This really is a plum job
Having a successful plumbing business would be enough for most of us, but Al Benton-Jones runs a 3,500-acre shoot, as Mary Bremner discovers
The Grimsthorpe Estate in Lincolnshire is situated between Bourne and Grantham in the south of the county and boasts 16,000 acres of prime agricultural land plus properties including village houses and tenanted farms. And it’s all owned by Lady Jane Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 28th Baroness Willoughby de Eresby, who is the granddaughter of Nancy Astor, first female MP who died at Grimsthorpe in 1964. As well as those 16,000 acres and numerous properties, the Baroness is also patroness of Grimsthorpe Castle, which has been inthe family for 500 years.
The oldest part of the castle was built in the 13th century but the magnificent frontage must be credited to renowned architect Sir John Vanbrugh. Grimsthorpe was his last masterpiece following Blenheim and Castle Howard. It was commissioned in 1715 by Robert Bertie, Baron de Willoughby to celebrate the family’s elevation to the Dukes of Ancaster and Kesteven. The castle sits in 3,000 acres of parkland, pastures and lakes designed by Capability Brown. The incumbent, Baroness Willoughby de Eresby, was one of six maids of honour at the coronation of the Queen in 1953.
Deer damage
There had been a long-established shoot on the estate, held by the same family for two generations. They were also supposed to control the deer population. As you can imagine on an estate this size, deer damage was substantial and the estate was having to pay large amounts of compensation to the tenants as deer numbers were out of control.
Alastair (Al) Benton Jones is the youngest child of five from neighbouring estate Irnham. His father Sir Simon was a regular visitor to Grimsthorpe, shooting there frequently with Lord Ancaster. Al was brought up shooting and stalking and has a great love for it, running the shoot on his family’s estate for some years. As the youngest of five he also had to make his own way, running a successful heating and plumbing business in partnership with Robert Bell in London and Newmarket.
“I was at a dinner in London where I met Sebastian Miller, who is heir to the Grimsthorpe Estate,” says Al. “We got chatting and I told him how much I loved deerstalking. He realised I lived very close and during the dinner told me that the estate was struggling with deer damage. By the end of the dinner I had suggested to Sebastian
that he carve off a bit of the estate for me to manage, which he agreed to. I had to liaise with the tenants and keep everyone happy while controlling the numbers. The estate is home to red, roe, fallow and muntjac.
“A month later Simon came back to me and told me that he had sacked the current stalkers and I now had access to all areas. We took the numbers from the previous tenant shooting 64 a year to 304 last season.”
New era
This was three or four years ago. Al set up a syndicate and had got to know the tenants, all of whom were happy to let him shoot on their farms. Everyone was happy – both the tenants, as they no longer had much crop damage, and the estate, as it didn’t need to pay compensation any longer.
In 2019, the previous shoot tenants gave up the shoot as it had come to a natural end
“The game shoot covers 3,500 acres, much of it in the parkland around the castle”
after 29 years. “Sebastian approached me to see if I wanted to take on the shoot and run it alongside the stalking,” says Al. “He could see that I got on well with the tenants so we discussed if I would run the shoot for the estate or take it on myself. After discussing it with Robert, who is a keen stalker, we decided we would run it ourselves. It’s a big undertaking as I’m very busy with the business and spend a lot of time in London, but we decided we’d make it work.”
And make it work they have, although Al must be exhausted because during the season they are shooting three times a week at Grimsthorpe. He is often to be seen jumping into his car to head to London to quote for a boiler once the shoot is over. He certainly has a lot of energy.
Al had to find a keeper as a matter of urgency and very quickly had Brett Clifford knocking on the door.
“I had done seven seasons at Belvoir as a senior beatkeeper,” says Brett. “It isn’t far away so I quickly heard on the grapevine what was happening at Grimsthorpe. I was ready to move on and wanted to run a singlehanded shoot, so approached Al.”
They hit it off and Brett was soon moving to Park House on the estate. Al refurbished
the house as part of it is the shoot room and they use the kitchen for catering. The shoot covers 3,500 acres, much of it in the parkland around the castle. There are 25 drives.
“We didn’t reinvent the wheel when it came to the drives,” says Al, “but we invested a lot in the land. We have 40 acres of cover crops and I’ve put 300 tonnes of manure on them. The soil needed care and attention. We have maize – which the deer love – sorghum and canary grass.”
Initially, they got the shoot up and running just with let days, but this year they have opened it up to a syndicate as well. I joined them towards the end of September for a partridge day. This was their first day of the season and would be what Al called ‘a family day’. This year they plan to shoot 36 days, three days a week. One will be a driven day of 250 birds, an entry-level mini driven day on another and a walked-up day of 50 to 60 birds on the third day. This means all depths of pockets and experience can be catered for.
The pandemic has hampered the syndicate plans so far, but some of the Guns from the previous shoot have joined up as well as others, some of whom were out when I visited. And it looks like more will be signing up very soon. Word has got round about how well run the shoot is and that the birds are good.
“The birds aren’t spectacularly high, but I can’t hit those anyway,” admits Gun Robert Hogg with a smile. “You get a good day out here and good-quality birds. The shoot is very relaxed but well run which is just what I want.” Robert has joined the syndicate.
Generation game
Al’s wife, Kimberley, and three children joined him for the day, along with friend Adam Beeby, his wife and daughter, and the Czarnota family, including John with his two sons who were both shooting. Thomas, aged 17 and a novice, was accompanied by a shooting coach simply to make sure he was safe on the peg (and he was).
“The children are at school locally and we thought it would be an ideal way to get the family involved if we said the Guns should bring their wives and kids with them. It’s proved popular with some families who quickly signed up,” says Al.
Al has worked hard and put great thought into how he would manage the day. The children were fine to mix as they all go to school together so were in a bubble. Al provided two Gun buses so the Guns were split in two and instructed to wear masks on the bus – which we all did – and doors were left open to allow for plenty of ventilation. A couple of Guns travelled in their own vehicles. Al also split the beaters so there were always two teams available.
The shoot is extremely well run and very relaxed. Everyone is made welcome; there’s no stuffiness, Al is an excellent host and Brett produces some very good birds. And it really is a family concern. Kimberley Benton-Jones deserves a mention. She had her 17-monthold daughter River strapped to her chest while working her gundog Flipper at the end of each drive.
The Guns were a friendly bunch and most of them knew each other, and if they didn’t they soon did. Two sausage dogs took their place on the pegs and managed some sort of retrieves, much to everyone’s great amusement.