Scargill House

Scargill House is a Christian Conference Centre [cite web|url=http://www.scargillhouse.co.uk/indexflash.html|title=Welcome to Scargill|work=Scargill House website|year=2007|accessdate=2007-06-22] located in Wharfedale, in the county of North Yorkshire, England, which has announced its closure for July 20 2008.

It lies ¾ mile (1.2km) from the village of Kettlewell and four miles (6.4km) from Grassington. The nearest market town, Skipton is 14 miles (22.4km) away.

The house dates from the Eighteenth century and is constructed of stone, rendered and colour washed, under a stone flag roof. The Chapel (see photo) was built in 1960.

History

The recent history of Scargill House [cite web|url=http://jadn.co.uk/jh/Scargill.htm|title=Scargill House, Kettlewell|work=formerly online at http://www.holdsworth.co.uk/history/Scargill.html and viewable on this [http://web.archive.org/web/20050314114204/www.holdsworth.co.uk/history/Scargill.html Internet archive page] |date=2006|author=John Holdsworth & Co Ltd|accessdate=2007-06-24] can be summarised as follows:

Clement Holdsworth bought Scargill House from John Overend Wood in 1900 as a residence from which he shot grouse on Conistone moor and fished for trout on the River Wharfe. It remained in the Holdsworth family for almost 57 years until William Holdsworth sold the house and estate at auction to the Church of England in November 1957.

The estate was described in the auction catalogue as an "exceptional residential, agricultural and sporting property" extending to convert|1050|acre|km2|0, which included:

right|thumb|234px|The walled garden at Scargill House
*two stock farms each of about 500 acres (2 km²)
*about 70 acres (30 hectares) park and afforestation land
*properties in nearby Kettlewell
*over a mile of trout fishing in the River Wharfe
*shooting rights over 3000 acres (12 km²) of Conistone Moor
*the right to Pew Sittings in the Parish Church of Kettlewell and share in the Lordship

They claimed that "the invigorating air and the completely unspoilt grandeur of the surroundings make the Property a most attractive and healthy resort"; and that the grounds of the house included a tree-lined drive, stone-pillared and wrought iron entrance, lawns and an ornamental water garden.

Christian community and conference centre

Scargill was sold to the Church of England for the establishment of a Christian Community in 1957 after William Holdsworth had decided to live on his Irish estate at Bellinter House. In 1959 Scargill became a centre for conferences and events specialising in multi-faith, youth and environmental issues.

Since then, it has been largely reconstructed and extended to cater for the many groups that use its facilities. In 1960, a chapel was built by George Pace of York in a Scandinavian style reflecting the location's history, and is now listed. The woodland at Scargill is accredited by the FSC as a highly important conservation site.

In 2008, it was announced that the centre would be closing in July 2008 due to financial difficulties and profits from the sale of the estate would be used to set up a foundation.cite web|url=http://www.cravenherald.co.uk/news/news_index/display.var.2366232.0.dales_retreat_to_close.php|title=Dales Retreat to Close|author=Clive White|work=Craven Herald & Pioneer (Newsquest Media Group)|year=2008|month=June|accessdate=2008-07-08]

References

External links

* [http://www.scargillhouse.co.uk Official site]