Island Life Magazine Ltd February/March 2011 | Page 46

interview

was planning to go to University to
read engineering, but my father had a
serious heart attack, so it was a time
for work instead.”
He worked for twenty months in
heavy engineering in the East End of
London, which he says brought him
down to earth with a big thump,
which he probably needed. He then
worked on the shop floor of the family
engineering company for another year,
before gradually working his way up
the ladder.
When his father suddenly died
Anthony was just 21, and found
himself catapulted into a position of
considerable responsibility at Hillaldam
Coburn Ltd, which celebrates its 100th
anniversary later this year. He headed
production at one of the factories
which employed some 150 workers. He
said: “There were lots of politics in the
company, all very unpleasant. My family
were only minority shareholders, but
managed to team up with a couple of
others and forced a sale.”
That prompted him to gain chartered
46

Island Life - February/March 2011

accountancy qualifications, and he also
undertook a one-year farming course
at the Royal Agricultural College,
Cirencester. He admitted: “It suddenly
dawned on me that the world keeps the
score in pounds, shilling and pence, and
if you understand how you keep the
score it’s a useful tool.”
Anthony arrived on the Island with
Alix – his wife of nearly 40 years - in
1976. The couple have two daughters,
and Anthony recalls he was attracted
to a property after seeing what he
described as ‘a picture of a nice house
with a duck on a pond’. It in fact
proved to be Barton Manor with a black
swan on its lake. He smiled: “We came
to the Island to grow grapes. So we
started the vineyard which grew from
four-and-a-half acres up to 15 acres.”
As the wine empire grew he and
Alix found themselves supplying such
illustrious customers as Buckingham
Palace, the Royal Yacht Britannia,
Harrods, The Ritz, several embassies
and Lancaster House for Government
banquets. During its height the

company also won the ‘English Wine of
the Year’ competition.
“When we bought Barton Manor we
were extremely lucky that the property
market was very depressed, so we put
in a very cheeky offer that was less
than half the asking price, and it was
accepted,” he said. The vendor even
lent Anthony and Alix £15,000 interest
free for 10 years to ensure the sale
went ahead.
They remained at Barton Manor for
16 years, and it seemed little could
go wrong. But as Anthony puts it: “I
rather stupidly joined Lloyd’s as an
underwriter, and got a damn good
poke in the wallet for my trouble, along
with about 20,000 others. It cost me a
seven-figure sum, so we had to sell up,
and came to Barnsley Farm in 1991.”
At the time the farm was a fire-gutted
ruin, with no windows and dilapidated
outbuildings. As the major renovation
programme slowly got off the ground,
the couple at one point lived on-site in
a caravan.
“I was looking for a job, and was

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