Bullsnape Hall, where I was born, is now a listed building. This doesn't have the character of Farnhill Hall, but obviously means a lot to me. I'm afraid I can't claim to be the Squire's son, my father [Frank Nelson Wrathall (1901 - 1982)] being an "ag. lab." at the time of my birth, and living in the farm house as a condition of his employment.Derek included the following documents with his recollections of Bullsnape Hall:
We moved from the farm in late 1939, following the death of the owner, and as I was only six years old my memories are rather limited. The house we moved to, Fir Trees Cottage, was only about a quarter of a mile from Bullsnape and our winter there, 1939/40, was memorable in that we were snowed in for three weeks and eventually dug out by the army. My sister had bronchial pneumonia at the time, and my father had to walk 5 miles through the snow to the nearest doctor as he couldn't get to us. On the first school day after the snowfall, my brother and I were the only two pupils to appear at school having walked through the fields, where the roads were impassable, for over two miles. At one junction it took a gang of men a whole day to clear one drift.
Like Taft Wrathall, I have always had a dislike, perhaps fear or mistrust might be more accurate, of horses. From Bullsnape we used to take a short-cut across a field to the neighbouring farm, Greenfields, and on one occasion I missed the fact that there was a shire horse in the field. The horse was probably only curious but, at 5/6 years old, to have this huge beast thundering down the field towards me frightened the daylights out of me and I ran for dear life. From that time I have never been happy around horses.I also had an unhappy encounter with a sheep. My father had picked up its two new born lambs and the ewe took umbrage. It was a Wensleydale ewe and it must have decided to pick on someone nearer to its own size as it charged me head on and lifted me off my feet, leaving me severely winded and very tearful.
Bullsnape at that time had no bathroom or inside toilet so, like Taft, a trip down the yard to the two-hole "thunderbox" was needed to attend to personal needs, and a tin bath in front of the fire was used to keep us clean. I inherited a small tin bath when my mother died but I have no idea whether or not this is the original from Bullsnape. She used to soak her whites in it with "dolly blue" before washing them and I now use it when I give my plant pots a clean.
When the house was cleared for the sale the unused top storey was cleared of bills and documents etc. going back for years, but all this historical information was burned. My father found a brace of horse pistols, but I have no idea where these went. The staircase was panelled, and I can remember there being one secret panel which opened to reveal a small cupboard. However, I can't recall anything significant being found there. Even now I can picture the yard on the day of the farm sale. I was at home recovering from some childish malady and was able to watch the proceedings from a bedroom window. It was a pretty dismal November day and cold. Bullsnape was a cold and draughty old place, and even in the bedroom I had to be wrapped in blankets.
My parents moved to Bullsnape from Over Wyresdale. My grandparents [William George Wrathall (1864 - 1936) and Elizabeth Alice Nelson (1861 - 1940)] moved to a farm there around 1927, but why they moved after so many years in Burton-in-Lonsdale is still a mystery. My father had expected to take over the farm when his father retired, but they had to sell up in 1929 and my father had to find other work. This was the time of the depression, so jobs were hard to find. The move to Bullsnape probably took place in late 1930 or early 1931, going by the photographs of my brother taken there.
A few weeks ago I had an interesting return visit to Bullsnape Hall. At a school old boys dinner in March I was chatting to a former contemporary who just happened to have been the vet for that part of the world. He told me that the Hall was now empty and that the farm buildings were being converted to houses to form a small hamlet. When passing that way I decided to visit and see if I could wangle a look around the place. The first conversion was already occupied by the former tenants of the Hall and the lady of the house very kindly gave my wife and I a tour of the old house. Although I was only 6 years old when we left I remembered a surprising amount of the layout and recognised the bedroom which I shared with my brother. It is a rambling old building and in a sorry state of repair. It has been empty for the winter and large areas of damp wall were very evident, and also I spotted dry rot in some of the woodwork. Apparently the attic rooms, the old servants quarters, are now derelict and the floors unsafe. It is to be sold in the near future and it is anticipated will bring a high price just because of the address, but it will need as much again spent on it to restore it to a reasonable condition.
..... I recently came across an article by [Derek] on Bullsnape Hall in Goosnargh, Lancashire. I was so pleased to find it, as I believe it was once owned by some of my husband's ancestors (only recently discovered as the result of my addiction to genealogical research). They were a family by the name of Fishwick and prominent in the area from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries. I did appreciate [Derek's] photos, presumably taken in better times. ...... During my internet browsing, I found Bullsnape Hall advertised for sale on the internet, but looking very rundown. I wonder if it is still for sale. It would cost a fortune to restore it.
