Stone Gappe Hall, Lothersdale

 

Stone Gappe Hall, Lothersdale.

It is now May 1839 and Charlotte Brontë has just turned 23 and is going to work for the Sidgwick family who spent the summer months at the rather grand Stone Gappe Hall at Lothersdale, a charming village located between Colne in Lancashire and Skipton in North Yorkshire, with long views over the most breathtaking countryside in a modern day designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). In winter time the Sidgwicks resided at the gate house to Skipton Castle.

The family were in need of a temporary governess and Charlotte successfully secured her first job with them. Charlotte must have been impressed with the grand house which is three storeys high with a central square bay running from floor to roofline, standing atop a hillside with commanding views over woodland and lush green fields across to the river Aire with vistas to the gently undulating hills and expansive moors beyond. It truly is in a delightful setting. Ramblers on the Pennine Way will also pass through the village.

Stone Gappe is a private residence now so, on my visit in October 2020 I could only see it from the fields opposite and from a path on a pleasant walk I enjoyed from Lothersdale village by Lothersdale Beck. I could imagine Charlotte enjoying the location too with its glorious views and pleasant walking opportunities. In a letter to Emily, Charlotte described Stone Gappe and its grounds as ‘divine’. Take a look at my video of my trip approaching from Colne, 

Video of photos on my drive from Colne to Stone Gappe Hall in Lothersdale.

Lothersdale is only just under 9 miles from Haworth or 21 minutes by car.

The road from Colne to Lothersdale. A grand drive with long views across the countryside.

A pleasant drive to Lothersdale.

                                        

                                           

I think Charlotte would have liked the views as she made her way to Stone Gappe Hall.

                                    

Lothersdale - with only 200 houses and farms dotted about the area.

                                        

Christ Church Lothersdale completed in October 1838. Charlotte's employer John B Sidgwick was instrumental in it being built.

Christ Church, Lothersdale where Charlotte and the Sidgwick family worshipped.

Lothersdale cottages


Lothersdale mill.

 

Lothersdale (Dale End) Mill chimney, Lothersdale..

Lothersdale cottages with the mill beyond.

Charming Lothersdale.

                                          

The Hare and Hounds pub one of the oldest buildings in the village.

Imposing Stone Gappe Hall

Stone Gappe Hall in the sun. Where Charlotte would walk.

Looking up to Stone Gappe from Lothersdale Beck.

An old photo of Stone Gappe Hall with guests on the lawn.

                                       

Views from Stone Gappe across to the hills.

Lothersdale is on the Pennine Way.

                                                        

Although the house and location were 'divine' Charlotte did not enjoy the two months she spent at Stone Gappe from May to mid-July 1839. She rather liked Mr John B Sidgwick, but she did not get on with Mrs Sarah Sidgwick who was heavily pregnant at the time with her fifth child. Charlotte was to care for Mathilda aged 7 and John Benson aged almost 4 - she didn't have many positive things to say about this experience either! In a letter written by Charlotte to her sister Emily on 8th June 1839 she wrote:

"The country, the house and grounds are, as I have said, divine... The children are constantly with me and more riotous, perverse, unmanageable cubs never grew. As for correcting them, I soon quickly found that was entirely out of the question: they do as they like. A complaint to Mrs Sidgwick brings only black looks upon oneself, and unjust, partial excuses to screen the children."

Her little charge, John Sidgwick once threw a bible at Charlotte and on another occasion, in an incident Charlotte later related to Elizabeth Gaskell, young John was lured by his older brother into the stableyard which was strictly out of bounds. Whilst Charlotte was trying to steer John out of the yard, his brother encouraged him to throw stones at Charlotte, with one hitting her on her head leaving a mark. When asked by Mrs Sidgwick about the cause of the mark on her head, Charlotte told her it was just an accident. The fact she didn't report the boys' behaviour softened them a little to her and she found them a little more manageable after that.

In her biograpy 'The Life of Charlotte Brontë ' by Gaskell, the latter tells of an incident when one day at dinner little John Sidgwick put his hand into Charlotte's and said to her "I love 'ou Miss Bronte." At which Mrs Sidgwick retorted in front of all of her children, "Love the governess, my dear!"

