My teacher is always telling us to find out more about our family history. So that is what I did. I knew that I had family ancestry at Patterdale Hall which is now used as a YMCA residential adventure learning centre. On the 6th January 2020 I wrote to them, and 7 days later a letter arrived in the post.
In the letter the centre administrator had attached a lot of interesting information for me which I have found great fun to read. I found out that they have records from 1624. The first Mounsey (my family) was Joan Mounsey, and she is said to have bought the lordship of Patterdale for her son John Mounsey (a miner). John Mounsey and his wife Dorothy rebuilt the hall in 1677. A throne for the king was made, bearing his initials, coats of arms and the date 1677. This chair is now in the Tullie museum, Carlisle.
A later John Mounsey, probably the grandson of the second John, was said to be a great miser who allowed the property to fall into decay. When he died in 1793, his son John refurbished the house and added the south wing in 1796. John Mounsey died in 1821 and his then considerable estate was divided among his many children. His son and wife were left only the hall the stock at Grisledale farm, and he provided two of his sisters with £1000 each. His son then sold it to john Marshall, a wealthy linen manufacturer of Headingley, Leeds. The new owner was married to Jane Pollard, a good friend of Dorothy Wordsworth. Dorothy’s renowned brother William Wordsworth stayed on a number of occasions. It is whist staying at Patterdale Hall that he is rumoured to have conceived his most famous Lake District poem. Today Bolton School owns the Hall buildings, gardens and about 80 acres of estate land. When not working with Bolton School groups, Patterdale Hall accommodates many other groups for residential and outdoor learning experiences.
Thank you very much for reading my blog, and I hope I have inspired many more people to find out more about their family history.
Olivia Hall, Year 8
