Jo Butler is the founder of Barnsgrove, a modern country club set in the Hampshire countryside that brings together fitness, wellness, community and hospitality. Raised between Cambridge and her grandparents’ farm in Royston, Jo developed an early love for rural life before studying Agricultural Business Management at Wye Agricultural College.
Jo Butler has fire in her belly. The creation of Barnsgrove is the culmination of many years spent building businesses, exploring new ideas and following opportunities wherever they led. What she and her husband James have created is a modern-day country club — centred on fitness, wellness and recreation — set in the verdant Hampshire countryside.
Jo grew up on the Hertfordshire–Essex border in an enterprising household. Her father was a self-made businessman in the promotional clothing sector and, from an early age, Jo was encouraged to be resourceful and curious. The family ethos was always about pursuing interesting opportunities.
Although educated at school in Cambridge, Jo and her sister spent much of their childhood on their grandparents’ farm in Royston, developing an early love of the countryside and rural life. It was a natural progression that she went on to study Agricultural Business Management at Wye Agricultural College, graduating with a BSc (Hons).
After university Jo moved to London, beginning her career as an estate agent at Foxtons — a famously tough training ground. She soon realised she was more drawn to the rural property world and returned to Cambridge to work with land agents Cheffins. This proved to be the first step on a varied career path that would ultimately lead to Barnsgrove.
Entrepreneurial by nature, Jo soon set up her own business importing decorative products for luxury hotels including The Ritz, Four Seasons and Marriott.
Life changed direction when she met James, a fifth-generation Hampshire farmer. After the birth of their first child, Jo moved from East Anglia to James’s family farm in Hampshire. There she rekindled a creative interest and trained in millinery, launching Hampshire Hats — a business she later sold.
Photography followed next. Working with Blue Hedgehog’s Tina Knowles, Jo developed skills in both photography and post-production, capturing people, animals and landscapes. Photography remains a passion and she still takes commissions when time allows.
Jo then took on the farm’s accounts and financial management. The challenges of Brexit, Covid and changing agricultural economics led the couple to make the significant decision to step away from dairy farming and rethink the future of the farm. From this came the vision for Barnsgrove.
After extensive planning, consultations and design work, planning permission was granted in 2018 and the project began. Jo has been instrumental in shaping Barnsgrove’s philosophy — balancing practicality with strong aesthetics while treading lightly on the environment.
The result is a space designed to bring the Hampshire community together: a place to work, exercise, connect and unwind. As modern life increasingly demands a healthier work-life balance, Barnsgrove offers a new model of rural community — one built around wellbeing, business and shared experiences.
When she isn’t working, Jo loves gardening, learning new skills, hunting for antiques and furniture, and dreaming up new adventures for her family — whether around the farm or further afield.
For more information about Barnsgrove, click here.
Read Jo's Favourites here.
March, 2026
