went to Harper Adams University, which is basically farming school,” Jessica laughs. “My degree is in agri-food marketing so I was always coming back. I really like the family history and feel lucky to be able to put my own spin on things.”
As the farm has progressed, a commitment to stewardship has developed. “We’ve planted hedgerows, welcomed a local beekeeper’s hives and worked with the Rivers Trust to retain water on the land. As farmers, we’re custodians of the land — if we look after it, it looks after us.”
The principle of investing in what you have and reaping the rewards runs through the whole business. The farm supplies the shop, the shop supplies the cafe, and the cafe attracts new people to the site. “We’ve always wanted to sell good food, tell people where it comes from and make this a place people want to return to.”
Find The Old Parlour and Spring Lane Farm at Spring Ln, Mapperley Plains, Nottingham NG3 5RQ.
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