THE NAME BEHIND THE CROWN

The Clarence Court story started in 1928, when I brought jungle fowl back from Patagonia to Stow-on-the-Wold, Gloucestershire. Stowed in the ship’s hold was a very extraordinary cargo, a giant, 100-year-old Galapagos tortoise, two pygmy deer, a number of edible frogs, some exquisite alpine flowers from the foothills of the Andes – and three Araucana hens, laying pastel-coloured eggs.

These rare birds were crossbred to create generations of pedigree hens that to this day lay beautiful, colourful, hard-shelled eggs with deep yellow yolks.

Decades of experience have gone into caring for our fabulous birds ensuring their health and welfare (as well as that of the British farmers who care for them) are of the highest standard. Clarence Court birds lay at their own natural, slow speed, resulting in distinctively richer eggs.

Sporting the distinctive ‘muffs’ and ‘crests’ of their earlier South American relatives, the birds descended from my expedition became the foundation of our premium collection, which is loved by so many top chefs, home cooks and foodies today – just as they were all those decades ago.

When you see the Clarence Court crown you know it’s from our exclusive line of traditional breed birds, roaming free from dawn until dusk, grazing on the best maize enriched diet.

Clarence Elliott
Pictured is Clarence Elliott, taken in 1927 by his father John Elliott and uncle Clarence Fry, portrait photographers ‘Elliott & Fry’ during the 19th century. A famed horticulturist who specialised in alpine plants, he is remembered today by his grandchildren as we see pictured – always dressed in a three piece suit with a pipe in hand!