A little bit of history
A little bit of history
If this blog were hosted by George Clarke, this would be the bit where he goes off on a tangent and pretends to have spent days researching the history of a building or town so if you’re used to fast forwarding that bit, feel free to skip to the next blog!
I just thought I’d share this which I think is a bit cool. It turns out there was a religious sect in the area around the barn which was an ultra-orthodox version of the Methodist church, the Sandemanians. I’d never heard of them before and when I read the book a local farmer passed onto me, I realised the hall must be a little older and more famous than we first thought.
Throughout its life, it’s had a variety of uses. From being just a barn, it became a small dwelling with animals sheltering below and farmers above. It was used as a bobbin mill and weaving shed which helped to sustain the Faraday family (…yes, that Faraday) and prior to the field being drained and levelled, there are indications it once housed a water wheel. From then, it became a school house with local stories abound about misbehaving students sent under the floorboards into the cellar, and lying low on the school donkeys back to trot around during detention. This then became something of a church and scouting hall with events being held in there until the late 80s when it fell into disrepair and was just used for storage.
If you’re interested in learning more about the history of the area, you can check out the North Craven Heritage Trust Journals.