Wednesday 20 February 2013

The Ruins

General consensus suggests these ruins to the rear of the Hall are the remains of a previous building, Lower Scout and that John Mitchell built Scout Hall to adjoin to this. There does not appear to be an adjoining door, but it strikes me that the two buildings were connected as there remains a low lying wall between the two.

For now, there ruin is as enigmatic as the Hall itself, and I suspect will be such for a while longer.



It is only really visible now most of the flora has died off, in the summer it was overrun with Himalayan Balsam and the internal room & doorway were completely concealed.

Some recent photos:



9 comments:

  1. Nice, keep the updates coming!

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  2. Thank you for telling us about the Hall when we passed by on our walk today. Looking through your pictures, it is a heck of a job - good luck! I see David Cant has been in touch with you - he's very sound on vernacular architecture, of course, and he's also aware of the kind of protective symbols I was talking about - the heartshapes on their sides were known as Devil's Arrows, and seem to have been part of the local 17th-century repertoire of protective-cum-decorative designs, like heads, spirals and 'evil-eye' roundels. But given John Mitchell's lifestyle, as we discussed, I'd not be surprised if he had someting else in mind on the W wall window finials! john-billingsley@mypostoffice.co.uk

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  3. Nice to meet you John. I'm afraid my knowledge is currently limited to Google and a bit of local hearsay ... I'm looking forward to finding the time to get into the local archives and delving a bit deeper into the Hall's fragmented past.

    Thanks James.

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  4. Huge congratulations on starting the renovation of Scout Hall. Me and my partner have always been fascinated by the Hall and I remember having a good look round the place (a bit cheeky) taking lots of photos a good few years ago when we looked at moving to the valley. The project was too much for us but we were sorely tempted! Its an absolutely amazing building and to watch it fall to ruin is heartbreaking. We now live across the valley - on Brow Lane. We decided upon a smaller renovation project! I'm thrilled and very jealous that someone has started the renovation project on this fantastic building that needs the TLC to bring it back to life. It deserves to be a family home - what a place to bring up children. Since moving to the valley I have never been happier. Its a fabulous place to live. I wish you and your family well and hope the restoration runs smoothly. I'm sure one day we will meet as my oldest daughter is at Salterlee school (reception class at the moment). I'm guessing your 3 year old will be joining the school later this year. Look forward to updates on your Blog. Best wishes Karen

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    1. I might have seen you at the school-gate Karen, my eldest is currently in the Under 5s and we're hopeful she will join the reception class in September - just waiting to hear back from the LEA in April to confirm.

      Thanks for your kind words, and maybe see you at school :-)

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  5. And now at the end of March we get more snow!

    Just had time to fully read your blog after discovering it a few weeks back and leaving a comment about my own project at Brow Lane.

    I found your blog after reading a Wikipedia article on the original "Hedgerow Baronet" builder. Quite a charectar although not sure I would have wanted to live next door!

    I was brought up in Shibden, but never got close to Scout Hall as the bloke in one of the neighboring properties was a nasty piece of work, so I stayed well clear after being caught on my first "visit". I went to Salterlee with the blokes son who got sent down for arson when he grew up.

    Does the Landlord of the Running Man at Pellon Lane still live in one of the neighboring properties?

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  6. Thank you so very much for repairing it! It is part of my family's heritage as we are decendants of John Mitchell's wife. It was her father that gave John the land as a wedding present around 1670.

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  7. My Nan and I came across this building by accident when we were looking for houses for sale in the area. We stopped and awed at the building for a while and returned a few days later with my brother. At the time, being 13 and my brother being 15, curiosity got the better of us. We found the side door ajar so we entered (tut tut). We went into the kitchen and found what looked like a rusty bear trap and from what I can remember, I loved the simple but big fireplace. In the front room on the ground floor there were planks of wood and what I think was insulation so we skipped that boring room and went up the stairs. I remember being so drawn to the front room upstairs. I remember there being a built in cupboard in the far corner of this room, I wanted to look in this cupboard but I couldn't for some reason. Was there no floor in front of the cupboard? I have no memory of the other room/rooms upstairs but I do remember seeing a dead pigeon at the top of the staircase. We then explored the garden but got a bit creeped out so we left.

    For weeks, my brother and I were so desperate to find some money to buy this building. We begged and cried to my Nan to buy the house but what would an old lady need a run down building for? I'm now 17 and feel ridiculous for saying this but I felt a real connection with this house, and I believe my brother did too but he wouldn't have admitted it.

    I have since moved to Australia 15 months ago and I haven't given Scout Hall a thought for a good few years until I had a semi-dream about it last night. As I was drifting asleep, a scene ran through my head so I thought I'd share it with you:

    A farmer I knew well, called John, (funnily enough the guy who built Scout Hall was called John) sold the building to a guy who had plans to turn each room into small separate living apartments. This farmer John was happy in a way that many people would be sharing his home yet livid that this man would divide his home solely for his own wealth and to satisfy his greed. He raged that his anger would remain in the grounds of Scout Hall.

    I was a bit creeped out about this and I was hoping it wasn't true so I had been googling around for a while, trying to find what had become of this place. So relieved to have finally found this page, where I discovered that it will become a family home, hopefully one which will be passed down for generations.

    Just thought I'd share my experience with you, seeing as you are the lucky owners of Scout Hall.

    Good luck with everything,

    Jenna (:
    jenna_ob_07@yahoo.com.au

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  8. Hello. My wife and I walked past your building this evening. I didn't know until I got home and looked it up what the building was etc. The building really caught my eye. How is your build going? The internal photos were very interesting. Regards.

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Feel free to add your comments about the renovation and the history of Scout Hall, we look forward to reading them.