The land that time forgot

Family history and the story of a famous daddy long legs all add to the charm of this Dales cottage. Sharon Dale reports.

The Cheetham family has forged a long and happy association with the Dales village of Austwick after escaping to the country from Leeds in 1912.

They bought two holiday cottages before settling in them for good, leaving the comforts of middle-class life for a rudimentary rural existence with fresh air and plenty of exercise that may well have contributed to their longevity and a special place in local history.

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On the margins of living memory is the late Christopher Arthington Cheetham, who sported shorts and black plimsolls year round whatever the weather, and who, at the age of 70, was still riding his tandem round the village with his 90-year mother Clara perched on the back.

A well-known naturalist and keen cyclist, Chris was still striding up Pen-y-Ghent at the age of 79 when the Dalesman featured his achievements in 1954.

He put Austwick on the entomological map when he discovered a new species of daddy long legs there, “Tipula Cheethami”, named after him, and until an accident slowed him down at the age of 71 he was cycling 8,000 miles a year.

The adjoining cottages where he lived are still in the family and one of them is now owned by Uncle Christie’s great-great niece, Kate Ayre, who is thrilled to play her part as custodian.

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“The family had a textile mill in Leeds but there were difficulties in the 1930s Depression and that’s when Clara and her children moved here to live.

“My mum came up for holidays when she was a lttle girl and so did I and my children, so when I got the chance to buy one of the properties I was thrilled,” says Kate.

“I remember my parents driving us here from Leeds in the Vauxhall Victor wondering whether we’d ever make it up Bucker Brow, and I have wonderful memories of playing here in the fields and woods and fishing in the streams. I can also remember Uncle Christie’s sister Dotty and my great aunt Bunny, who was another character.”

Bunny, aka Fiona Jenkins, was a formidable shorthand and typing teacher at Settle School in the 1960s.

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“She was pretty eccentric and very no-nonsense. She used to make tape recordings of herself acting out moments in history . She did one of the Moon Landings doing the voices,” says Kate.

The freshly modernised cottage is far more comforable than it was when she used to visit her aunts.

“This house had a tin bath and I used to wash my little boy in the Belfast sink when I visited.

“I can remember coming for New Year’s Eve in the early 1980s and it was so cold we went to bed wearing more clothes than we had on when we arrived,” says Kate, who bought the property last August.

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The family member who owned it previously carried out a senstive and clever restoration of the grade two listed cottage, which is now cosy with all mod cons.

The dark corridor from the front door has gone to create a large sitting room warmed by a wood burner. This leads to a kitchen dining room with bespoke drawers where the stove used to be and a separate utility room at the back of the house. The ground floor has its original slate flags, which have proved practical.

Upstairs, there are three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a reminder of the property’s long history.

It was built in 1800 and Kate has framed an old copy of the deeds, some of which is in Latin with the old wax seal.

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The walls were all painted in cream by local decorator Catherine Bradley, while Kate, a garden designer from Ilkley, has furnished the property with a combination of Laura Ashley sofas, tables and homeware from Tiplings and Maison in Ilkley, painted furniture from Country Chic, near Harrogate, and auction house finds.

One of her favourite hunting grounds is Hartley’s auction in Ilkley, where she won the bidding for the jam pan and various old pictures, and antique fairs at Newark.

The old and new work well and add character to the cottage, which is now being let for holidays and short breaks.

“We can’t use it all the time and so it made sense to let it out to other families to enjoy,” says Kate, whose favourite space is the garden.

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“The village is so peaceful and the countryside around is amazing and a lot quieter than some of the touristy places in the Dales.

“The limestone pavements at Moughton and Oxenber are bigger than those at Malham but they aren’t as well known. Then there are the Norber Erratics, ancient sandstone boulders, which are a geologist’s paradise.

“It’s the sort of place that if you saw a dinosaur you wouldn’t be surprised.

“It’s like the land that time forgot. I can see why Uncle Christie was so happy here hunting for plants and insects.”

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