Mr Douglas Rose

Douglas George Rose was born on 27th April 1929 at the family farm in Bentfield Green  Stansted, the middle child of three. He attended Bishop's Stortford College and, as a teenager, worked on the farm; later completing his training at Writtle Agricultural College, Chelmsford. In 1949 he became organist and choirmaster of St. Mary's Church Stansted, and he took up a similar post at Gt St Mary's Sawbridgeworth, in 1957 when he and Edna moved into Parsonage Farm . Their three children, Paula, Sarah and Richard were brought up there and Edna started the very successful  kennels and cattery. He farmed the 100 acres until 1982 when he sold it to start a new life in Spain, building a villa overlooking Mijas Golf Club. He also developed the redundant farm buildings into Clarklands, a successful light industrial estate. In 2015 they returned to Sawbridgeworth, living in a converted cart shed behind the farm house and they took great joy in their nine grandchildren and  (now seven) great grandchildren. Even after Edna passed away in 2020 he lived fairly independently, still driving, until he was 95. He spent the last year of his life at Falcon House Care Home, where he was visited almost daily by family and friends.

Douglas loved choral music, decent wine, churches and cathedrals, golf, meeting his friends , a good barbeque or Sunday roast, the outlook over the fields from his window at the farm,  and of course Edna and his family. He passed away on January 16th 2026. Rest in Peace.