Above is a copy of an early postcard of Thornton Lodge, taken, we believe in the 1920’s. The house was originally built in 1909 as the summer retreat of Harry Tunstill and his family. The Tunstills were  wealthy cotton barons from Burnley, where many streets and locations bear their name. No expense was spared in the construction of Thornton Lodge as Harry wished to create a spectacular property in which to entertain his visiting guests. Constructed of sandstone, each sash window is over 6ft in height with ceilings around 14ft high, giving the house the air of  a small stately home. Guests used to be brought  by rail to the station at Aysgarth and then onwards to the house by carriage. It is easy to imagine Harry greeting his guests in the grand oak panelled entrance hallway!

 Apart from the addition of a conservatory and laundry and 80 odd years growth to the trees, little has changed. This is all the more commendable when you consider that the property was a children’s  Sanatorium during the war, then  an adult hospital and lastly a nursing home. The fact that so little damage was done to the fabric of the property during its different lives speaks highly of the past custodians of Thornton Lodge. When we purchased the property in 2004, we found the side panel of the staircase in our Coach House. It had details chalked on the back by the 17 year old apprentice who had removed it in 1957.

Since 2004, Thornton Lodge has been home to us—the Kilvington family. We chose this idyllic place to raise our sons and are delighted to be able to share our beautiful home with some of the nicest people you could wish to meet.

We have been gifted copies of photographs of the Thornton Lodge children who stayed here between 1939 and 1957.

This is a photo of Margaret and Mary Brown, working in the walled vegetable garden—once home to our own free ranging hens and providing seasonal produce once again.

We have badgers in the copse near the house. Unfortunately we lost our flock of hens to them in 2008 and until we restock are using eggs from a nearby farmer.

We hope very much to establish a hive in 2009/10 and look forward to harvesting our first honey crop.