Apart from teaching the children Charlotte was also expected to generally care for them too. She was disgusted to have to

 "wipe the children's smutty noses or tie their shoes or fetch the pinafores or set them a chair."

Charlotte was also incandescent with Mrs Sidgwick's expectation that Charlotte should do a vast amount of sewing, a menial task she felt was beneath her. In a letter to Emily she wrote:

"Mrs Sidgwick cares nothing in the world about me except to contrive how the greatest possible quantity of labour may be squeezed out of me, and to that end she overwhelms me with oceans of needlework, yards of cambric to hem, muslin nightcaps to make and, above all things, dolls to dress"

In a letter of 30th June 1839 to her friend Ellen Nussey she wrote about the trials and tribulations of being a rooky private governess, after she and the Sidgwicks had spent some time staying at Swarcliffe Hall in Birstwith near Harrogate a holiday home built by Mrs Sidgwick's father John Greenwood in 1850 and now run as a private school :

Swarcliffe Hall, Birstwith near Harrogate where Charlotte spent some time in June 1839 as governess to the Sidgwick children.

To Ellen she wrote:

"imagine the miseries of a reserved wretch like me - thrown in at once into the midst of a large Family -proud as peacocks & wealthy as Jews - at a time when they were particularly gay - when the house (Swarcliffe Hall) was filled with Company - all Strangers people whose faces I have never seen before - in this state of things having the charge given me of a set of pampered spoilt & turbulent children - whom I was expected constantly to amuse as well as instruct - I soon found that the constant demand on my stock of animal spirits reduced them to the lowest state of exhaustion - at times I felt and I suppose seemed depressed - to my astonishment I was taken to task on the subject by Mrs Sidgwick with a sterness of manner & a harshness of language scarcely credible - like a fool I cried most bitterly - I could not help it - my spirits quite failed me at first I thought I had done my best - strained every nerve to please her - and to be treated in that way merely because I was shy - and sometimes melancholy was too bad. At first I was for giving all up and going home - But after a little reflection I determined - to summon what energy I had to weather the Storm -"

But Charlotte was obviously telling her side of the story. Mrs Sidgwick's side of the story is that Charlotte would often take to her her bed all day leaving her to care for her invalid father and her children whilst in the final weeks of her fifth pregnancy. The two women obviously struggled to get on. Charlotte had her way of interpreting things. For example, if the family invited her to walk with them to church, she felt like she was being ordered about, but if she wasn't invited she felt she was being snubbed and ignored.

Either way Charlotte was in a situation that really did not suit her personality and expectations.

On the other hand Charlotte had a more positive view of Mr John B Sidgwick remembering; "One of the pleasantest afternoons"  at Stone Gappe when Mr Sidgwick went out for a walk with his children and their large Newfoundland dog. She was instructed "to follow a little behind".

Normally this instruction to follow behind would have annoyed Charlotte but she was rather taken with Mr Sidgwick as

 "He strolled on through the fields with his magnificent Newfoundland dog at his side, he looked very much like what a frank, wealthy, Conservative gentleman ought to be...He spoke freely and unaffectedly to the people he met and though he indulged his children and allowed them to tease him far too much, he would suffer them grossly to insult others".".

Are there echoes here of the future Mr Rochester with his large dog? 

A BBC documentary was made in 1975  called  Lothersdale: An Image of England. From 18 minutes 18 seconds in to 20 minutes and 8 seconds there is an excerpt about Charlotte's time at Stone Gappe, her feelings about her job, her charges, the house and location. You can see the documentary here: Lothersdale: An Image of England

Lothersdale and Stone Gappe Hall really are in a magnificent and beautiful location. Charlotte enjoyed the scenery but not her job. Being a governess was not for Charlotte! As she wrote to Emily;

" I see now more clearly than I have ever done before that a private governess has no existence, is not considered as a living and rational being except as connected with the wearisome duties she has to fulfil. While she is teaching the children ,working for them, amusing them, it is all right. If she steals a moment for herself she is a nuisance."

Fortunately the permanent governess returned to her post enabling Charlotte to return home to Haworth in mid July 1839.

Working as a governess at Stone Gappe Hall was not for Charlotte!

But I rather enjoyed my day trip to visit this lovely location - as Charlotte said it really is "divine"!