Stunning wall art surfaces as Dales farm renovated

For much of its life it was a tenant farm, perhaps explaining why when restorers examined it in detail they discovered that much of the farmhouse was unaltered. Over the last two years the building has been transformed from a derelict shell into a holiday let and along the way those behind the project made an exciting discovery.

The house, near Buckden, Upper Wharfedale, was built in around the late 17th century and is significant as an unaltered example of a farmhouse from the period. It is typical of the area in many respects, but the discovery of 17th century wall paintings beneath layers of limewash during the restoration makes it exceptional.

Caroline Stanford, a Landmark Trust historian, said: “They are very, very special. As far as I know they are pretty much unique in Yorkshire.

“I have looked hard and asked a lot of people and I am not aware of any others, they are a very, very special find.”

She said there were other examples of wall paintings that had survived in other parts of the country but to find them in a remote Dales farmhouse was really exciting.

“Studies in other parts of Britain have shown that middling homes as well as the very rich had these wall paintings, but they do not seem to have survived in Yorkshire.

“To find these in a Dales farmhouse and executed in such a skilled way is really quite exciting, so I think that they are significant not just in Yorkshire but the whole country.”

The wall paintings, hidden from public view from so long, are on the parlour walls and are biblical texts in gothic script. Historians say they offer a valuable insight into a life gone by as they point to a literate household that was quite prosperous and religious.

They are clearly the work of skilled hands, and by two different artists. On the west wall is “Whether ye eat, or drink or whatsoever ye do do all to the glory of God Cor[inthians] X:31” and “For of him and through him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen. Rom[ans] XI: 36.” On the east wall is “Better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a stalled ox and hatred therewith Pro[verbs] XV: Cha[pter] 17 ver[se].”

The restoration has been carried out by the Landmark Trust and yesterday members of the public were invited to an open day to see what work has been done. It has been turned into a holiday let, a move that may not be popular with everyone, but it was seen as a way of safeguarding its future, while bringing in money to maintain it.

Visitors will be able to see evidence of a past way of life at the farmstead set on the fellside. It is made up today of the farmhouse, two attached outbuildings or barns, a poultiggery – a henhouse and piggery combined, former privy and various enclosures.

The Landmark Trust has used traditional craft skills and materials to restore the structure. It was re-roofed, all the external masonry was repointed and the house internally replastered throughout.

Those flagstones that could be salvaged were relaid and underfloor heating was added beneath new stone floors elsewhere on the ground floor. The first floor floorboards were all so rotten that they had to be replaced.

It is known that a William Slinger, of Langstrothdale, went to Sedburgh School in the 1670s before going on to Cambridge University and becoming a clergyman.

It is possible he was the son of the Slinger family known to be living at Cowside in 1682 and grew up at the farm in an educated household surrounded by the wall paintings that have been rediscovered as part of this project.

Restorers have also discovered some other interesting insights. The farmhouse has a high standard of workmanship in the timber ceilings and in the masonry of the stone window and there are no fewer than three fireplaces.

Historians say Cowside was a tenant farm for most of its life and was used for livestock farming with perhaps some arable farming.

Over time it seems that the acreage associated with the farm reduced and that may help to explain why Cowside went into decline.

From Friday the farmhouse will be available for self-catering holidays for five people throughout the year with income supporting ongoing maintenance. Visit www.landmarktrust. org.uk for details.

A passion for the Dales landcsape

Cowside was uninhabited for years but was bequeathed by David and Graham Watson.

Graham Watson was a Bradford businessman and a lover of the countryside who fought to protect the landscape of the Yorkshire Dales and Lake District. A founder member of the Yorkshire Dales Society, he had a life-long association with the national parks and served on the Lake District Special Planning Board from 1967 to 1980.

He also served on the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority from 1951 to 1973.

After the war he and his younger brother David invested carefully in acquiring farms and land in Upper Wharfedale.

An estate of 5,500 acres was formed and, on the death of David in 1988, the land was handed over to the National Trust.

The Watsons were inspired by a love of the Dales and a desire to do what they could to protect its beauty. The Landmark Trust hopes the work it has done at remote Cowside will help preserve it and its surroundings.