Gatesgarth – a Victorian house in Lindley, W Yorkshire.
Half a century before its mention in the Domesday Book of 1086, the farming community that would grow into the town of Lindley was already established.
The house named Gatesgarth joined that history later, and as time moved through the 19th and 20th centuries it was the home of the Broadbent family.
They would perhaps hardly recognise it today, yet it was a chance-found advertisement for the modern Gatesgarth that put me in touch with a small piece of my own history.
The advertisement calls it Gates Garth – perhaps because the name on the old gates, appears in two parts. But I have always thought of it as Gatesgarth.
Family Connections
Gatesgarth. One flowing word, embodying a time of strength and progress, enclosing a place of security and Edwardian values, containing a rich family history.
This is how I heard it from my mother, a well-spoken lady, particular in her vocabulary, precise in her pronunciations. Gatesgarth was her home, the place where she grew up. She was a Broadbent, with a family that stretched back into an interesting array of relatives.
There will be more about them in later posts, under ‘Familia.’
Yet I heard very little about the family from her. As well as being a direct descendant of those Lindley Broadbents, she was one of the hundreds of thousands irrevocably impacted by the 2nd World War. Of that also she spoke little.
Before her death she hand-wrote a family tree, and until a short while ago all I had of her history was simply that list of names. Then one morning at coffee time I had a God-nudge to look up Gatesgarth.
Lindley History Research Group
The Lindley History Research Group had just published this blog post, Google brought it to my attention, and suddenly a piece of the past was opened up.
Why did I look for Gatesgarth at just that particular moment? I was not on the hunt for ancestor knowledge. And no, I do not believe in blind chance or co-incidences but I do believe in God-incidences and God-nudges, so I am quietly following this trail.
Some images of Gatesgarth Today
The images of Gatesgarth above come from the estate agent’s website. I am a respecter of copyright. These are shown as part of my research in a non-commercial usage. Credit for the images is to Dream Homes.
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2015
From Sandi: Looking forward to the next development – may have some old sepia photos taken when Mom, Bill and Basil were still kids at Gatesgarth. Also have a family tree that Bill was working on when he went home. Not sure how the photos will scan but am willing to post them to you if only I had an address!!!!
This is just wonderful in every way! Such incredible history, we will have to come here one day and just look at it 🙂
Update: Sandi has posted some old fotos, so I am eagerly waiting to see what is in the packet.
Happy Birthday. Haven’t forgotten about the family tree but it wasn’t where I thought when JB was here. Big search next weekend when I have finished my training travels.