Sark's feudal lord has dual role as cattle farmer
BBCWhen Maj Christopher Beaumont inherited the title of Sark's lord of the manor he did not expect to also take on tending the island's cattle.
As the seigneur he is the symbolic head of the Channel Island, pays a nominal annual tribute to the Crown and hosts members of the Royal Family.
Beaumont has been leaving his 17th Century stately home every morning for two years to look after the island's herd since the previous dairy farmers left the island.
He said of taking care of the herd: "It's enjoyable. They're quite sweet and they don't complain. They're very stoic, I quite like them as animals."
"I served the Queen [Elizabeth II] coffee in here," Beaumont said in the grand entertainment room of the Seigneurie residence, which was built in 1675.
"Last year, we had Princess Anne in for lunch."
He became the 23rd seigneur after his father's passing in 2016 and before that had served in the British Army and worked in engineering for Rolls Royce.
The hereditary role, which was established in 1565 when Queen Elizabeth I granted it as a fief, acted as the feudal head of Sark's government before a fully-elected legislature was introduced through reforms in 2008.
"Our family's been here since the mid-1800s and, now, I'm the sixth generation of my family here," Beaumont said.
"The dairy was created about eight years ago and we hired in a couple from Suffolk who started the dairy business and they left."
A search for replacement dairy farmers was unsuccessful and milking cows were moved off island.
The seigneur, who is also the chairman of Sark Dairy Trust, had no farming experience before taking on responsibility for the remaining members of the herd.
He said of learning the role: "It's not just a hill to climb, it's a vertical rock face... I had no idea of the husbandry of cattle at all.
"You know, it becomes part of one's daily routine."
Accompanying the seigneur on his daily rounds of checking the herd's food and water one of the cattle galloped over - at quite a pace.
"Rather than stay in its way, I'll go on the other side of the electric wire. It's not on just now, but I'm not going to tell them," he said.
The seigneur counts the cows each morning, which once turned up a surprise: "Last spring we came in to count the cows and there was one more than we expected.
"We had been told that the heifer that had just produced was unlikely to ever get pregnant. Then, she produced a calf. We called her Surprise.
"We'll probably keep her. If she'd come out as a boy, then I'm afraid beef would have been the order of the day."
The seigneur has accompanied the cows that have been taken to Guernsey for slaughter.
Beaumont said: "It's respect to their lives - they're feeding us. It's important to me that I take that journey with them.
"They don't know what's happening to them, but, nonetheless, I think they deserve my respect for the life they've lived."
The island's dairy farm is currently defunct, laden with cobwebs as it awaits its next tenant farmers.
There are plans in place to revitalise Sark's dairy industry, which would relieve the seigneur of his bovine responsibilities.
Beaumont said: "We aim to have a new tenant farmer here at the end of this year, so they can settle in and make sure all things work as they should, with a view to bringing milking cows onto the island in the spring."
He said he would be "quite relieved" not to have taking care of the cows as part of his daily routine.
"Nonetheless, if they need a hand, I'm very willing to go and help. At least now I know a bit about what I'm doing," Beaumont added.
He also said he would still pop down to visit young female cow Surprise and he looked forward to tasting her milk.
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