Eden Grove

The very early history of Eden Grove, Bolton is a mystery. In directories for Westmorland it is described as “a modern mansion in the Elizabethan style”. In the late 1700’s it was the home of a Mr Harrison and was known as Whitfield Brow. Included in the church plate is a silver-plated chalice seven and a half inches high and marked Richard Constantine. It is inscribed “The gift of George Harrison of Whitfield Brow 1786-1813”. The name Whitfield may have derived from the family who lived in the dwelling in the 1600’s and although there is no address given, in 1674 in the hearth tax returns there is recorded a Widow Whitfield who had 3 hearths. The date of the original building is not known but it is obvious that there has been considerable alterations and extensions over the years.

In 1824 the owner was Richard Tinkler who was a beneficiary in his Uncle Francis Tinkler’s will -“The residue to my nephews Richard Tinkler of Eden Grove Bolton and Edward Lamb of Sandford.

Richard died in 1831 at the age of 71 yrs. and left Eden Grove to his son Richard. In 1851 Richard was living at Eden Grove and unmarried at the age of 53. He died in 1859 aged 61.

In 1861 Henry Gandy a retired army captain was in residence. It is uncertain if he was there ten years later because in the 1871 census there is no mention of the head of household or the family but Betty Hadwin housekeeper in charge and Thomas and Jane Liversage general servants are in residence. Their master and mistress could have been away on the night the census was taken.

William Graham was in residence in 1881 but it was not until 1888 that he purchased the house from Mr and Mrs Rawlins, William, Robert, Amelia and Elizabeth Thompson. William Graham was born in London and educated in there and at Trinity College Cambridge where he studied Law. His family originated from Cumbria and he was a descendent of the Grahams of The Nunnery, at Kirkoswald and his grandparents owned Stone House at Hayton near Carlisle.

The Eden Grove estate consisted of 100 acres and as the business of farming and stock breeding grew Graham bought more until the acreage amounted to 1000,much of it pasture beside the river Eden. Mr Graham started breeding Shorthorn cattle and Clydesdale horses several years before he bought Eden Grove. Rather than building up any special blood line he built the numbers up based on good characteristics of the breeds. In 1888 he bought several mares from the dispersal sale of Robert Loder’s Clydesdale stud. Although his main interests were Shorthorns and Clydesdales he also helped improve the breed of black faced sheep.

Mr Graham was a familiar face in public life. He was very interested in local politics and at the age of 25 he was made a magistrate and was elected as one of the first aldermen of the County Council. He retired after 14 years as an alderman because as his agricultural interests increased it became increasingly difficult to attend to council matters. He served as High Sheriff for Westmorland, was chairman of the Penrith Farmers Club, vice – chair of the Cumberland and Westmorland Chamber of Agriculture and a member of the Clydesdale horse Society. In addition, he served for three years as president of the Wensleydale Sheep Breeders Association. He travelled all over the world sharing his expert knowledge with other breeders and acting as referee at agricultural shows.

Mr Graham enjoyed such country sport as fishing, shooting and hunting. His main hobby was horticulture and he grew cactus, dahlias, carnations and sweet peas. The Eden Grove Estate grew until it extended from Bolton to Appleby and included Redlands Bank Farm, Bridge End Farm at Kirkby Thore, Bolton Hall, Mid townhouse and Pennine View. He married late in life to Miss Thompson from Kirkby Stephen and through this marriage gained possession of more estates in the Ravenstonedale area.

Mr Graham was a very wealthy man but sadly he was a gambler and spent his money freely. In 1913 he was indebted to General Palmer of Buckinghamshire for £24,140 and to pay the debt he mortgaged Eden Grove to General Palmer as security for £1500 and Redlands Bank for £8000. Unable to pay the debt preparations were made to transfer the estate to General Palmer’s son, Captain Palmer. The property was put up for sale but the majority of lots never reached the reserved price and were withdrawn. Palmer was furious and accused William Graham of interfering: Graham was a well-liked and respected person in the area and it is likely that the locals closed ranks in support of him.

Palmer was in residence at Eden Grove in 1917 and hosted the Bolton ladies fund raising event for the Red Cross in the grounds of Eden Grove. Mr Graham was renting Redlands Bank and trying to persuade the General to sell it to him. Once he lost the estate Mr Grahams health began to fail and he died in a nursing home in Cambridge in July 1934 aged 79.

In the 1920’s Mr Fred Tatters took over the estate which had been empty for several years. During the Second World War Eden Grove was used for evacuees for a short time and later rented to Birmingham Waggon Repairs so the workers could carry on their work away from the bombing in Birmingham and Mr Tatters kept the land to carry on his farming interests. He was very active in village affairs as chairman of the Memorial Hall Trustees and for many years served as a County Councillor.

After Birmingham Waggon Repairs returned to Birmingham Eden Grove became a county Council property and was used for educational activities before it became Eden Grove School. In 1952 the building was bought by the Cole brothers Tom and Cyril. Tom had worked with children with special needs and Cyril had been a classics teacher.

Cyril and Tom decided to open a school for children with special needs and persuaded their sister Ada and Husband Harry to come to Bolton so that Harry could teach woodwork and other handicrafts in the school. It became very much a family business. Ted, Tom’s son took over as principal when his father died and after nurse training his sister Maggie returned as school matron. Peter the school pony lived happily in the field which is now the housing estate Eden Fold.

In 1995 the school passed to Priory Health Care and in 2000 was bought by Westminster Health Care but retained the Priory name. A new class room block was built and the school was registered for 96 pupils, 12 of whom could be over 16. The boys came from all over the country, the biggest referring county being Lancashire. The school always catered for children with special needs but towards the end of its existence cared for children with more complex problems than ever before; complex syndromes and mental health problems attached to physical disabilities.

The school provided employment for local people and village people sat on the advisory board. In 1999 the school received an excellent report from the annual inspection carried out by Cumbria School Services Inspection Team. The school closed in 2013 and was bought by a private developer who is in the process of developing the site. The plans are for the main house to be converted into apartments and a number of bungalows and houses to be built in the grounds.

There is a legend that a ghost haunts the house and it has reportedly been seen by several people who describe it as a man, smartly dressed in sports coat and flannels accompanied by the sweet smell of carnations and cigarette or cigar smoke.