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Scargill House
Kettlewell
Skipton
North Yorkshire
BD23 5HU
01756 761236
Registered charity no. 1127838
Registered company no.
6778628
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History & future
The following is an abbreviated history of Scargill House and its estate, from
its beginnings as a shooting lodge through to a period as a family home and then
becoming a Christian centre. It also traces the estate’s more recent closure,
purchase and resurrection.
Early history
The Scargill Estate was created in the 18th century. It was sold in 1900 to a
wealthy Halifax mill owner for use as a shooting lodge and a place for
entertaining. He never lived at Scargill, and after his death in 1920 his eldest
son extensively remodelled and refurbished the house, again as a focal point for
sporting weekends, but he did not come to live there until the death of his wife
in 1933. When he died in 1942, the estate was bequeathed to his three sons, two
of whom died in World War II. When the surviving son came home from war, he
returned to find a neglected estate.
To cover death duties, he sold Scargill to
a textile company which the family still controlled, and set about reviving the
estate. Extensive works were undertaken: the house was connected to the National
Grid, central heating was installed, the gardens were restored and the cottages
built. Scargill House became home to this surviving son and his own family;
however, it was put up for sale in 1957 because of losses incurred by the mill.
The estate was advertised for sale, including “the right to pew sittings in the
parish church and share of the lordship”, two stock farms of 500 acres and
various other properties in the village.
Becoming a Christian centre
In 1959 a group of Anglicans from Manchester, led by Revd H Frankham and the Right Rev Donald Coggan, Bishop of Bradford and inspired by Lee Abbey in Devon, set out to find a suitable property to base a similar community in the North of England. Scargill Estate was identified as a possible location, and duly bought with money from thousands of donors across the country. A Christian community was established there with the aim of renewing the church through the offering of hospitality, teaching and recreation. Work soon began on a new chapel, designed by George Pace of York, which opened in 1961. Dormitory blocks and lounges were quickly added and for almost 50 years Scargill House was a popular draw for Christians across Britain, welcoming up to 100,000 people.
Closure and an appeal
In July 2008, after running for some time at a deficit, Scargill House closed with the loss of 20 jobs. In response to the news there were over 200 responses to a Church Times blog post, and ‘save Scargill’ pages appeared on Facebook. The Save Scargill
Action Group was set with the hope of finding an alternative to the sale, or raising money to buy the house. The first supporters’ meeting in Skipton was told that £85,000 had already been pledged, but despite their efforts Scargill House was put on the market for £2.5 million amid fears it could fall into the hands of commercial developers. The action group joined forces with representatives of Lee Abbey and Bradford Diocese to form a Steering Group chaired by Bishop John Finney, which negotiated the purchase of the house and later handed over to the newly formed Scargill Movement Trust, chaired by the Bishop of Bolton, the Rt Revd Chris Edmundson, a former warden of Lee Abbey and a Scargill partner for more than 25 years.
Resurrection
The Scargill Movement was registered as a charity in February
2009 and in March its trustees purchased the house and estate in order to
continue to operate a Christian retreat and conference centre there. Donations
from supporters, plus a loan from the Lee Abbey Movement (which runs a similar
centre in Devon), enabled the purchase.
Today
In the summer of 2009, Scargill House received new life as people were appointed
to look after its physical and spiritual development and the residential
community began to be established. Scargill Council grew,
patrons were appointed, and the Archbishop of York became our president. Our
development plans were submitted for planning permission, and we opened our
doors for our first post-reopening programmed events in the summer of 2010.
The future
Our goal for the future is to continue developing Scargill for the next 50 years,
creating a centre of welcome, spiritual refreshment and challenge for Christians
and non-Christians alike. There are five phases to our planned development:
Phase 1 - Refurbishment of the original house.
Phase 2 - A new 200-seat dining room.
Phase 3 - 26 new-build en-suite twin rooms.
Phase 4 - Refurbishment of Three Peaks to create
accommodation, possibly for community members.
Phase 5 - New accommodation & multi-use hall for 36 young
people plus five leaders.
If you would like to know more about our plans to develop the house and estate,
please do not hesitate to contact Simon
Browning, our project director.
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Recent milestones
April 2009 — we celebrate the completion of the
purchase of the house
June 2009 — over 600 people help celebrate Scargill’s 50th
birthday party, we appoint Simon Browning as our project director, and Adrian
and Bridget Plass become the first members of the community
September 2009 — we appoint Revd Phil Stone as our new director
and our architects unveil outline ideas for refurbishing the house
February 2010 — Radio 4 broadcasts Sunday Service from
Scargill’s chapel
July 2010 — we celebrate the start of our first programme of events
and the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, agrees to
be our president
August 2010 — our first Summerfest takes place
September 2010 — the community reaches 17 members and our
application for planning is submitted to the Yorkshire Dales National Park
October 2010 — we launch our ‘Move the
Mountain’ appeal
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