Chapels was built in 1884 from stone taken from the hillside behind the wood. The quarry is still there. It was built for a family called Brocklebank, owners of the Brocklebank Shipping line, later taken over by Cunnard. The window on the staircase has the initials of the family in it. One of the brothers was a poet and spent much of his time in the tower room, rumour has it that he had a married lady friend and used to watch her coming across the fields, having a good view from the tower.
The Barton family from Newton Le Willows bought the house in 1908. The family consisted of Mr & Mrs Barton, he was a Manager of the paper mill at Otley, the second a tea planter in Assam, hence all the Indian Brass plates on the doors. The eldest daughter (an artist) married a lumberjack and went to live in Canada, the second married a business man and lived in Dunningwell and the third never married and stayed to look after her mother after the father was killed by a Hansom Cab in Liverpool.
Archie the tea planter used to come on leave and had a wonderful Buggatti car, this was when there were few cars around, and used to take out the local maiden ladies and almost frighten them to death by racing around the countryside, a lot of the roads were dirt tracks then.
The House was heated by coal or log fires and the lighting were oil lamps or candles. In the late thirties, an Esse cooker was installed in the kitchen later to be replaced by an Aga, which heated the water and saved carrying cans of hot water to all the rooms. The beds were heated at night by warming pans of hot cinders or stone “Geordies”, earthenware containers filled with hot water. When the house was built the windows were just plain glass, after a night of gale force winds blowing up from the sea all the front windows were smashed. They were replaced by plate glass and a row of pine trees was planted to protect the front of the house from future storms. The original trees are still there. The water supply came from a well behind the house, which filled from the shale beds in the adjoining field, later another tank was added and only in an exceptionally dry summer did it ever go dry. The water was collected from the roof into a tank in the rafters, if there was no rain for a while water had to be pumped up from the well by hand. Electricity came to the valley in the late 40’s
The gardens were quite a feature with a collection of rhododendrons, which went through from January until midsummer. A selection of trees was started by the Brocklebank family and carried on by the Barton’s, most of which have gone by now. The kitchen garden kept the house supplied with vegetables most of the year round. Seakale, artichokes, both Jerusalem and Globe, asparagus and mushrooms as well as all the usual vegetables were grown. There were also beds of flowers for cutting for bedding plants, no running to the Garden Centre then, no supermarkets either to go to. An order of sugar from Tate & Lyle was delivered every six months as well as flour from Carrs. A case of groceries from Harrods, the first baked beans I ever tasted came from there, wonderful! Venison and lamb came from Scotland every fortnight as well as game, when in season. Tea came in chests from Assam. Miss Barton was trained at a Cordon Bleu school in Paris so was a very good cook and the meals were marvellous, no microwave meals then!
The orchard supplied us with all the fruit needed for the year, even mulberries; unfortunately the mulberry tree was struck by lightening and died. Apples and pears were all sorted in the cellar and soft fruit was bottled for use in tarts etc. Nothing went to waste. The wood was coppiced every so many years and the wood burners came in to make charcoal. One charcoal pit is still visible and up to a few years ago, charcoal could still be found there.
The family owned one of the first cars in the area, an Austin. The only cars on the road then were the Vicars, another local family and a Butchers van from Millom. A little later a man from the village got a Charabanc and used to take people out on trips and usually every hill they came to they had to get out and push.
The building, which housed the coach, before cars, is still to be seen just inside the farm gate at Mire House. The hook and the pulley to lift the chassis was, until recently still there. The horses were stabled in a shed in the grounds, later used for pigs is now gone. When Brocklebanks owned the place the two fields either side of the drive and probably the farm, belonged to them, when the Barton’s bought it in 1908 they only had the house and grounds, the wood and field below called Long Brockie, which cost them a large sum of £1,000, when it was sold in the seventies it sold for £10,000.
*Mrs M.Moore is the daughter of the original garderner at Brockwood Hall. She resides in the cottage opposite the main hall and for many years worked in Housekeeping. Her daughter, Dot, is still a valued member of the team at the resort.
